Book of Common Prayer
Solomonic
A Prayer for the King
72 God, endow the king with ability to render[a] your justice,
and the king’s son to render your right decisions.
2 May he rule your people with right decisions
and your oppressed ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he defend the afflicted of the people
and deliver the children of the poor,
but crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine[b]—
from generation to generation.
6 May he be like the rain that descends on mown grass,
like showers sprinkling on the ground.
7 The righteous will flourish at the proper time
and peace will prevail until the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9 May the nomads bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring gifts,
and may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.
11 May all kings bow down to him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy when they cry out for help,
and the poor when there is no deliverer.
13 He will have compassion on the poor and the needy,
and he will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will redeem them[d] from oppression and violence,
since their lives are[e] precious in his sight.
Prayer for the King
15 May he live long and be given gold from Sheba,
and may prayer be offered for him continuously,
and may he be blessed every day.
16 May grain be abundant in the land
all the way[f] to the mountain tops;
may its fruits flourish
like the forests of Lebanon,
and may the cities sprout
like the grass of the earth.
Praising the God of Israel
17 May his fame[g] be eternal—
as long as the sun—
may his name endure,
and may they be blessed through him,
and may all nations call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does awesome deeds.
19 And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 This ends the prayers of Jesse’s son David.
Yod
Prayer for God’s Grace
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding,
that I may learn your commands.
74 May those who fear you see me and be glad,
for I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your decrees are just,
and that you have rightfully humbled me.
76 May your gracious love comfort me
in accordance with your promise to your servant.
77 May your mercies come to me that I may live,
for your instruction[a] is my delight.
78 May the arrogant become ashamed,
because they have subverted me with deceit;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 May those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless with respect to your statutes
so that I may not become ashamed.
Kaf
On Obeying God’s Word
81 I long for your deliverance;
I have looked to your word,
placing my hope in it.
82 My eyes grow weary
with respect to what you have promised—
I keep asking, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I have become like a water skin dried by[b] smoke,
I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How many days must your servant endure this?[c]
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me,
disobeying your instruction.[d]
86 All of your commands are reliable.
I am persecuted without cause—help me!
87 Though the arrogant[e] nearly destroyed me on earth,
I did not abandon your precepts.
88 Revive me according to your gracious love;
and I will keep the decrees that you have proclaimed.
Lamed
Pay Attention to God’s Word
89 Your word is forever, Lord;
it is firmly established in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation.
You established the earth, and it stands firm.
91 To this day they stand by means of your rulings,
for all things serve you.
92 Had your instruction[f] not been my pleasure,
I would have died in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have revived me with them.
94 I am yours, so save me,
since I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lay in wait to destroy me,
while I ponder your decrees.
96 I have observed that all things have their limit,
but your commandment is very broad.
30 So Moses spoke the words of this song—to the very end—in front of the entire assembly of Israel.
The Song of Moses
32 Hear, heavens, and I will speak!
Listen, earth, to the words of my mouth!
2 May my instructions descend like rain
and may my words flow like dew,
as light rain upon the grass,
and as showers upon new plants.
3 For I’ll proclaim the name of our Lord.
Ascribe greatness to our God!
4 Flawless is the work of the Rock,
because all his ways are just.
A faithful God—never unjust—
righteous and upright is he.
5 But those who are not his children
acted corruptly against him;
they are a defective and perverted generation.
6 This is not the way to repay the Lord, is it,
you foolish and witless people?
Is he not your father,
who bought you, formed you, and established you?
An Exhortation to Remember God’s Work
7 Remember the days of old,
reflect on the years of previous generations.
Ask your father,
and he’ll tell you;
your elders will inform you.
8 When the Most High gave nations as their inheritance,
when he separated the human race,
he set boundaries for the people
according to the number of the children of God.[a]
9 For the Lord’s portion is his people;
Jacob is his allotted portion.
The Lord’s Work on Behalf of Israel
10 The Lord[b] found him[c] in a desert land,
in a barren, eerie[d] wilderness.
He surrounded, cared for, and guarded him
as the pupil of his eye.
11 Like an eagle stirs its nest,
hovering near its young,
spreading out his wings to take him
and carry him on his pinions,
12 the Lord alone guided him.
There was no foreign god with him.
13 He mounted him on a high place above the earth,
feeding him from the produce of the field.
He nourished[e] him with honey from the rock
and with oil from the flint rock,
14 with curds from cattle and with milk from sheep,
with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan,
with the fat of goats, with the finest[f] of wheat—
and from the juice of grapes you drank wine.
21 I am ashamed to admit it, but we have been too weak for that. Whatever anyone else dares to claim—I am talking like a fool—I can claim it, too. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelis? So am I. Are they among Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they the Messiah’s[a] servants? I am insane to talk like this, but I am a far better one! I have been involved in far greater efforts, far more imprisonments, countless beatings, and have faced death more than once. 24 Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with a stick, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, and I drifted on the sea for a day and a night. 26 I have traveled extensively and have been endangered from rivers, robbers, my own people, and gentiles. I’ve also been in danger in the city, in the open country, at sea, from false brothers, 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, through hunger, thirst, many periods of fasting, coldness, and nakedness. 28 Besides everything else, I have a daily burden because of my anxiety about all the churches. 29 Who is weak without me being weak, too? Who is caused to stumble without me becoming indignant?
30 If I must boast, I will boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas put guards around the city of Damascus to catch me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through an opening in the wall and escaped from him.
The Parable about the Coins
11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[a] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[b] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[c] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[d] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[e] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[f] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second servant[g] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[h] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then the other servant[i] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[j] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
24 “So the king[k] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[l] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
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