Book of Common Prayer

72 O God, help the king to judge as you would, and help his son to walk in godliness. ² Help him to give justice to your people, even to the poor. ³ May the mountains and hills flourish in prosperity because of his good reign. ⁴ Help him to defend the poor and needy and to crush their oppressors. ⁵ May the poor and needy revere you constantly, as long as sun and moon continue in the skies! Yes, forever!

⁶ May the reign of this son of mine^[a] be as gentle and fruitful as the springtime rains upon the grass—like showers that water the earth! ⁷ May all good men flourish in his reign with abundance of peace to the end of time.

⁸ Let him reign from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ The desert nomads shall bow before him; his enemies shall fall face downward in the dust. ¹⁰ Kings along the Mediterranean coast—the kings of Tarshish and the islands—and those from Sheba and from Seba—all will bring their gifts. ¹¹ Yes, kings from everywhere! All will bow before him! All will serve him!

¹² He will take care of the helpless and poor when they cry to him; for they have no one else to defend them. ¹³ He feels pity for the weak and needy and will rescue them. ¹⁴ He will save them from oppression and from violence, for their lives are precious to him.

¹⁵ And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Sheba, and there will be constant praise for him.^[b] His people will bless him all day long. ¹⁶ Bless us with abundant crops throughout the land, even on the highland plains; may there be fruit like that of Lebanon; may the cities be as full of people as the fields are of grass. ¹⁷ His name will be honored forever; it will continue as the sun; and all will be blessed in him; all nations will praise him.

¹⁸ Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only does wonderful things! ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

²⁰ (This ends the psalms of David, son of Jesse.)

⁷³ You made my body, Lord; now give me sense to heed your laws. ⁷⁴ All those who fear and trust in you will welcome me because I too am trusting in your Word.

^75-77 I know, O Lord, that your decisions are right and that your punishment was right and did me good. Now let your loving-kindness comfort me, just as you promised. Surround me with your tender mercies that I may live. For your law is my delight.

⁷⁸ Let the proud be disgraced, for they have cut me down with all their lies. But I will concentrate my thoughts upon your laws.

⁷⁹ Let all others join me who trust and fear you, and we will discuss your laws. ⁸⁰ Help me to love your every wish; then I will never have to be ashamed of myself.

⁸¹ I faint for your salvation; but I expect your help, for you have promised it. ⁸² My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me with your help? ⁸³ I am shriveled like a wineskin in the smoke, exhausted with waiting. But still I cling to your laws and obey them. ⁸⁴ How long must I wait before you punish those who persecute me? ^85-86 These proud men who hate your truth and laws have dug deep pits for me to fall in. Their lies have brought me into deep trouble. Help me, for you love only truth. ⁸⁷ They had almost finished me off, yet I refused to yield and disobey your laws. ⁸⁸ In your kindness, spare my life; then I can continue to obey you.

⁸⁹ Forever, O Lord, your Word stands firm in heaven. ^90-91 Your faithfulness extends to every generation, like the earth you created; it endures by your decree, for everything serves your plans.

⁹² I would have despaired and perished unless your laws had been my deepest delight. ⁹³ I will never lay aside your laws, for you have used them to restore my joy and health. ⁹⁴ I am yours! Save me! For I have tried to live according to your desires. ⁹⁵ Though the wicked hide along the way to kill me, I will quietly keep my mind upon your promises.

⁹⁶ Nothing is perfect except your words.

³⁰ So Moses recited this entire song to the whole assembly of Israel:

²¹ I’m ashamed to say that I’m not strong and daring like that!

But whatever they can boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I can boast about it, too.)

²² They brag that they are Hebrews, do they? Well, so am I. And they say that they are Israelites, God’s chosen people? So am I. And they are descendants of Abraham? Well, I am too.

²³ They say they serve Christ? But I have served him far more! (Have I gone mad to boast like this?) I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again and again. ²⁴ Five different times the Jews gave me their terrible thirty-nine lashes. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I was in the open sea all night and the whole next day. ²⁶ I have traveled many weary miles and have been often in great danger from flooded rivers and from robbers and from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the hands of the Gentiles. I have faced grave dangers from mobs in the cities and from death in the deserts and in the stormy seas and from men who claim to be brothers in Christ but are not. ²⁷ I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food; often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

²⁸ Then, besides all this, I have the constant worry of how the churches are getting along: ²⁹ Who makes a mistake and I do not feel his sadness? Who falls without my longing to help him? Who is spiritually hurt without my fury rising against the one who hurt him?

³⁰ But if I must brag, I would rather brag about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹ God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is to be praised forever and ever, knows I tell the truth. ³² For instance, in Damascus the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me; ³³ but I was let down by rope and basket from a hole in the city wall, and so I got away! What popularity!^[a]

¹¹ And because Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.

¹² “A nobleman living in a certain province was called away to the distant capital of the empire to be crowned king of his province. ¹³ Before he left he called together ten assistants and gave them each $2,000 to invest while he was gone. ¹⁴ But some of his people hated him and sent him their declaration of independence, stating that they had rebelled and would not acknowledge him as their king.

¹⁵ “Upon his return he called in the men to whom he had given the money, to find out what they had done with it, and what their profits were.

¹⁶ “The first man reported a tremendous gain—ten times as much as the original amount!

¹⁷ “‘Fine!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good man. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, and as your reward, you shall be governor of ten cities.’

¹⁸ “The next man also reported a splendid gain—five times the original amount.

¹⁹ “‘All right!’ his master said. ‘You can be governor over five cities.’

²⁰ “But the third man brought back only the money he had started with. ‘I’ve kept it safe,’ he said, ²¹ ‘because I was afraid you would demand my profits, for you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and even confiscating the crops that others plant.’ ²² ‘You vile and wicked slave,’ the king roared. ‘Hard, am I? That’s exactly how I’ll be toward you! If you knew so much about me and how tough I am, ²³ then why didn’t you deposit the money in the bank so that I could at least get some interest on it?’

²⁴ “Then turning to the others standing by he ordered, ‘Take the money away from him and give it to the man who earned the most.’

²⁵ “‘But, sir,’ they said, ‘he has enough already!’

²⁶ “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘but it is always true that those who have, get more, and those who have little, soon lose even that. ²⁷ And now about these enemies of mine who revolted—bring them in and execute them before me.’”