Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Guidance and Protection
For the music director; with the flutes. A psalm of David.[a]
5 Hear my words, O Yahweh.
Give heed to my sighing.[b]
2 Listen to the sound of my pleading,[c] my king and my God,
for to you I pray.
3 O Yahweh, in the morning you will hear my voice.
In the morning I will set forth[d] my case to you and I will watch.[e]
4 For you are not a God who desires[f] wickedness.
Evil cannot dwell with you.
5 The boastful do not stand before[g] your eyes.
You hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy speakers of lies.[h]
A man of bloodshed[i] and deceit Yahweh abhors.
7 But as for me,[j] through the abundance of your steadfast love[k]
I will enter your house.[l]
I will bow down[m] toward your holy temple[n] in awe of you.
8 O Yahweh, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies;
make straight before me your way.
9 For there is not anything reliable in his mouth;
their inner part is destruction.[o]
Their throat is an open grave;
with their tongue they speak deceit.[p]
10 Treat them as guilty, O God;
let them fall because of their plans.
Because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take shelter in you rejoice.
Let them ever[q] sing for joy,
because[r] you spread protection over them;
And let those[s] who love your name exult in you.
12 For you bless the righteous.
O Yahweh, like a[t] shield you surround him with good favor.
An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance
For the music director; with stringed instruments, on the Sheminith.[u]
A psalm of David.[v]
6 O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger,
and do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, because I am feeble.
Heal me, O Yahweh, for my bones are terrified.
3 My soul is also very terrified.
But you, O Yahweh, how long?
4 Turn, O Yahweh; deliver my life.[w]
Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.[x]
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death.
In Sheol, who will give thanks to you?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
I flood[y] my bed every night.
With my tears I drench[z] my couch.
7 My eye wastes away because of vexation;
it grows old because of all my oppressors.
8 Depart from me, all workers of evil,
for Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.
9 Yahweh has heard my plea;
Yahweh has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and shall be very terrified.
They shall turn back; they shall suddenly be ashamed.
A Prayer for God to Throw down the Wicked
10 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide[a] during times of distress?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecutes[b] the poor.
Let them be caught in the schemes that they devised,
3 for the wicked boasts about the desire of his heart,[c]
and the one greedy for gain curses and treats Yahweh with contempt.
4 With bald-faced pride[d] the wicked will not seek God.
There is no God in any of his thoughts.
5 His ways[e] endure at all times.[f]
Your judgments are aloof from him.
As for all his enemies, he scoffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved
throughout all generations,[g] during which I will have no trouble.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing,
with deceits and oppression;
under his tongue are trouble and evil.
8 He sits in ambush in villages;
in the hiding places he kills the innocent.
His eyes lurk[h] for the helpless.
9 He lies in ambush secretly,[i] like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to seize the poor;
he seizes the poor by catching him in his net.
10 He is crushed;[j] he is bowed down;[k]
so[l] the helpless host[m] falls by his might.[n]
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He never sees.”
12 Rise up, O Yahweh;
O God, lift up your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked treat God with contempt?
He says in his heart, “You will not call me to account.”
14 But you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief
to take it into your hand.
The helpless abandons himself upon you;
you have been the helper for the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked,
and as for the evil man—
seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16 Yahweh is king forever and ever;
the nations have perished from his land.
17 The longing of the afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh.
You will make their heart secure. You will listen attentively[o]
18 to render judgment for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that a mere mortal from the earth will no longer cause terror.
Confidence in Yahweh’s Righteousness
For the music director. Of David.[p]
11 In Yahweh I have taken refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee to your mountain like a bird”?
2 For look: The wicked string the bow.[q]
They have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot from the darkness
at the upright of heart.
3 When the foundations are destroyed
what can the righteous do?[r]
4 Yahweh is in his holy temple;
Yahweh is in the heavens on his throne.
His eyelids see;
they test the children of humankind.
5 Yahweh tests the righteous,
but the wicked and the lover of violence
his soul hates.
6 He will rain coals[s] on the wicked.
Burning sulfur and scorching wind
will be the portion of their cup.
7 For Yahweh is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds.
The upright shall see his face.
38 Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites went down, and they let Solomon ride on the mule of King David, and they brought him to Gihon. 39 Then Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent, and he anointed Solomon. They blew on the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live King Solomon!” 40 All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on the flutes and rejoicing with great joy, and the earth shook with their noise.
Adonijah’s Response to the Coronation of Solomon
41 And Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with him heard it. Now they were finished eating when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet and said, “Why is there such a noise in the city?”[a] 42 While he was still speaking, suddenly Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Adonijah said, “Come, for you are a man of valor, and you bring good news.” 43 Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “But our lord King David has made Solomon king! 44 He sent Zadok the priest with the king, and Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites, and the Pelethites; they made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed him as king at Gihon, and they have gone up from there rejoicing. The city has gone wild; this is the sound which you heard. 46 And also, Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom! 47 The servants of the king also came to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘Your God has made the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ So the king worshiped on the bed. 48 What is more, the king said, ‘May Yahweh the God of Israel be blessed, who has given this day one sitting on my throne, and my eyes are seeing it!’”
49 Then all the invited guests who were for Adonijah trembled and got up and went, each on his way. 50 Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon, and he got up and went and grasped the horns of the altar. 51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, and he has grasped the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first[b] that he will surely not kill his servant with the sword!’” 52 Solomon said, “If he is a son of noble character, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, but if evil is found in him, then he will die.” 53 Then King Solomon sent and brought him down from upon the altar. He came and did obeisance to King Solomon. Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
David’s Instructions for Solomon
2 The days of David came near for him to die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the world. Be strong and be courageous.[c] 3 You shall keep the charge of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments, and his testimonies, as are written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and everywhere you turn, 4 so that Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed of their way, to walk before me in faithfulness, with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.’”
24 And as[a] he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Your[b] great learning is driving[c] you insane!”[d] 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking words of truth and rationality. 26 For the king knows about these things, to whom also I am speaking freely, for I am not convinced that these things in any way have escaped[e] his notice, because this was[f] not done[g] in a corner. 27 Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.” 28 But Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?”[h] 29 And Paul replied, “I pray to God, whether in a short time or in a long time, not only you but also all those who are listening to me today may become such people as I also am, except for these bonds!”
30 Both the king and the governor got up, and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And as they[i] were going out, they were talking to one another, saying, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Paul and His Associates Sail for Rome
27 And when it was decided that we would sail away to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named[j] Julius of the Augustan[k] Cohort. 2 And we went aboard a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to the places along the coast[l] of Asia[m] and[n] put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. 3 And on the next day, we put in at Sidon. And Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him[o] to go to his[p] friends to be cared for.[q] 4 And from there we put out to sea and[r] sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.[s] 5 And after we[t] had sailed across the open sea along Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. 6 And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and[u] put us on board[v] it. 7 And sailing slowly, in many days and with difficulty we came[w] to Cnidus. Because[x] the wind did not permit us to go further, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 And sailing along its coast with difficulty, we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near which was the town of Lasea.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its[a] leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also you, when you see these things happening, know[b] that he is near, at the door. 30 Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Unknown Day and Hour
32 “But concerning that day or hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven nor the Son—except the Father. 33 Watch out! Be alert, because you do not know when the time is! 34 It is like a man away on a journey, who left his house and gave his slaves authority—to each one his work—and to the doorkeeper he gave orders that he should be on the alert. 35 Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or early in the morning— 36 lest he arrive suddenly and[c] find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be on the alert!”
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