Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72
The Rule of the Righteous King
Heading
By Solomon.
The King’s Justice
1 God, give your authority to judge to the King.
Give your righteousness to the Son of the King.
2 He will judge your people with righteousness.
He will judge your afflicted ones with justice.
3 The mountains will deliver peace to the people.
The hills will produce righteousness.
4 He will obtain justice for the afflicted among the people.
He will save the children of the poor,
but he will crush the oppressor.
The King’s Eternal Reign
5 They will fear you[a] as long as the sun remains,
and as long as the moon endures, through all generations.
6 He will come down like rain on a mown field,
like showers, like a downpour on the earth.
7 In his days the righteous will flourish,
and peace will be plentiful till the moon is no more.
The King’s Universal Reign
8 He will rule[b] from sea to sea
and from the River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9 Those who dwell in the desert will bow before him,
and his enemies will lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the sea coasts will bring tribute.
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer him gifts.
11 All kings will bow down to him.
All nations will serve him.
The Blessings of His Rule
12 He will certainly deliver the poor person who cries out,
as well as the afflicted, and the one who has no helper.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the poor.
He will save the lives of the poor.
14 From oppression and violence he will redeem their lives,
because their blood is precious in his sight.
A Prayer for His Blessings
15 May the King live![d]
May gold from Sheba be offered to him.
May people always pray for him.
May they bless him all day long.
16 Let there be an abundance of grain in the land.
Let it wave on the top of the mountains.
Let its fruit trees be like the cedars of Lebanon.[e]
Let people from the city flourish like the grass of the land.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name flourish as long as the sun.
They will be blessed through him.
All nations will call him blessed.
Closing Doxology
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Yod: Those Who Fear You
73 Your hands made me and established me.
Give me understanding.
Then I will learn your commandments.
74 May those who fear you see me and rejoice,
because I wait confidently for your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your judgments are righteous.
In faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Please let your mercy be my comfort,
according to your saying to your servant.
77 Let your abundant compassion come to me that I may live,
because your law is my delight.
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have wronged me with lies.
As for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
and those who know your testimonies.
80 Let my heart be blameless regarding your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
Kaph: A Wineskin in the Smoke
81 My soul is worn out, as I wait for your salvation.
I wait confidently for your word.
82 My eyes are worn out, as I look for your sayings.
I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your statutes.
84 How many days does your servant have?
When will you inflict judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits for me.
This is against your laws.
86 All your commandments are trustworthy.
The arrogant persecute me wrongfully. Help me.
87 They almost put an end to me here on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 Give me life according to your mercy,
and I will obey the testimony from your mouth.
Lamed: Your Commands Have No Limits
89 To eternity, O Lord, your word is fixed firmly in the heavens.
90 For generation after generation, your faithfulness remains.
You established the earth, and it stands.
91 As for your judgments, they stand to this day,
because all things are your servants.
92 Unless your law had been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 To eternity I will not forget your precepts,
because by them you have given me life.
94 I am yours. Save me,
because I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked are lying in wait for me to kill me,
but I will ponder your testimonies.
96 I see a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment has no limits.
4 But before this, the priest Eliashib, who had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 had provided a large storeroom for him.
Previously they had been putting the offerings, the incense, and the vessels, as well as the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil there. This had been done according to the command concerning the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
6 But when all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone to the king. Then sometime later, I asked the king for permission to return, 7 and I came back to Jerusalem. Then I found out about the evil thing that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by providing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. 8 This was very offensive to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household property out of the storeroom. 9 I gave orders to purify the storerooms, and I restored the articles of the house of God, the offerings, and the incense.
10 Then I learned that the portions for the Levites had not been distributed and that the Levites and singers who performed the work of God’s house all had gone back to their own fields. 11 I accused the officials and said, “Why has the house of God been abandoned?” So I gathered them and stationed them at their places. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithes of grain and new wine and olive oil to the storerooms. 13 I appointed treasurers in charge of the storerooms: the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, Pedaiah from the Levites, and as their assistant, Hanan the son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, because they were considered to be trustworthy. It was their responsibility to distribute the portions to their relatives.
14 Remember me, my God, because of this, and do not wipe away my faithful deeds, which I have done for the sake of the house of my God and for the sake of its services.
15 In those days I saw in Judah some people who were treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, and figs and all kinds of loads, and then bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath. So I warned them on the day when they were selling food.
16 Moreover, some people from Tyre lived in the city. They were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling it on the Sabbath to the Jews—even in Jerusalem! 17 So I accused the Judean nobles and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, by which you are profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do this, and as a result our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? You are adding more to his wrath by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 As it began to grow dark within the gates of Jerusalem before the beginning of the Sabbath, I gave orders to close the doors and not to open them until after the Sabbath. I also stationed some of my servants at the gates to ensure that no load would come in on the Sabbath day. 20 Once or twice the merchants and those who sell all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem. 21 However, I warned them and said to them, “Why are you spending the night next to the wall? If you do this again, I will use force against you.” From that time onward they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I told the Levites that they should purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to sanctify the Sabbath day.
Remember this also in my favor, my God, and spare me according to your great faithfulness.
The Dragon and the Child
12 A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant, and she cried out in pain and agony as she gave birth.
3 Another sign also appeared in the sky: There was a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood before the woman, who was about to give birth, so that he could devour the child as soon as it was born.
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God in order that she might be fed there for 1,260 days.
War in Heaven
7 There was also a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. The dragon fought back along with his angels, 8 but he was not strong enough. There was no longer a place for them[a] in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down—the ancient serpent, the one called the Devil and Satan, the one who leads the whole inhabited earth astray—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying:
Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Christ,[b]
because the accuser of our brothers[c] has been thrown down,
the one who accuses them before our God day and night.
11 They conquered him
because of the blood of the Lamb and
because of the word of their testimony.
They did not love their lives in the face of death.
12 For this reason, rejoice, you heavens and those who dwell in them.
Woe to the earth and the sea,
for the Devil has gone down to you.
He is full of rage, because he knows that his time is short.
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
A Prophet Without Honor
54 Jesus entered his hometown and taught in their synagogue. As a result, the people were amazed and said, “Where did this fellow get this wisdom and these miracles? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 And aren’t all of his sisters here with us? Where then did this fellow get all of these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown and in his own house.” 58 He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.