Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king [knowledge of] Your judgments, O God,
And [the spirit of] Your righteousness to the king’s son [to guide all his ways].
2
May he judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your afflicted with justice.(A)
3
The mountains will bring peace and prosperity to the people,
And the hills, in [the establishment of] righteousness.
4
May he bring justice to the poor among the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor,
5
Let them fear You [with awe-inspired reverence and worship You with obedience] while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon [reflects light], throughout all generations.
6
May he come down like rain on the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And peace abound until the moon is no more.(B)
8
May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.(C)
9
The nomads of the desert will bow before him,
And his enemies will [a]lick the dust.
10
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings;
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11
Yes, all kings will bow down before him,
All nations will serve him.(D)
12
For he will rescue the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted and abused also, and him who has no helper.
13
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the lives of the needy.
14
He will redeem their life from oppression and fraud and violence,
And their blood will be precious in His sight.
15
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless and praise him all day long.
16
There will be an abundance of grain in the soil on the top of the [b]mountains;
Its fruit will wave like [the cedars of] Lebanon,
And those of the city will flourish like grass of the earth.
17
May his name endure forever;
May his name continue as long as the sun;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.
18
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone does wonderful things.
19
Blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Yodh.
73
Your hands have made me and established me;
Give me understanding and a teachable heart, that I may learn Your commandments.
74
May those who [reverently] fear You see me and be glad,
Because I wait for Your word.
75
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are fair,
And that in faithfulness You have disciplined me.(A)
76
O may Your lovingkindness and graciousness comfort me,
According to Your word (promise) to Your servant.
77
Let Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my delight.
78
Let the arrogant be ashamed and humiliated, for they sabotage me with a lie;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
79
May those who fear You [with submissive wonder] turn to me,
Even those who have known Your testimonies.
80
May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not be ashamed.
Kaph.
81
My soul languishes and grows weak for Your salvation;
I wait for Your word.
82
My eyes fail [with longing, watching] for [the fulfillment of] Your promise,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
83
For I have become like a wineskin [blackened and shriveled] in the smoke [in which it hangs],
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
84
How many are the days of Your servant [which he must endure]?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?(B)
85
The arrogant (godless) have dug pits for me,
Men who do not conform to Your law.
86
All Your commandments are faithful and trustworthy.
They have persecuted me with a lie; help me [Lord]!
87
They had almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I did not [a]turn away from Your precepts.
88
According to Your steadfast love refresh me and give me life,
So that I may keep and obey the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh.
89
Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].(C)
90
Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation;
You have established the earth, and it stands [securely].
91
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all things [all parts of the universe] are Your servants.(D)
92
If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.
93
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.
94
I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need].(E)
95
The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.
96
I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble];
Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].(F)
22 Then the servants of David came with Joab from a raid and brought a great quantity of spoil with them; but Abner was not with David at Hebron, because David had sent him away, and he had gone in peace. 23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, “Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.” 24 Then Joab came to the king and said, “What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why did you send him away, so that he is already gone? 25 You know Abner the son of Ner, that he [only] came to deceive you [with flattering words] and to learn of your going out and coming in, and to find out what you are doing.”
Joab Murders Abner
26 When Joab left David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David knew nothing [about Joab’s action]. 27 So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside to the middle of the gate to speak to him privately, and there he struck Abner in the abdomen so that he died, [a]to avenge the blood of Asahel, Joab’s brother. 28 Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 29 Let [b]the guilt fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house (family); and may there never disappear from the house of Joab one who suffers with a discharge or one who is a leper or one who walks with a crutch [being unfit for war], or one who falls by the sword, or one who lacks food.” 30 So Joab and Abishai his brother murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.
David Mourns Abner
31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king sang a dirge (funeral song) over Abner and said,
“Should Abner [the great warrior] die as a fool dies?
34
“Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;
As a man falls before the wicked, so you have fallen.”
And all the people wept again over him. 35 All the people came to urge David to eat food while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets.” 36 And all the people took notice of it and it [c]pleased them, just as everything that the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel? 39 Today I am weak, though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer [Joab] in accordance with his wickedness!”
16 It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had [a]a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling. 17 She followed after Paul and us and kept screaming and shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” 18 She continued doing this for several days. Then Paul, being greatly annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit [inside her], “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ [as His representative] to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.
19 But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the market place [where trials were held], 20 and when they had brought them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, who are Jews, are throwing our city into confusion and causing trouble. 21 They are publicly teaching customs which are unlawful for us, as Romans, to accept or observe.”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
22 The crowd also joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and ordered that Paul and Silas be beaten with rods.(A) 23 After striking them many times [with the rods], they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely. 24 He, having received such a [strict] command, threw them into the inner prison (dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks [in an agonizing position].
47 Now when evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on the land. 48 Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.(A) 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror]; 50 for they all saw Him and were shaken and terrified. But He immediately spoke with them and said, “Take courage! It is I (I Am)! Stop being afraid.”(B) 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased [as if exhausted by its own activity]; and they were completely overwhelmed, 52 because they had not understood [the miracle of] the loaves [how it revealed the power and deity of Jesus]; but [in fact] their heart was hardened [being oblivious and indifferent to His amazing works].
Healing at Gennesaret
53 When they had crossed over [the sea], they reached the land of Gennesaret and anchored at the shore. 54 They got out of the boat and immediately people recognized Him, 55 and ran throughout that surrounding countryside and began to carry around on their mats those who were sick, to any place where they heard He was. 56 And wherever He came into villages, or cities, or the countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places and pleading with Him [to allow them] just to touch the fringe (tassel with a blue cord) of His robe; and all who touched it were healed.
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