Book of Common Prayer
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
9 My enemies never tell the truth.
They only want to destroy people.
Their words come from mouths that are like open graves.
They use their lying tongues to deceive others.[d]
10 Punish them, God!
Let them be caught in their own traps.
They have turned against you,
so punish them for their many crimes.
11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever.
Protect and strengthen those who love your name.
12 Lord, when you bless good people,
you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.
To the director: With stringed instruments, on the sheminith. A song of David.
6 Lord, don’t punish me.
Don’t correct me when you are so angry.
2 Lord, be kind to me.
I am sick and weak.
Heal me, Lord!
My bones are shaking.
3 I am trembling all over.
Lord, how long until you heal me?[e]
4 Lord, come back and make me strong again.
Save me because you are so loyal and kind.
5 If I am dead, I cannot sing about you.
Those in the grave don’t praise you.
6 Lord, I am so weak.
I cried to you all night.
My pillow is soaked;
my bed is dripping wet from my tears.
7 My enemies have caused me such sorrow
that my eyes are worn out from crying.
8 Go away, you wicked people,
because the Lord has heard my cries.
9 The Lord has heard my request for mercy.
The Lord has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be filled with fear and shame.
They will be sorry when disgrace suddenly comes upon them.
10 Lord, why do you stay so far away?
Why do you hide from people in times of trouble?
2 The wicked are proud and make evil plans to hurt the poor,
who are caught in their traps and made to suffer.
3 Those greedy people brag about the things they want to get.
They curse the Lord and show that they hate him.
4 The wicked are too proud to ask God for help.
He does not fit into their plans.
5 They succeed in everything they do.
They don’t understand how you can judge them.
They make fun of all their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us.
We will have our fun and never be punished.”
7 They are always cursing, lying,
and planning evil things to do.
8 They hide just outside the villages,
waiting to kill innocent people,
always looking for any helpless person they can hurt.
9 They are like lions hiding in the bushes
to catch weak and helpless animals.
They lay their traps for the poor,
who are caught in their nets.
10 Again and again they hurt people
who are already weak and suffering.
11 They say to themselves, “God has forgotten about us.
He is not watching.
He will never see what we are doing.”
12 Lord, get up and do something.
Punish those who are wicked, God.
Don’t forget those who are poor and helpless.
13 The wicked turn against God
because they think he will not punish them.
14 But, Lord, you do see the pain and suffering they cause.
You see it, so punish them.
Those who were left helpless put their trust in you.
After all, you are the one who cares for orphans.
15 Break the arms of those who are wicked and evil.
Punish them for the evil they have done,
and stop them from doing any more.
16 Lord, you are King forever and ever,
so I know you will remove the wicked nations from your land.
17 Lord, you have heard what the poor want.
Listen to their prayers, and do what they ask.
18 Protect the orphans and those who have been hurt.
Don’t let powerful people drive us from our land!
To the director: A song of David.
11 I trust in the Lord, so why did you tell me to run and hide?
Why did you say, “Fly like a bird to your mountain?”
2 Like hunters, the wicked hide in the dark.
They get their bows ready and aim their arrows.
They shoot at good, honest people.
3 What would good people do
if the wicked destroyed all that is good?[a]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
He sees everything that happens.
He watches people closely.
5 The Lord examines those who are good and those who are wicked;
he hates those who enjoy hurting others.
6 He will make hot coals and burning sulfur fall like rain on the wicked.
They will get nothing but a hot, burning wind.
7 The Lord always does what is right, and he loves seeing people do right.
Those who live good lives will be with him.[b]
38 So Zadok, Nathan, Benaiah, and the king’s officers obeyed King David. They put Solomon on David’s mule and went with him down to Gihon Spring. 39 Zadok the priest carried the oil from the Holy Tent and poured it on Solomon’s head to show that he was the new king. They blew the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 Then all the people followed Solomon back into the city. They were very happy and excited. They were playing flutes and making so much noise that the ground shook.
41 Meanwhile, Adonijah and his guests were just finishing their meal. They heard the sound of the trumpet, and Joab asked, “What is that noise? What is happening in the city?”
