Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Yodh.
73 (A)Your hands made me and [a]fashioned me;
(B)Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74 May those who [b]fear You (C)see me and be glad,
Because I [c](D)wait for Your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are (E)righteous,
And that (F)in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 O may Your lovingkindness [d]comfort me,
According to Your [e]word to Your servant.
77 May (G)Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my (H)delight.
78 May (I)the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me (J)with a lie;
But I shall (K)meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who [f]fear You turn to me,
Even those who know Your testimonies.
80 May my heart be [g](L)blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not (M)be ashamed.
Kaph.
81 My (N)soul languishes for Your salvation;
I [h](O)wait for Your word.
82 My (P)eyes fail with longing for Your [i]word,
[j]While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have (Q)become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do (R)not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the (S)days of Your servant?
When will You (T)execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have (U)dug pits for me,
Men who are not [k]in accord with Your law.
86 All Your commandments are (V)faithful;
They have (W)persecuted me with a lie; (X)help me!
87 They almost destroyed me [l]on earth,
But as for me, I (Y)did not forsake Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh.
89 (Z)Forever, O Lord,
Your word [m]is settled in heaven.
90 Your (AA)faithfulness continues [n]throughout all generations;
You (AB)established the earth, and it (AC)stands.
91 They stand this day according to Your (AD)ordinances,
For (AE)all things are Your servants.
92 If Your law had not been my (AF)delight,
Then I would have perished (AG)in my affliction.
93 I will (AH)never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have [o](AI)revived me.
94 I am Yours, (AJ)save me;
For I have (AK)sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked (AL)wait for me to destroy me;
I shall diligently consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen [p]a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
The Fertility of Zion
54 “(A)Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
For the sons of the (B)desolate one will be (C)more numerous
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 “(D)Enlarge the place of your tent;
[a]Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
Lengthen your (E)cords
And strengthen your (F)pegs.
3 “For you will (G)spread abroad to the right and to the left.
And your [b]descendants will (H)possess nations
And will (I)resettle the desolate cities.
4 “Fear not, for you will (J)not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the (K)shame of your youth,
And the (L)reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 “For your (M)husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts;
And your (N)Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the (O)God of all the earth.
6 “For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife (P)forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.
7 “[c]For a (Q)brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will (R)gather you.
8 “In an [d](S)outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting (T)lovingkindness I will (U)have compassion on you,”
Says the Lord your (V)Redeemer.
9 “For [e]this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would (W)not [f]flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will (X)not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.
10 “For the (Y)mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My (Z)covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says (AA)the Lord who has compassion on you.
11 “O (AB)afflicted one, storm-tossed, and (AC)not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will (AD)lay in [g](AE)sapphires.
12 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of [h]rubies,
And your gates of [i]crystal,
And your entire [j]wall of precious stones.
13 “(AF)All your sons will be [k]taught of the Lord;
And the well-being of your sons will be (AG)great.
14 “In (AH)righteousness you will be established;
You will be far from (AI)oppression, for you will (AJ)not fear;
And from (AK)terror, for it will not come near you.
15 “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
(AL)Whoever assails you will fall because of you.
16 “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
And brings out a weapon for its work;
And I have created the destroyer to ruin.
17 “(AM)No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
And (AN)every tongue that [l]accuses you in judgment you will condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their (AO)vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
Bond and Free
21 Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not (A)listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, (B)one by the bondwoman and (C)one by the free woman. 23 But (D)the son by the bondwoman [a]was born according to the flesh, and (E)the son by the free woman through the promise. 24 [b](F)This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from (G)Mount Sinai bearing children [c]who are to be (H)slaves; [d]she is Hagar. 25 Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But (I)the Jerusalem above is free; [e]she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“(J)Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear;
Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor;
For more numerous are the children of the desolate
Than of the one who has a husband.”
28 And you brethren, (K)like Isaac, are (L)children of promise. 29 But as at that time (M)he who was born according to the flesh (N)persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, (O)so it is now also. 30 But what does the Scripture say?
“(P)Cast out the bondwoman and her son,
For (Q)the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, [f]but of the free woman.
11 (A)The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, (B)seeking from Him a [a]sign from heaven, [b]to test Him. 12 (C)Sighing deeply [c]in His spirit, He *said, “Why does this generation seek for a [d]sign? Truly I say to you, [e](D)no [f]sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14 And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15 And He was giving orders to them, saying, “(E)Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (F)Herod.” 16 They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? (G)Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a [g]hardened heart? 18 (H)Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19 when I broke (I)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many (J)baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They *said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “When I broke (K)the seven for the four thousand, how many large (L)baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they *said to Him, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “(M)Do you not yet understand?”
22 And they *came to (N)Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to (O)touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He (P)brought him out of the village; and after (Q)spitting on his eyes and (R)laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he [h]looked up and said, “I see men, for [i]I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26 And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter (S)the village.”
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