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.
Abraham Offers Isaac
22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He called to him, “Abraham!”
Abraham answered, “I am here.”
2 God said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains there, the one to which I direct you.”
3 Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, along with Isaac his son. Abraham split the wood for the burnt offering. Then he set out to go to the place that God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.
5 Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go on over there. We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it on Isaac his son. He took the firepot and the knife in his hand. The two of them went on together.
7 Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father?”
He said, “I am here, my son.”
He said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them went on together. 9 They came to the place that God had told him about. Abraham built the altar there. He arranged the wood, tied up Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. 10 Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”
Abraham said, “I am here.”
12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham looked around and saw that behind him there was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “The Lord Will Provide.”[a] So it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven 16 and said, “I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your descendants greatly, like the stars of the sky and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the city gates of their enemies. 18 In your seed[b] all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
23 By faith Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after he was born, because they saw he was a special child, and they were not afraid of the king’s order.
24 By faith Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter when he grew up. 25 He chose to be mistreated with God’s people rather than enjoy sin for a little while. 26 He considered disgrace for the sake of Christ as greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt without fearing the king’s wrath, because he persevered as one who sees him who is invisible.
28 By faith he celebrated the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not strike them down.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea, as if going through on dry ground. When the Egyptians tried it, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the unbelievers, because she welcomed the spies in peace.
52 At that, the Jews argued among themselves, “How can this man give us his[a] flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the Last Day. 55 For my flesh is real food, and my blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like your[b] fathers ate and died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.”
59 He said these things while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.