42 While Joab was still speaking, Jonathan, son of Abiathar the priest, arrived. Adonijah said, “Come here! You are a good man,[a] so you must be bringing good news.”
43 But Jonathan answered, “No, it is not good news for you! King David has made Solomon the new king. 44 King David sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and all the king’s officers with Solomon out to Gihon Spring. They put Solomon on the king’s mule. 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon at Gihon Spring and then went back into the city. The people followed them, and now everyone in the city is celebrating. That is the noise you hear. 46-47 Solomon is sitting on the king’s throne and the king’s officers are congratulating King David, saying, ‘King David, you are a great king!’ And now we pray that your God will make Solomon a great king too. We pray your God will make him even more famous than you. And we pray that his kingdom will be even greater than yours is! Even King David was there. From his bed, the king bowed before Solomon 48 and said, ‘Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. He has put one of my own sons on my throne, and he has let me live to see it.’”
49 All of Adonijah’s guests were afraid and left very quickly. 50 Adonijah was also afraid of Solomon, so he went to the altar and held onto the horns of the altar. 51 Then someone told Solomon, “Adonijah is afraid of you, King Solomon. He is at the Holy Tent holding onto the horns of the altar, and he refuses to leave. Adonijah says, ‘Tell King Solomon to promise that he will not kill me.’”
52 So Solomon answered, “If Adonijah shows that he is a good man, I promise that not a hair on his head will be hurt. But if he does anything wrong, he will die.” 53 Then King Solomon sent some men to get Adonijah and brought him in. He approached the king and bowed before him. Then Solomon said, “Go home.”
King David Dies
2 The time came for David to die, so he gave these commands to Solomon, 2 “I am about to die, like all men must. But you are growing stronger and becoming a man. 3 Now, carefully obey all the commands of the Lord your God. Carefully obey all his laws, commands, decisions, and agreements. Obey everything that is written in the Law of Moses. If you do this, you will be successful at whatever you do and wherever you go. 4 And if you obey the Lord, he will keep his promise about me. He said, ‘If your sons carefully live the way I tell them, sincerely, with all their heart, the king of Israel will always be a man from your family.’”
Paul Tries to Persuade Agrippa
24 While Paul was still defending himself, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Too much study has made you crazy.”
25 Paul said, “Most Honorable Festus, I am not crazy. What I am saying is true. It all makes perfect sense. 26 King Agrippa knows about all this, and I can speak freely to him. I know that he has heard about these things, because they happened where everyone could see them. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe what the prophets wrote? I know you believe!”
28 King Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can persuade me to become a ‘Christ-follower’ so easily?”
29 Paul said, “It is not important if it is easy or if it is hard. I pray to God that not only you but that everyone listening to me today could be saved and be just like me—except for these chains I have!”
30 King Agrippa, Governor Festus, Bernice, and all the people sitting with them stood up 31 and left the room. They were talking to each other. They said, “This man has done nothing worthy of being put to death or even put in jail.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “We could let him go free, but he has asked to see Caesar.”
Paul Sails for Rome
27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An army officer named Julius, who served in the emperor’s special army, was put in charge of guarding Paul and some other prisoners on the trip. 2 We got on a ship from the city of Adramyttium that was ready to sail to different places in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us.
3 The next day we came to the city of Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends there, who gave him whatever he needed. 4 We left that city and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. 5 We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra in Lycia. 6 There the army officer found a ship from the city of Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.
7 We sailed slowly for many days. It was hard for us to reach the city of Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way, so we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. 8 We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.
28 “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is very near. 29 In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time[a] is very near, already present. 30 I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. 31 The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.
32 “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when that day or time will be. Only the Father knows. 33 Be careful! Always be ready. You don’t know when that time will be.
34 “It’s like a man who goes on a trip and leaves his house in the care of his servants. He gives each one a special job to do. He tells the servant guarding the door to always be ready. And this is what I am telling you now. 35 You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the afternoon, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises. 36 If you are always ready, he will not find you sleeping, even if he comes back earlier than expected. 37 I tell you this, and I say it to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International