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
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you shall live, for I fear God! 19 If you are honest, then leave one of your brothers in prison and go to bring the grain to ease the hunger of your household. 20 Then bring me your youngest brother. In this way, your words will be seen to be true and you will not die.” They agreed.
21 They said among themselves, “Surely this terrible thing has come upon us because of our brother. We saw his torment when he begged us, and we did not listen to him. That is why this trouble has come upon us.”
22 Reuben spoke to them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you refused to listen. Now we will pay for his blood.” 23 They did not know that Joseph understood them because he was using an interpreter.
24 He walked away from them and cried. Then he returned and spoke with them. He selected Simeon and had him placed in chains while they were watching.
25 The Sons of Jacob Return to Canaan.[a] Joseph gave orders that their sacks be filled with grain, and that each one’s money be placed in his sack, and that they be given provisions for their journey. This was done for them. 26 Then they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.
27 At their night encampment, one of them opened his sack to take out forage for his donkey and saw his money lying at the mouth of the sack. 28 He told his brothers, “My money has been returned to me. Look, it was in my sack.”
Their hearts sank, and they began to shake, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”
9 In my letter, I wrote to you not to associate with people who are leading immoral lives.[a] 10 Obviously, I was not referring to contact with people in the world who are immoral or with those who are greedy or thieves or worshipers of false gods, since to do this you would have to leave the world. 11 What I really meant to get across was that you should not associate with any brother or sister who is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunkard or a robber. You should not even eat with such a person.
12 It is no concern of mine to judge those who are outside the fold.[b] It is your responsibility to judge those who are inside. 13 God will pass judgment on the outsiders. Banish the evil person from your midst.
Chapter 6
Avoid Lawsuits against Each Other.[c] 1 If any of you has a dispute with another, how can you seek judgment before those who are unrighteous[d] instead of before the saints? 2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, how can you consider yourselves as incompetent to deal with smaller cases? 3 Do you not realize that we are to judge angels?[e] Why then should we not deal with matters of this life?
4 Therefore, if you have such matters to resolve, how can you seek judgment from those who have no standing in the Church? 5 I write this to make you ashamed. Is it really possible that there is no one among you who is wise enough to mediate a dispute between brethren? 6 Why should a brother go to court against another brother, seeking a decision from unbelievers?
7 In truth, the very fact that you engage in lawsuits with one another is a misfortune for you. Why not prefer to be wronged? Why not prefer to be defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourself are guilty of wronging and defrauding your own brethren.
Chapter 4
The Parables—A Veiled Language[a]
The Parable of the Sower. 1 On another occasion he began to teach by the side of the lake. However, such a large crowd gathered that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while the whole crowd gathered on the shore facing the lake. 2 Then he taught them many things in parables.
In the course of his teaching, he said to them: 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. It sprouted quickly, since the soil had no depth, 6 but when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it lacked roots, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. 8 But some seed fell onto rich soil and brought forth grain, increasing and yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.” 9 He then added, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
10 The Reason for Parables. When he was alone, the Twelve and his other companions asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “To you has been granted knowledge of the mysteries[b] of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, everything comes in parables, 12 so that
‘they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but fail to understand,
lest they be converted and be forgiven.’ ”[c]
13 The Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.[d] He went on to say to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then are you to understand any of the parables? 14 What the sower is sowing is the word.
15 “Some people are like seed that falls along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan immediately comes and carries off the word that has been sown in them.
16 “Others are like the seed sown on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the word they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no deep root and they endure for only a short time. When some trial or tribulation arises on account of the word, they immediately fall away.
18 “Those sown among thorns are the ones who hear the word, 19 but worldly cares, the lure of riches, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.
20 “But those sown in rich soil are those who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit and yield thirty or sixty or a hundred times what was sown.”
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