Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
72 O God, make the king right in what he decides. Make the king’s son right with You. 2 May he be right when he decides who is right and who is wrong and may he be fair to the poor. 3 Let mountains and hills bring peace to the people through what is right and good. 4 May he stand by those who are poor, save the children of those in need, and destroy the bad power over them.
5 May all the children-to-come fear You as long as the sun and the moon last. 6 May He come down like rain upon the cut grass, like rain that waters the earth. 7 In His days may all go well with those who are right and good. And may there be much peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. 9 Those who live in the desert will put their faces to the ground before Him. And those who hate Him will kiss the dust. 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring gifts. Let the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. 11 Yes, let all kings fall down at His feet, and all nations serve Him.
12 For He will take out of trouble the one in need when he cries for help, and the poor man who has no one to help. 13 He will have loving-pity on the weak and those in need. He will save the lives of those in need. 14 He will take them from the bad power that is held over them and from being hurt. Their blood will be of much worth in His eyes. 15 He will live, and the gold of Sheba will be given to Him. Prayer will be given for Him all the time. Let them honor Him all day long.
16 May there be much grain in the land on top of the mountains. May its fruit grow like the trees of Lebanon. And may those of the city grow like the grass of the earth. 17 May His name last forever. May His name become bigger as long as the sun shines. And let men respect themselves through Him. Let all nations honor Him.
18 Honor and thanks be to the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does great things. 19 And honor be to His great name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His shining-greatness. Let it be so.
20 The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.
73 Your hands made me and put me together. Give me understanding to learn Your Law. 74 May those who fear You see me and be glad, for I have put my hope in Your Word. 75 O Lord, I know that what You decide is right and good. You punish me because You are faithful. 76 May Your loving-kindness comfort me because of Your promise to Your servant. 77 Let Your loving-pity come to me so I may live. For Your Law is my joy. 78 May the proud be ashamed, because they do wrong to me for no reason, but I will think about Your Law. 79 May those who fear You and those who know Your Law turn to me. 80 Let my heart be without blame in Your Law. Do not let me be put to shame.
81 My soul becomes weak with desire for Your saving power, but I have put my hope in Your Word. 82 My eyes become weak with desire for Your Word. I say, “When will You comfort me?” 83 I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, but I do not forget Your Law. 84 How long must Your servant wait? When will You punish those who make it hard for me? 85 The proud have dug deep holes for me. They do not obey Your Law. 86 All of Your Word is faithful. Help me! For they have made it hard for me with a lie. 87 They almost destroyed me on the earth, but I did not turn away from Your Law. 88 Give me life again by Your loving-kindness, and I will keep the Word of Your mouth.
89 Forever, O Lord, Your Word will never change in heaven. 90 You are faithful to all people for all time. You have made the earth, and it stands. 91 They stand today by Your Law, for all things serve You. 92 I would have been lost in my troubles if Your Law had not been my joy. 93 I will never forget Your Word for by it You have given me new life. 94 I am Yours. Save me, for I have looked to Your Law. 95 The sinful wait to destroy me, but I will think about Your Word. 96 I have seen that all things have an end, even if they are perfect, but Your Word is without end.
The First Jar—Painful Sores
16 Then I heard a loud voice coming from the house of God. The voice said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven jars of God’s anger onto the earth!”
2 The first angel poured out his jar of God’s anger onto the earth. Painful sores were given to everyone who had the mark of the wild animal and who worshiped his god.
The Second Jar—Death in the Sea
3 The second angel poured out his jar of God’s anger onto the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.
The Third Jar—Water Turns to Blood
4 The third angel poured out his jar of God’s anger onto the rivers and places where water comes out of the earth. The water turned to blood. 5 I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are right in punishing by sending this trouble. You are the Holy One Who was and is and will be. 6 They have poured out the blood of God’s people and of the early preachers. You have given them blood to drink. They are getting the pay that is coming to them.” 7 I heard a voice from the altar saying, “Lord God, the All-powerful One! What You decide about people is right and true.”
The Fourth Jar—Burning Heat
8 The fourth angel poured out his jar of God’s anger onto the sun. It was allowed to burn men with its fire. 9 Men were burned with the heat of this fire and they called God bad names even when He had the power over these kinds of trouble. They were not sorry for their sins and did not turn from them and honor Him.
The Fifth Jar—Darkness
10 The fifth angel poured out his jar of God’s anger upon the throne of the wild animal. The whole nation of the wild animal was turned into darkness. Those who worshiped him bit their tongues because of the pain. 11 They called the God of heaven bad names because of their pain and their sores. They were not sorry for what they had done.
Jesus Heals on the Day of Rest
10 Jesus was teaching in one of the Jewish places of worship on the Day of Rest. 11 A woman was there who had suffered for eighteen years because of a demon. She was not able to stand up straight. 12 Jesus saw her and said, “Woman, you are now free from your trouble!” 13 Then He put His hand on her. At once she stood up straight and gave thanks to God.
14 The leader of the Jewish place of worship was angry because Jesus healed on the Day of Rest. The leader said to the people, “There are six days in which work should be done. Come on those days and get healed. Do not come to be healed on the Day of Rest.” 15 The Lord said to him, “You pretend to be someone you are not! Do not each of you let his cow or his donkey out and lead them to water on the Day of Rest? 16 Should not this Jewish woman be made free from this trouble on the Day of Rest? She has been chained by Satan for eighteen years.” 17 When He said this, all those who were against Him were ashamed. All the many people were glad for the great things being done by Him.
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