Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72[a]
A Prayer for the King
1 Of Solomon.
I
2 O God, give your judgment to the king;
your justice to the king’s son;[b](A)
That he may govern your people with justice,
your oppressed with right judgment,(B)
3 That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people,
and the hills great abundance,(C)
4 That he may defend the oppressed among the people,
save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.
II
5 May they fear you with the sun,
and before the moon, through all generations.(D)
6 May he be like rain coming down upon the fields,
like showers watering the earth,(E)
7 That abundance may flourish in his days,
great bounty, till the moon be no more.
III
8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.(F)
9 May his foes kneel before him,
his enemies lick the dust.(G)
10 May the kings of Tarshish and the islands[d] bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(H)
11 May all kings bow before him,
all nations serve him.(I)
12 For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
the oppressed who have no one to help.
13 He shows pity to the needy and the poor(J)
and saves the lives of the poor.
14 From extortion and violence he redeems them,
for precious is their blood[e] in his sight.
IV
15 Long may he live, receiving gold from Sheba,
prayed for without cease, blessed day by day.
16 [f]May wheat abound in the land,
flourish even on the mountain heights.
May his fruit be like that of Lebanon,
and flourish in the city like the grasses of the land.(K)
17 May his name be forever;
as long as the sun, may his name endure.(L)
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;[g]
may all the nations regard him as favored.(M)
18 [h]Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful deeds.(N)
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may he fill all the earth with his glory.(O)
Amen and amen.
20 The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.
Yodh
73 Your hands made me and fashioned me;
give me understanding to learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you rejoice to see me,
because I hope in your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your judgments are righteous;
though you afflict me, you are faithful.
76 May your mercy comfort me
in accord with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me compassion that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
78 Shame the proud for leading me astray with falsehood,
that I may study your testimonies.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
those who acknowledge your testimonies.
80 May I be wholehearted toward your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame.
Kaph
81 My soul longs for your salvation;
I put my hope in your word.(A)
82 My eyes long to see your promise.(B)
When will you comfort me?
83 I am like a wineskin shriveled by smoke,(C)
but I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How long can your servant survive?
When will your judgment doom my foes?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me;
defying your law.
86 All your commandments are steadfast.
Help me! I am pursued without cause.
87 They have almost put an end to me on earth,
but I do not forsake your precepts.
88 In your mercy give me life,
to observe the testimonies of your mouth.
Lamedh
89 [a]Your word, Lord, stands forever;(D)
it is firm as the heavens.
90 Through all generations your truth endures;
fixed to stand firm like the earth.
91 By your judgments they stand firm to this day,
for all things are your servants.
92 Had your law not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts;
through them you give me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I cherish your precepts.
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,
but I seek to understand your testimonies.
96 I have seen the limits of all perfection,
but your commandment is without bounds.
Ehud. 12 Again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so he strengthened Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel because they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 Taking the Ammonites and Amalek as allies, he went and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms. 14 So the Israelites served Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years.
15 But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a savior, Ehud, son of Gera, a Benjaminite who was left-handed.[a] The Israelites would send their tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, by him. 16 Ehud made himself a two-edged dagger a foot long, and strapped it under his clothes on his right thigh. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab; now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When he had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the troops who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And the king said, “Silence!” Then when all his attendants had left his presence, 20 Ehud went in to him where he sat alone in his cool upper room. Ehud said, “I have a word from God for you.” So the king rose from his throne. 21 Then Ehud with his left hand drew the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon’s belly. 22 The hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not withdraw the dagger from the body.
23 Then Ehud went out onto the porch, shutting the doors of the upper room on Eglon and locking them. 24 When Ehud had left and the servants had come, they saw that the doors of the upper room were locked, and thought, “He must be easing himself in the cool chamber.” 25 They waited until they were at a loss when he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened them, and there was their lord lying on the floor, dead.
26 During their delay Ehud escaped and, passing the sculptured stones, took refuge in Seirah. 27 On his arrival he sounded the horn in the mountain region of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down from the mountains with him as their leader. 28 “Follow me,” he said to them, “for the Lord has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your power.”(A) So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, permitting no one to cross. 29 On that occasion they slew about ten thousand Moabites, all of them strong warriors. Not one escaped. 30 So Moab was brought under the power of Israel(B) at that time; and the land had rest for eighty years.(C)
I. The Preparation for the Christian Mission
Chapter 1[a]
The Promise of the Spirit. 1 In the first book,(A) Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.(B) 3 He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days[b] and speaking about the kingdom of God.(C) 4 While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father[c] about which you have heard me speak;(D) 5 for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”(E)
The Ascension of Jesus. 6 When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going[d] to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 [e]He answered them,(F) “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. 8 [f]But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you,(G) and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.(H) 10 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.(I) 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”(J) 12 (K)Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
The First Community in Jerusalem. 13 When they entered the city they went to the upper room where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.(L)
The Death of Jesus. 45 [a](A)From noon onward,(B) darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 (C)And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”[b] which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 [c]Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “This one is calling for Elijah.” 48 (D)Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 [d]But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. 51 (E)And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.[e] The earth quaked, rocks were split, 52 (F)tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 [f]The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was happening, and they said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
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