Book of Common Prayer
This psalm is for Solomon.
A prayer for the king[a]
72 God, please help the king
to judge people in a right way.
Help the king's son to be honest and fair,
as you are.[b]
2 Then he will rule your people in a good way,
so that even poor people receive justice.
3 The mountains and the hills will bring peace,
so that the people can live honest lives.
4 Please help the king to judge poor people fairly.
May he save the children of weak people,
and destroy those cruel people who hurt them.
5 May people always respect your authority, God,
through all time,
as long as the sun and the moon remain in the sky.[c]
6 May the king be a blessing to his people,
like rain that falls on grass that lies in the fields.
May he be like rain
that brings water to the soil.
7 While he rules as king,
those people who serve God will do well.
There will be peace in all the land,
for as long as the moon remains in the sky.
8 May the king rule everywhere,
from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates river to the ends of the earth.[d]
9 Then people who live in the desert
will bend down to respect him.
His enemies will fall down
with their faces in the dust.
10 Kings from Spain and from other far places
will pay taxes to him.
Kings from Sheba and from Seba
will bring gifts to him.
11 All kings will bend down in front of him.
People from all nations will serve him.
12 He will rescue the poor person
who calls out to him for help.
He will save weak people
who have nobody to help them.
13 He will be kind to people who are poor and weak.
He will save them from death.
14 He will rescue them from cruel people who hurt them.
Their lives are important to him.
15 Long live the king!
May people come from Sheba to give gold to him.
May people always pray for him.
May people praise him all the time.
16 May there always be plenty of grain
that grows in the land.
May the crops grow well
on the tops of the mountains.
May the fruit trees give a lot of fruit,
as they do in Lebanon.
May all the crops grow well,
like grass that grows in a field.
17 May the king be famous for ever!
May people remember him
for as long as the sun continues to shine.
May people from all nations use his name
when they bless one another.
May they all say that God has blessed the king!
18 Praise the Lord, Israel's God,
as he deserves.
Only he does such wonderful things.
19 Praise his great name for ever!
May his glory fill the whole earth!
Amen! May that all happen!
20 This is the end of the prayers of Jesse's son, David.[e]
YOD
73 You made me with your hands. You made me what I am.
Help me to understand things well,
so that I learn your commands.
74 People who respect you will be happy when they see me.
That is because I trust your word.
75 Lord, I know that your rules are good and fair.
When you sent trouble to me,
it was because you truly loved me.
76 Now, please use your faithful love
to comfort me.
That is what you promised to do for me, your servant.
77 Be kind to me so that I will live!
Your Law makes me really happy.
78 Proud men should be ashamed!
They have spoken lies against me.
79 Let the people who respect you come back to me.
Then they will learn to obey your rules.
80 Let me obey your commands completely.
Then I will not be ashamed.
KAPH
81 As I wait for you to save me,
I feel tired and weak.
I trust in your word.
82 As I wait for you to do what you have promised,
my eyes are too tired to stay open.
I ask, ‘When will you come to help me?’
83 I am like an old wineskin that has become useless.
But I have not forgotten your rules.
84 As your servant, help me to be patient.
Please punish the people who want to hurt me.
Please do it soon.
85 Proud people want to catch me in their traps.
That is against your Law!
86 I know that I can trust all your commands,
but people still give me trouble with their lies.
Quickly, help me!
87 People here on earth have almost destroyed me,
but I continue to obey your teaching.
88 Please use your faithful love to keep me alive.
Then I can continue to obey the rules that you have taught me.
LAMED
89 Lord, your teaching will always be there.
You keep it safe in heaven.
90 You continue to show that people can trust you,
from one century to the next.
You have fixed the earth in its place,
and it will remain.
91 It is by your command that all things continue.
You have put them there to serve you.
92 If your Law had not made me happy,
I would have been sad until I died.
93 I will never forget your rules,
because you have used them to give me life.
94 I belong to you. Please save me!
I have respected your rules.
