The Psalms
26
1Give judgment for me, O Lord,
for I have lived with integrity; *
I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered.
2Test me, O Lord, and try me; *
examine my heart and my mind.
3For your love is before my eyes; *
I have walked faithfully with you.
4I have not sat with the worthless, *
nor do I consort with the deceitful.
5I have hated the company of evildoers; *
I will not sit down with the wicked.
6I will wash my hands in innocence, O Lord, *
that I may go in procession round your altar,
7Singing aloud a song of thanksgiving *
and recounting all your wonderful deeds.
8Lord, I love the house in which you dwell *
and the place where your glory abides.
9Do not sweep me away with sinners, *
nor my life with those who thirst for blood,
10Whose hands are full of evil plots, *
and their right hand full of bribes.
11As for me, I will live with integrity; *
redeem me, O Lord, and have pity on me.
12My foot stands on level ground; *
in the full assembly I will bless the Lord.
28
1O Lord, I call to you;
my Rock, do not be deaf to my cry; *
lest, if you do not hear me,
I become like those who go down to the Pit.
2Hear the voice of my prayer when I cry out to you, *
when I lift up my hands to your holy of holies.
3Do not snatch me away with the wicked or with the
evildoers, *
who speak peaceably with their neighbors,
while strife is in their hearts.
4Repay them according to their deeds, *
and according to the wickedness of their actions.
5According to the work of their hands repay them, *
and give them their just deserts.
6they have no understanding of the Lord’s doings,
nor of the works of his hands; *
therefore he will break them down and not
build them up.
7 Blessed is the Lord! *
for he has heard the voice of my prayer.
8the Lord is my strength and my shield; *
my heart trusts in him, and I have been helped;
9therefore my heart dances for joy, *
and in my song will I praise him.
10the Lord is the strength of his people, *
a safe refuge for his anointed.
11Save your people and bless your inheritance; *
shepherd them and carry them for ever.
A Collect for Guidance
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
