Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72[a]
The Kingdom of the Messiah
1 Of Solomon.
O God, endow the king with your judgment,
the son of kings with your righteousness.
2 [b]He will govern your people fairly
and deal justly with your poor ones.
3 The mountains will yield peace for the people,
and the hills, righteousness.
4 He will defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor,
and overwhelm the oppressor.
5 He will reign as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 He will descend like rain on the meadow,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Justice will reign in his days,
and peace will abound
until the moon is no more.
8 His rule will extend from sea to sea,[c]
and from the river to the ends of the earth.
9 His foes[d] will bow down before him,
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish[e] and the Islands
will offer him tribute;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him with gifts.
11 All kings will pay him homage,
and all nations will serve him.
12 For he will save the poor who cry out
and the needy who have no one to help them.
13 He will have pity on the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will free them from oppression and violence,
for their blood is precious in his sight.
15 [f]Long may he live!
May the gold of Sheba be given to him.
May people pray for him unceasingly
and invoke blessings[g] on him all day long.
16 May grain abound throughout the land,
even growing abundantly on the mountain tops.
May its crops[h] be as plenteous as those of Lebanon,
and may its people flourish like the grass of the field.
17 May his name[i] be blessed forever;
may it endure as long as the sun.
May all peoples be blessed in him;
may all the nations proclaim his greatness.
18 [j]Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone can perform such wondrous deeds.
19 May his glorious name be blessed forever,
and may the whole world be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
20 The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.[k]
73 [a]Your hands have created and formed me;[b]
grant me understanding so that I may learn your precepts.
74 Those who fear you will rejoice when they see me
because I place my hope in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your judgments are righteous
and in your fidelity you have humbled me.
76 May your kindness[c] bring consolation to me
as you have promised your servant.
77 Grant me your compassion so that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
78 May the arrogant[d] who oppress me without cause be put to shame;
I will meditate on your commands.
79 May those turn to me who fear you,
those who understand your statutes.
80 May my heart[e] be without blame toward your decrees
so that I may not be put to shame.
Kaph
81 [f]My soul[g] pines for your salvation without ceasing;
I place my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail,[h] looking for your word,
and I cry out, “When will you comfort me?”
83 I am shriveled like a smoke-filled wineskin,[i]
but I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?[j]
When will you pass judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant[k] dig pits to entrap me,
which is not in keeping with your law.
86 All of your precepts are true;
come to my aid, for I am persecuted unjustly.
87 My enemies almost took away my life,
but I have not forsaken your commands.
88 In your kindness[l] spare my life,
and I will obey the statutes of your mouth.
Lamedh
89 [m]Your word, O Lord, is everlasting;
it is firmly fixed in the heavens.[n]
90 Your faithfulness lasts through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.
91 By your judgments all creatures continue to exist,
for they are all your servants.
92 [o]If your law had not been my delight,
I would have already perished in my misery.
93 Never will I forget your commands,
for through them you have given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
for I seek your commandments.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I continue to ponder your decrees.
96 I have seen that every perfection is limited,
but your precept is unlimited.[p]
Mem
11 Destiny and Life. Another thing I have observed here under the sun:
The race is not won by the swift,
nor the battle by the brave.
Food does not belong to the wise,
nor wealth to the intelligent,
nor success to the skillful.
Rather, time and chance govern all alike.
12 For no one is able to anticipate the time of disaster:
Like fish caught in a treacherous net,
and like birds caught in a snare,
so people are trapped
when misfortune suddenly falls upon them.
13 War and Peace.[a] I have also seen the following example of wisdom under the sun, and I find it of great significance.
14 There was a small town with very few inhabitants. A great king advanced against it and surrounded it while building great siege-works. 15 In the town there lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and by his wisdom he delivered the town. Yet no one remembered this poor man afterward. 16 Therefore, I said, “Wisdom is better than power.” Yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words go unheeded.
A Wise Man in the City of Fools[b]
17 The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded
than the shouts of a ruler of fools.
18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one mistake can undo a great deal of good.
There Is No Freedom Except in Christ[a]
Chapter 5
Faith Expressing Itself through Love. 1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm and refuse to submit again to the yoke of slavery.
2 Listen to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you. 3 Once again, I testify that every man who accepts circumcision is under obligation to observe the entire Law. 4 Those of you who seek to be justified by the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from grace. 5 For it is through the Spirit and by faith that we eagerly hope to attain righteousness, 6 since in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor lack of circumcision is worth anything. All that matters is faith expressing itself through love.
Against Being Misled. 7 You were running a good race. Who kept you from obeying the truth? 8 This change did not come from the one who called you. 9 A little yeast leavens the entire batch of dough. 10 I am confident of you in the Lord that none of you will think differently, and that anyone who is trying to confuse you will be condemned, no matter who it is.
11 As for me, brethren, if I were still advocating circumcision,[b] why would I continue to be persecuted? If I were doing that, the cross would no longer be a stumbling block. 12 I wish that those who are confusing you would even castrate themselves!
13 Proper Use of Freedom. Brethren, you were called to freedom. However, make sure that you do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Instead, serve one another in love. 14 For the entire Law can be summed up[c] in a single commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you continue biting and tearing one another to pieces, at least be on your guard lest you be consumed by one another.
Chapter 16
The Demand for a Sign.[a] 1 The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to put him to the test they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘Tomorrow there will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning you say, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous[b] generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.[c] 5 In crossing to the other side of the lake, the disciples had forgotten to bring bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Be careful, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 They talked about this among themselves and concluded: “It is because we brought no bread.”
8 Aware of what they were saying, Jesus said, “O you of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and the number of baskets you collected? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How could you fail to see that I was not speaking about bread when I said, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees’?” 12 Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast used in bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
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