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.
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2 “I know that (A)You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that (B)hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things (C)too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will (D)ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 “I have (E)heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my (F)eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”
God Displeased with Job’s Friends
7 It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right (G)as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves (H)seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a (I)burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will (J)pray for you. (K)For I will [a]accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord [b]accepted Job.
God Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 The Lord (L)restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. 11 Then all his (M)brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they (N)consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one [c]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 (O)The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; (P)and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 (Q)He had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 (R)And Job died, an old man and full of days.
16 It happened that as we were going to (A)the place of prayer, a slave-girl having (B)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of (C)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you [a]the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you (D)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [b]moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (E)profit was [c]gone, they seized (F)Paul and Silas and (G)dragged them into the market place before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and (H)are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being (I)Romans.”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
22 The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their [d]robes off them and proceeded to order [e]them to be (J)beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding (K)the jailer to guard them securely; 24 [f]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (L)the [g]stocks.
Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some (A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at (B)the feast; 21 these then came to (C)Philip, who was from (D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip *came and *told (E)Andrew; Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23 And Jesus *answered them, saying, “(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to (G)be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, (H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (I)He who loves his [a]life loses it, and he who (J)hates his [b]life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 If anyone [c]serves Me, he must follow Me; and (K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [d]serves Me, the Father will (L)honor him.
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