Book of Common Prayer
Solomonic
A Prayer for the King
72 God, endow the king with ability to render[a] your justice,
and the king’s son to render your right decisions.
2 May he rule your people with right decisions
and your oppressed ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he defend the afflicted of the people
and deliver the children of the poor,
but crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine[b]—
from generation to generation.
6 May he be like the rain that descends on mown grass,
like showers sprinkling on the ground.
7 The righteous will flourish at the proper time
and peace will prevail until the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9 May the nomads bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring gifts,
and may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.
11 May all kings bow down to him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he will deliver the needy when they cry out for help,
and the poor when there is no deliverer.
13 He will have compassion on the poor and the needy,
and he will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will redeem them[d] from oppression and violence,
since their lives are[e] precious in his sight.
Prayer for the King
15 May he live long and be given gold from Sheba,
and may prayer be offered for him continuously,
and may he be blessed every day.
16 May grain be abundant in the land
all the way[f] to the mountain tops;
may its fruits flourish
like the forests of Lebanon,
and may the cities sprout
like the grass of the earth.
Praising the God of Israel
17 May his fame[g] be eternal—
as long as the sun—
may his name endure,
and may they be blessed through him,
and may all nations call him blessed.
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does awesome deeds.
19 And blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 This ends the prayers of Jesse’s son David.
Yod
Prayer for God’s Grace
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding,
that I may learn your commands.
74 May those who fear you see me and be glad,
for I have hoped in your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your decrees are just,
and that you have rightfully humbled me.
76 May your gracious love comfort me
in accordance with your promise to your servant.
77 May your mercies come to me that I may live,
for your instruction[a] is my delight.
78 May the arrogant become ashamed,
because they have subverted me with deceit;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 May those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your decrees.
80 May my heart be blameless with respect to your statutes
so that I may not become ashamed.
Kaf
On Obeying God’s Word
81 I long for your deliverance;
I have looked to your word,
placing my hope in it.
82 My eyes grow weary
with respect to what you have promised—
I keep asking, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I have become like a water skin dried by[b] smoke,
I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 How many days must your servant endure this?[c]
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me,
disobeying your instruction.[d]
86 All of your commands are reliable.
I am persecuted without cause—help me!
87 Though the arrogant[e] nearly destroyed me on earth,
I did not abandon your precepts.
88 Revive me according to your gracious love;
and I will keep the decrees that you have proclaimed.
Lamed
Pay Attention to God’s Word
89 Your word is forever, Lord;
it is firmly established in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness continues from generation to generation.
You established the earth, and it stands firm.
91 To this day they stand by means of your rulings,
for all things serve you.
92 Had your instruction[f] not been my pleasure,
I would have died in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have revived me with them.
94 I am yours, so save me,
since I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lay in wait to destroy me,
while I ponder your decrees.
96 I have observed that all things have their limit,
but your commandment is very broad.
18 Three days later, Joseph told them, “I fear God, so do this and you’ll live. 19 If you’re honest men, leave one of your brothers here in custody, then the rest of[a] you can leave and take some grain with you[b] to alleviate the famine that’s affecting your households. 20 Just be sure to bring your youngest brother back to me so what you’ve claimed can be verified. That way, you won’t die.”
Joseph’s Brothers Mull over Their Predicament
21 “We’re all guilty because of what we did to[c] our brother!” they told each other. “We kept on watching his suffering while he pleaded with us! We’re in this mess because we wouldn’t listen!”
22 “Didn’t I tell you!” Reuben replied. “‘Don’t wrong the kid!’ I said, but would you listen? No! Now it’s payback time!”
23 Meanwhile, they had no idea that Joseph could understand them, since he was talking to them through an interpreter. 24 He turned away from them and began to weep.
Joseph Arrests Simeon
When he returned, he spoke with them, but then he took Simeon away from them and had him placed under arrest[d] right in front of them. 25 After this, Joseph gave orders to fill up their sacks with grain, to return each man’s money to his own sack, and to supply each of them with provisions for their return journey. All of this was done for them.
Joseph’s Brothers Leave for Canaan
26 Then they each mounted up, their donkeys having been loaded with grain, and left from there. 27 Later on, one of them opened up his sack to give his donkey some fodder after they had stopped at the place where they intended to lodge for the night. There, in the mouth of his sack, was all of his money! 28 He reported to his brothers, “My money has been returned! It’s right here in my sack!”
Trembling with mounting consternation, each of them asked one another, “What is God doing to us?”
9 I wrote to you in my letter to stop associating with people who are sexually immoral— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, greedy, robbers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you to stop associating with any so-called brother if he is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk, or a robber. You must even stop eating with someone like that. 12 After all, is it my business to judge outsiders? You are to judge those who are in the community, aren’t you? 13 God will judge outsiders. “Expel that wicked man.”[a]
Morality in Legal Matters
6 When one of you has a complaint against another, does he dare to take the matter before those who are unrighteous and not before the saints? 2 You know that the saints will rule the world, don’t you? And if the world is going to be ruled by you, can’t you handle insignificant cases? 3 You know that we will rule angels, not to mention things in this life, don’t you? 4 So if you have cases dealing with this life, why do you appoint as judges people who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to make you feel ashamed. Has it come to this, that there is not one person among you who is wise enough to settle disagreements between brothers?[b] 6 Instead, one brother goes to court against another brother, and before unbelieving judges,[c] at that! 7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves is already a defeat for you. Why not rather just accept the wrong? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves practice doing wrong and cheating others, and brothers at that!
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
4 Then Jesus[a] began to teach again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it,[b] while the entire crowd remained beside the sea on the shore. 2 He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on stony ground, where they didn’t have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn’t produce anything. 8 But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[c] 9 He added, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
10 When he was alone with the Twelve and those around him, they began to ask him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables 12 so that
‘they may see clearly but not perceive,
and they may hear clearly but not understand,
otherwise they might turn around and be forgiven.’”[d]
Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer(C)
13 Then he told them, “You don’t understand this parable, so how can you understand any of the parables? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like the seeds[e] along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others are like the seeds[f] sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, 17 but since they don’t have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. 18 Still others are like the seeds[g] sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, 19 but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. 20 Others are like the seeds[h] sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[i]
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