Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, 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]May 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]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]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 [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on 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 the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May 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, so 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, Lord, that Your judgments are (E)righteous,
And that You have afflicted me (F)in faithfulness.
76 May Your favor [d]comfort me,
According to Your [e]word to Your servant.
77 May (G)Your compassion come to me so that I may live,
For Your Law is my (H)delight.
78 May (I)the arrogant be put to shame, because they lead me astray (J)with a lie;
But I shall (K)meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who [f]fear You turn to me,
And 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,
People who are not 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 on earth,
But as for me, I (Y)did not abandon Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your faithfulness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh
89 (Z)Forever, Lord,
Your word stands in heaven.
90 Your (AA)faithfulness continues [k]throughout generations;
You (AB)established the earth, and it (AC)stands.
91 They stand this day by 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 misery.
93 I will (AH)never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have [l](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 will diligently consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen [m]a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Be Subject to Government
13 Every [a](A)person is to be (B)subject to the governing authorities. For (C)there is no authority except [b]from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore [c]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For (D)rulers are not a cause of fear for [d]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an (E)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also (F)for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 (G)Pay to all what is due them: (H)tax to whom tax is due; (I)custom to whom custom; [e]respect to whom [f]respect; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for (J)the one who loves [g]his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. 9 For this, “(K)You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “(L)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love [h]does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore (M)love is the fulfillment of the Law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is (N)already the hour for you to (O)awaken from sleep; for now [i]salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 (P)The night is almost gone, and (Q)the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of (R)the deeds of darkness and put on (S)the armor of light. 13 Let’s [j](T)behave properly as in the day, (U)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But (V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (W)in regard to its lusts.
Parable of the Lamp
16 “Now (A)no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light. 17 (B)For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 So take care how you listen; (C)for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he [a]thinks he has will be taken away from him.”
19 (D)Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” 21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these (E)who hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus Stills the Sea
22 (F)Now on one of those days [b]Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of (G)the lake.” So they launched out. 23 But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on (H)the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. 24 They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “(I)Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and (J)rebuked the wind and the surging [c]waves, and they stopped, and [d]it became calm. 25 And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
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