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.
The Holiness of the Community
19 The Lord told Moses 2 to speak to the whole community of the Israelites and tell them these things:
You shall be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
3 Each of you must respect your mother and father and keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
4 You shall not[a] turn to gods that really are not gods.[b] You must not make for yourselves gods cast out of metal.[c] I am the Lord your God.
5 When you offer a sacrifice that is a fellowship offering to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you will be accepted. 6 It is to be eaten on the day that you offer it or on the next day, but whatever is left over on the third day is to be burned in fire. 7 If it is eaten at all on the third day, it will be regarded as rotten meat. It is not acceptable. 8 Whoever eats it will bear his guilt, because he has desecrated[d] what is holy to the Lord. Any such person will be cut off from his people.
9 When you reap the harvest from your land, you are not to finish reaping all the way to the edge of the field. Do not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not strip your vineyard clean, and do not pick up the fallen grapes from your vineyard, but leave them for the poor and the alien who live with you. I am the Lord your God.
11 You shall not steal. You shall not swindle. You shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear falsely by my name so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.
13 You shall not exploit your neighbor. You shall not rob him. You shall not keep the wages of a day laborer with you overnight until morning.
14 You shall not curse a deaf person, nor shall you put an obstacle in front of a blind person, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
15 You shall not act unjustly in court cases. Do not show favoritism to a poor person, and do not show undue honor to an important person. You must judge your fellow citizens with justice.
16 You shall not go around spreading slander among your people. You shall not testify falsely against your neighbor in a capital case.[e] I am the Lord.
17 You shall not hate a fellow Israelite[f] in your heart. You must openly rebuke your fellow citizen so that you do not become responsible for his sin. 18 You must not take revenge. You must not bear a grudge against the members of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
Final Exhortations and Greetings
12 Brothers, we ask you to take note of those who work hard among you, who exercise leadership over you in the Lord, and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love, on account of their work. Live at peace with each other.
14 We also encourage you, brothers, to admonish those who are idle. Encourage those who are discouraged, help those who are weak, and be patient with everyone. 15 See to it that no one repays evil with evil, but instead, always strive to do good to each other and to everyone else.
16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 But[a] test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Keep away from every kind[b] of evil.
23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I put you under oath to the Lord to read this letter to all the holy[c] brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Treasures
19 “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.[a]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.