Book of Common Prayer
33 [a]He turns rivers into wasteland,
springs of water into parched ground,[b]
34 and fertile land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who live there.[c]
35 He turns the wasteland into pools of water
and the parched ground into bubbling springs.
36 [d]There he provides the hungry with a home,
and they build a city where they can settle.
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield crops for the harvest.
38 He blesses them and they greatly increase in number,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39 Eventually their numbers diminish and they are humbled
because of oppression, adversity, and affliction;
40 he who pours forth his contempt on princes
makes them wander in trackless wastes,
41 while he raises the needy from their misery
and increases their families like flocks.
42 The upright see and exult,
while the wicked[e] are reduced to silence.
43 Let whoever is wise reflect on these things
and understand the merciful love of the Lord.[f]
Psalm 108[g]
Prayer for Divine Assistance against Enemies
1 A song. A psalm of David.
2 [h]My heart[i] is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and chant your praise;
awake, my soul!
3 Awake, lyre and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.[j]
4 [k]I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord;
I will sing your praises among the nations.
5 For your kindness extends above the heavens;
your faithfulness, to the skies.
6 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
and let your glory shine over all the earth.
7 [l]With your right hand come to our aid
so that those you love may be delivered.
8 [m]God has promised from his sanctuary,
“In triumph I will apportion Shechem
and measure out the Valley of Succoth.
9 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,[n]
Judah is my scepter.
10 Moab is my washbasin;[o]
upon Edom I will plant my sandal;
over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
11 Who will lead me into the fortified city?[p]
Who will guide me into Edom?
12 [q]Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us
and no longer go forth with our armies?
13 Grant us your help against our enemies,
for any human assistance is worthless.
Psalm 33[a]
Praise of God’s Providence
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Give thanks to the Lord on the harp;
offer praise to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;[b]
play skillfully on the strings with joyful shouts.
4 [c]For the word of the Lord is true,
and he is faithful in everything he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is filled with his kindness.
6 The heavens were made by the word[d] of the Lord,
and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as in a bowl;[e]
he places the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world revere him.[f]
9 [g]For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord thwarts the plans of nations
and frustrates the designs of peoples.
11 But the plan of the Lord remains forever,
the designs of his heart for all generations.
12 [h]Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.[i]
13 [j]The Lord gazes down from heaven
and beholds the entire human race.
14 From his royal throne
he watches all who dwell on the earth.
15 He who has fashioned the hearts of them all
observes everything they do.
16 A king is not saved by a large army,
nor is a warrior delivered by great strength.
17 A horse offers false hope for victory;
despite its power it cannot save.
18 [k]But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those who trust in his kindness,
19 to deliver them from death
and to preserve their lives in time of famine.
20 [l]Our soul waits in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 Our hearts rejoice in him
because we trust in his holy name.
22 O Lord, let your kindness rest upon us,
for we have placed our hope in you.
Chapter 16
David and Ziba. 1 When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, he was met by Ziba, the servant of Meribbaal. Ziba had with him a pair of saddled donkeys laden with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred bunches of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruits, and one skin of wine. 2 The king said to Ziba: “What are you planning to do with these?” Ziba replied: “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the bread and the fruit are for the soldiers to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who fall exhausted in the desert.”
3 The king then asked: “And where is your master’s son?” Ziba replied: “He is staying in Jerusalem, for he said: ‘Today the house of Israel will restore to me my father’s kingdom.’ ” 4 Therefore, the king said to Ziba: “Everything that belonged to Meribbaal is yours.” Then Ziba replied: “I humbly pay you homage, my lord the king. May I always be considered to be worthy of being granted your favor.”
David and Shimei. 5 As King David was nearing Horonaim, he was approached by a man of the family of Saul. His name was Shimei, the son of Gera, and he was cursing as he drew near. 6 He threw stones at David and his servants, as well as at all the people and the soldiers on his right and on his left.
7 As he cursed, Shimei shouted: “Get out, get out, you murderous scoundrel! 8 The Lord has repaid all of you for the blood of the house of Saul whose sovereignty you have stolen, and the Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom. Now your wickedness has caught up with you, for you are a man of blood.”
9 Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, said to the king: “Why should this dead dog be allowed to curse my lord the king? Let me go over and behead him.” 10 However, the king said: “What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord told him: ‘Curse David,’ who will then dare to say: ‘Why have you done so?’ ”
11 Then David said to Abishai and all his servants: “If my own son who was conceived from my loins is now seeking my life, how much more understandable is it that this Benjaminite is prepared to do so! Let him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has instructed him to do so. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look upon my wretched condition and grant me a blessing to repay me for the curses that I have been forced to endure this day.”
13 Therefore, David and his men resumed their journey, while Shimei kept abreast of him on the opposite hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones and flinging dust at him. 14 When the king and all the people with him reached the Jordan, they stopped there to rest, for they were exhausted.
15 Absalom’s Counselors.[a] Meanwhile Absalom and all of the Israelites entered Jerusalem, and accompanying him was Ahithophel. 16 Then Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, approached Absalom and said to him: “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Then Absalom asked Hushai: “Is this the way you show loyalty to your friend?” 18 Hushai replied to Absalom: “I intend to follow the man whom the Lord and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, and I will remain with him. 19 Besides, whom should I serve if not his son? Just as I served your father, so will I serve you.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel: “Give us your counsel on what you think we should do.” 21 Ahithophel replied to Absalom: “Go to your father’s concubines whom he left behind to take care of the palace and have relations with them. As a result, all Israel will hear that you have greatly antagonized your father, and the courage of all your supporters will be strengthened.” 22 Therefore, a tent was pitched for Absalom upon the roof, and in the sight of all Israel Absalom lay with his father’s concubines.
23 Counsel of Ahithophel. Now in those days the counsel offered by Ahithophel was regarded as counsel presented by God himself. And that was how the counsel of Ahithophel was regarded by both David and Absalom.
17 “After I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw Jesus there. ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem at once,’ he said, ‘because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in every synagogue I used to imprison and scourge those who believe in you. 20 And while the blood of your martyr Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by, giving my approval and guarding the coats of his murderers.’ 21 Then he said to me, ‘Go! I am sending you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
22 Paul Claims His Roman Citizenship.[a] Up to this point, the crowd had listened to him, but then they raised their voices and began to shout, “Rid the earth of this man! He should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks and gave instructions that he be interrogated while being scourged to discover the reason for this outcry against him.
25 But when they had stretched him out and bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing nearby, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and who has not been condemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 Then the commander came to him and inquired, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he answered, “Yes.” 28 The commander responded, “It cost me a great deal of money to acquire this citizenship.” Paul replied, “But I was born a citizen.” 29 Then those who were about to interrogate him withdrew hurriedly, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had put him in chains.
Jesus at Jerusalem—The Break with Judaism[a]
Chapter 11
The Entry into Jerusalem.[b] 1 When they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent off two of his disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village directly ahead of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find tied there a colt on which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say: ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back immediately.’ ”
4 The two went off and found a colt tied beside a door outside on the street. As they were untying it, 5 some of them said to them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They answered as Jesus had instructed them, and they allowed them to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and spread their cloaks on its back. And he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed kept crying out:
“Hosanna![c]
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David.
Hosanna in the highest heavens!”
11 He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple, where he looked around at everything. Then, since the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
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