95 Wicked people are ready to kill me,
but I think carefully about your teaching.
96 I have learned that all things will come to an end,
but your commands have no end.
Other rules
19 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to Israel's people. They must be holy because I am holy. You must tell them that.
3 Each person must respect his mother and his father. All the people must keep the Sabbath as a day of rest. I am the Lord your God.
4 You must not worship idols. You must not use metal to make gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.
5 When a person sacrifices a friendship offering to the Lord, he must obey the rules. If he does, the Lord will accept the gift. 6 The people must eat the meat on the day that the person offers it. Or they must eat it on the next day. The person must burn any meat that he has not eaten after the second day. 7 On the third day, the meat is not clean. 8 If he eats the meat on the third day he makes unclean a gift that is holy to the Lord. You must send him away from the camp.
9 When a person cuts the plants in his field, he must not cut to the edge of the field. He must not pick up what he drops. 10 If a person grows fruit to make wine, he must not pick all the fruit. He must not pick up the fruit that drops. The fruit that drops is for the poor people. And it is for those who are foreign. I am the Lord your God.
11 You must not take something that belongs to another person. You must not say something that is not true. You must obey my rules.
12 You must not use the name of your God to say a promise. This will make my name unclean. I am the Lord.
13 You must not rob another person. You must not keep a slave's money until the morning.
14 You must not speak bad words against a person who is deaf. You must not put something in front of a blind person, to make them fall down. I am the Lord. Obey me.
15 You must be fair to other people when you judge them. You must not be more kind to a rich person than to a poor person. You must be fair to everyone.
16 You must not speak bad words about other people. If somebody is in danger of death, do not keep quiet if you know the truth. I am the Lord.
17 You must not think bad thoughts about another person. A person may do something that is wrong. You must tell him that he is doing a wrong thing. If you do, you will not be a part of the wrong thing.
18 You must not try to punish a person who has done something wrong against you. You must not continue to hate a person like that. Instead, you must love other people as much you love yourself. I am the Lord.
Paul finishes his letter
12 Our friends, we ask you to respect your leaders who work hard among you. They lead you and they teach you what is right on the Lord's behalf. 13 Show them how valuable they are to you. And love them very much because of the work that they do. Live at peace among yourselves.
14 Friends, you must warn lazy people that they should work.[a] If people are afraid, help them to be brave. If people are weak, take care of them. Be patient with everyone.
15 If someone does something bad against you, do not do anything bad against them in return. Never do that. Instead, always try to do good things that will help one other and help everyone else.
16 Always be happy. 17 Pray at all times. 18 Whatever may happen to you, continue to thank God. God wants you to do that, because you belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stop the work of God's Spirit. 20 When people speak messages on God's behalf, do not refuse to listen. 21 Instead, think carefully about everything, to see if it is true. Remember to obey anything that is good. 22 But keep away from any kind of bad thing.
23 I pray that God will help you to be completely good, as his people should be. He is the one who gives us peace in our minds. I pray that he will take care of you in every way, in your spirit, in your soul and in your body. Then you will not be guilty of anything that is bad, when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 24 God has chosen you to be his people. We can trust him to do what he has promised to do. So he will do all this for you.
25 Our Christian friends, please pray for us. 26 Say ‘hello’ to all the believers on our behalf, and kiss them as Christian brothers and sisters.
27 I tell you very seriously on the Lord's behalf, please read this letter to all the believers there. 28 I pray that our Lord Jesus Christ will continue to be very kind to you.
19 Do not want to have many valuable things here in the world. Insects or water can destroy those kinds of things. Or people may come into your house and they can rob you of those things. 20 Instead, you should want to have valuable things in heaven. Insects and water cannot destroy anything there. Men cannot rob you of your things there. 21 Then you will be thinking a lot about heaven, because that is where you keep your valuable things.[a]
22 Your eyes are like lamps and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light. 23 If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you has become dark, you will be living in a very dark place.’[b]
24 Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.
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