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
Chapter 22
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab. 1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 But in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead belongs to us? We have kept quiet and have not taken it out of the hands of the king of Aram.” 4 He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to Ramoth-gilead to fight with me?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am yours, and my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”
5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire today concerning the word of the Lord.” 6 [a]The king of Israel gathered together the prophets, four hundred of them, and he said to them, “Shall I go up to fight at Ramoth-gilead or shall I desist?” They answered, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into your hands.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not another prophet of the Lord from whom we can inquire?” 8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good things for me, only evil. He is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say this.” 9 The king of Israel summoned an officer and said to him, “Rush over to Micaiah, the son of Imlah.”
10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were sitting upon their thrones, wearing their robes, at a threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All of the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made some iron horns for himself and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘You will gore the Arameans[b] with these until they are consumed.’ ” 12 All the prophets prophesied in the same way, saying, “Go to Ramoth-gilead and triumph! The Lord will deliver it into the hands of the king.”
13 Micaiah Prophesies Doom. The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets are consistently favorable to the king. Let your pronouncement be like their words and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I will only say what the Lord says to me.”
15 When he arrived before the king and the king said to Micaiah, “Shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead or shall we desist,” he answered, “Go and triumph, for the Lord will deliver it into the hands of the king.” 16 But the king said to him, “How many times do I have to warn you not to tell me anything in the name of the Lord other than what is true.” 17 So he said, “I saw all of Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master, let them return to their homes in peace.’ ”[c]
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he will not prophesy what is good for me, only what is evil?”
19 He said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, with all of the hosts of heaven standing on his right and his left. 20 The Lord said, ‘Who will convince Ahab to go up to Ramoth-gilead so that he might fall?’ One said one thing, another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forth and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will convince him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and put a lying spirit in the mouths of all of his prophets.’ He said, ‘You must convince him too, and you will succeed. Go and do it.’ 23 Now therefore, the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouths of all of these prophets. The Lord has spoken evil concerning you.”
24 Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. He said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord depart from me to speak to you?” 25 Micaiah answered, “Behold, the day will come when you will enter an inner chamber to hide yourself.”
26 The king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the city leader, and to Joash, the king’s son 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this man in prison and feed him with punishment rations of bread and give him punishment rations of water to drink until I return in safety.’ ” 28 Micaiah said, “If you return in safety, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” He also added, “Listen, all you people!”
Chapter 2
Jesus Christ—and Him Crucified. 1 When I came to you, brethren, I did not proclaim to you the mystery of God[a] with words of eloquence or wisdom. 2 For I resolved that, while I was with you, I would know nothing except Jesus Christ—and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in great trepidation. 4 My message and my proclamation were not made with persuasive words of wisdom, but in a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,[b] 5 so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
The Mysterious Wisdom of God
The Plan of God, True Wisdom. 6 However, to those who are mature, we do speak of wisdom, although not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age[c] whose end is not far distant. 7 Rather, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age comprehended it. If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.[d] 9 For as it is written,
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard,
nor has the human heart imagined
what God has prepared for those who love him.”
10 The Spirit Enables Faith To Mature. However, God has revealed these things to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit explores everything, even the depths of God. 11 And just as no human being comprehends any person’s innermost being except the person’s own spirit within him, so also no one comprehends what pertains to God except the Spirit of God.
12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed upon us by God. 13 And we speak of these things in words taught to us not by human wisdom but by the Spirit, expressing spiritual things in spiritual words.[e]
18 Jesus Calls the First Disciples.[a] As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the water, for they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately, they abandoned their nets and followed him.
21 As he proceeded farther, he saw two more brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately, they left their boat and their father and followed him.
23 Jesus Proclaims the Message and Heals the Sick.[b] Jesus traveled all throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every type of disease and illness among the people. 24 His reputation spread throughout Syria,[c] and they brought to him all those who were sick, afflicted with various diseases, racked with pain, or possessed by demons, as well as those who were stricken with epilepsy or paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Great throngs from Galilee, the Decapolis,[d] Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan, followed him.
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