Book of Common Prayer
Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.
A Psalm of David.
26 [a](A)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have (B)walked in my integrity,
And I have (C)trusted in the Lord [b](D)without wavering.
2 (E)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
(F)Refine my [c]mind and my heart.
3 For Your (G)[d]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have (H)walked in Your truth.
4 I do not (I)sit with [e]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with [f](J)pretenders.
5 I (K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I will (L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around (M)Your altar, Lord,
7 That I may proclaim with the voice of (N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your [g]wonders.
8 Lord, I (O)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place [h]where Your (P)glory remains.
9 (Q)Do not [i]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with (R)men of bloodshed,
10 In whose hands is a (S)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of (T)bribes.
11 But as for me, I will (U)walk in my integrity;
(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 (W)My foot stands on (X)level ground;
In the (Y)congregations I will bless the Lord.
A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.
A Psalm of David.
28 To You, Lord, I call;
My (A)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You (B)are silent to me,
I will become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 Hear the (D)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I (E)raise my hands (F)toward [a]Your holy (G)sanctuary.
3 (H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who (I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
4 Give back to them (J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Because He (L)has heard the sound of my pleading.
7 The Lord is my (M)strength and my (N)shield;
My heart (O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore (P)my heart triumphs,
And with (Q)my song I shall thank Him.
8 The Lord is [b]their (R)strength,
And He is a refuge of (S)salvation to His anointed.
9 (T)Save Your people and bless (U)Your inheritance;
Be their (V)shepherd also, and (W)carry them forever.
Wickedness of Humanity and Goodness of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 [a]Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within [b]his heart;
There is (A)no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For it (B)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his wrongful deed and the hatred of it.
3 The (C)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has (D)ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
4 He (E)plans wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself on a (F)path that is not good;
He (G)does not reject evil.
5 Your (H)mercy, Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your (I)righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your (J)judgments are like the great deep.
Lord, You [f](K)protect mankind and animals.
7 How (L)precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind (M)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They (N)drink their fill of the [g]abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the (O)river of Your delights.
9 For the (P)fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.
The Futility of Life.
For the music director, for [a]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
39 I said, “I will (A)keep watch over my ways
So that I (B)do not sin with my tongue;
I will keep watch over (C)my mouth as with a muzzle
While the wicked are in my presence.”
2 I was (D)mute [b]and silent,
I [c]refused to say even something good,
And my pain was stirred up.
3 My (E)heart was hot within me,
While I was musing the fire burned;
Then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know (F)my end,
And what is the extent of my days;
Let me know how (G)transient I am.
5 Behold, You have made (H)my days like [d]hand widths,
And my (I)lifetime as nothing in Your sight;
Certainly all mankind standing is [e]a mere (J)breath. Selah
6 Certainly every person (K)walks around as [f]a fleeting shadow;
They certainly make an (L)uproar for nothing;
He (M)amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
7 “And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
My (N)hope is in You.
8 (O)Save me from all my wrongdoings;
Do not make me an object of (P)reproach for the foolish.
9 I have become (Q)mute, I do not open my mouth,
Because it is (R)You who have done it.
10 (S)Remove Your plague from me;
Because of (T)the opposition of Your hand I am [g]perishing.
11 With (U)rebukes You punish a person for wrongdoing;
You (V)consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Certainly (W)all mankind is mere breath! Selah
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job responded,
3 “But (A)I would speak to [a]the Almighty,
And I desire to (B)argue with God.
4 But you (C)smear me with lies;
You are all (D)worthless physicians.
5 Oh that you would (E)be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6 Please hear my argument,
And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.
7 Will you (F)speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8 Will you (G)show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9 Will it go well when He examines you?
Or (H)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 He will certainly punish you
If you secretly (I)show partiality.
11 Will (J)His [b]majesty not terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated
13 “(K)Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come upon me what may.
14 Why should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And (L)put my life in my [c]hands?
15 (M)Though He slay me,
I will [d]hope in Him.
Nevertheless I (N)will argue my ways [e]before Him.
16 This also will be my (O)salvation,
For (P)a godless person cannot come before His presence.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
21 (A)Remove Your [a]hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
22 Then call and (B)I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23 (C)How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
24 Why do You (D)hide Your face
And consider me (E)Your enemy?
25 Will You scare away a (F)scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry (G)chaff?
26 For You write (H)bitter things against me
And (I)make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.
27 You (J)put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You [b]set a limit for the soles of my feet,
Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance
12 Now about that time [a]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. 2 And he (A)had James the brother of John (B)executed with a sword. 3 When he saw that it (C)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were [b](D)the days of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four [c](E)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after (F)the Passover to bring him before the people. 5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God [d]intensely by the church.
6 On [e]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (G)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, (H)an angel of the Lord suddenly (I)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And (J)his chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and [f]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing (K)a vision. 10 Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which (L)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter (M)came [g]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that (N)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all [h]that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (O)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and (P)were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, (Q)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, (R)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is (S)his angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But (T)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to [i](U)James and (V)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.
33 They answered Him, “(A)We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, (B)everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now (C)the slave does not remain in the house forever; (D)the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son (E)sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are (F)Abraham’s descendants; yet (G)you are seeking to kill Me, because My word [a]has no place in you. 38 I speak of the things which I have seen [b]with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from (H)your father.”
39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is (I)our father.” Jesus *said to them, “(J)If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, (K)you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has (L)told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of (M)your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; (N)we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, (O)you would love Me, (P)for I came forth from God and am here; for I have (Q)not even come [c]on My own, but [d](R)He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand [e](S)what I am saying? It is because you cannot (T)listen to My word. 44 (U)You are of (V)your father the devil, and (W)you want to do the desires of your father. (X)He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because (Y)there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells [f]a lie, he (Z)speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of [g]lies. 45 But because (AA)I say the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If (AB)I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 (AC)The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
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