Book of Common Prayer
To Solomon.[a]
72 God, help the king be like you and make fair decisions.
Help the king’s son know what justice is.
2 Help the king judge your people fairly.
Help him make wise decisions for your poor people.
3 Let there be peace and justice throughout the land,
known on every mountain and hill.
4 May the king be fair to the poor.
May he help the helpless and punish those who hurt them.
5 May people always fear and respect you, God,
as long as the sun shines and the moon is in the sky.
6 Help the king be like rain falling on the fields,
like showers falling on the land.
7 Let goodness grow everywhere while he is king.
Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
8 Let his kingdom grow from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the faraway places on earth.[b]
9 May all the people living in the desert bow down to him.
May all his enemies bow before him with their faces in the dirt.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and all the faraway lands by the sea bring gifts to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba bring their tribute to him.
11 May all kings bow down to our king.
May all nations serve him.
12 Our king helps the poor who cry out to him—
those in need who have no one to help them.
13 He feels sorry for all who are weak and poor.
He protects their lives.
14 He saves them from the cruel people who try to hurt them.
Their lives are important to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Always pray for the king.
Ask God to bless him every day.
16 May the fields grow plenty of grain
and the hills be covered with crops.
May the fields be as fertile as Lebanon,
and may people fill the cities as grass covers a field.
17 May the king be famous forever.
May people remember his name as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him,
and may they all bless him.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel!
Only he can do such amazing things.
19 Praise his glorious name forever!
Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and Amen!
20 (This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.)
Yod
73 With your hands you made me and helped me become what I am.
Now help me learn and understand your commands.
74 Your followers will see me and be happy,
because I trust in your word.
75 Lord, I know that your decisions are fair,
and you were right to punish me.
76 Now comfort me with your faithful love,
as you promised.
77 Comfort me and let me live.
I enjoy your teachings.
78 Bring shame on those proud people who lied about me.
All I want to do is study your instructions.
79 Let your followers come back to me
so that they may learn your rules.
80 Let me obey your laws perfectly
so that I will not be ashamed.
Kaph
81 I feel weaker and weaker as I wait for you to save me.
But I put my trust in your word.
82 I keep looking for what you promised, but my eyes are feeling tired.
When will you comfort me?
83 Even when I am like a dried wineskin on the trash pile,
I will not forget your laws.
84 How long must I wait for you
to punish those who persecute me?
85 Proud people have tried to trap me
and make me disobey your teachings.
86 All your commands can be trusted.
Those people are wrong to persecute me.
Help me!
87 They have almost destroyed me,
but I have not stopped obeying your instructions.
88 Show me your faithful love and let me live.
I will do whatever you say.
Lamedh
89 Lord, your word continues forever in heaven.
90 You are loyal forever and ever.
You made the earth, and it still stands.
91 All things continue today because of your laws.
Like slaves, they all obey you.
92 If I had not found joy in your teachings,
my suffering would have destroyed me.
93 I will never forget your commands,
because through them you gave me new life.
94 I am yours, so save me!
I have done my best to know your instructions.
95 The wicked tried to destroy me,
but your rules made me wise.
96 Everything has its limits,
except your commands.
Obey Your Government Rulers
13 All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God. 2 So anyone who is against the government is really against something God has commanded. Those who are against the government bring punishment on themselves. 3 People who do right don’t have to fear the rulers. But those who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be free from fearing them? Then do only what is right, and they will praise you.
4 Rulers are God’s servants to help you. But if you do wrong, you have reason to be afraid. They have the power to punish, and they will use it. They are God’s servants to punish those who do wrong. 5 So you must obey the government, not just because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.
6 And this is why you pay taxes too. Those rulers are working for God, and they give all their time to the work of ruling. 7 Give everyone what you owe them. If you owe them any kind of tax, then pay it. Show respect to those you should respect. And show honor to those you should honor.
Loving Others Is the Only Law
8 You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. 9 The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.”[a] All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor[b] the same as you love yourself.”[c] 10 Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.
11 I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. 13 We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. 14 But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.
Use the Understanding You Have(A)
16 “No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. Instead, they put the lamp on a lampstand so that the people who come in will have enough light to see. 17 Everything that is hidden will become clear. Every secret thing will be made known, and everyone will see it. 18 So think carefully about what you are hearing. The people who have some understanding will receive more. But those who do not have understanding will lose even what they think they have.”
Jesus’ Followers Are His True Family(B)
19 Jesus’ mother and brothers came to visit him. But they could not get close to him, because there were so many people. 20 Someone said to Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to see you.”
21 Jesus answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who listen to God’s teaching and obey it.”
Jesus’ Followers See His Power(C)
22 One day Jesus and his followers got into a boat. He said to them, “Come with me across the lake.” And so they started across. 23 While they were sailing, Jesus slept. A big storm blew across the lake, and the boat began to fill with water. They were in danger. 24 The followers went to Jesus and woke him. They said, “Master! Master! We will drown!”
Jesus got up. He gave a command to the wind and the waves. The wind stopped, and the lake became calm. 25 He said to his followers, “Where is your faith?”
They were afraid and amazed. They said to each other, “What kind of man is this? He commands the wind and the water, and they obey him.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International