Book of Common Prayer
Curses and Blessings
33 He turned rivers into a wilderness
and flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34 He turned fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived in it.
35 He turned the wilderness into pools of water
and the desert into flowing springs.
36 Then he let the hungry live there,
and they founded a city where they could live.
37 Then they sowed fields, and they planted vineyards,
which produced abundant fruit.
38 Then he blessed them, so they increased greatly in number.
He did not let their herds of cattle decrease.
39 But then their numbers decreased,
and they were humbled by oppression, disaster, and sorrow.
40 He who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in confusion
where there was no road.
41 But he lifted up the needy out of affliction
and made their families like a flock.
42 The upright see and rejoice,
but all wickedness shuts its mouth.
Application: Be Wise
43 Whoever is wise, let him keep these things.
Let them take to heart the mercies of the Lord.
Psalm 108
My Heart Is Steadfast
(Psalm 108:1-5 parallels Psalm 57:7-11)
(Psalm 108:6-13 parallels Psalm 60:5-12)
Heading
A song. A psalm by David.
David’s Confident Praise
1 My heart is steadfast, O God.
I will sing and I will make music.
Indeed, I will sing with all my being.[a]
2 Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will give you thanks among the peoples, Lord,
and I will make music to you among the nations,[b]
4 because your great mercy reaches above the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
David’s Prayer
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God.
Let your glory be over all the earth.
6 So that the ones you love may be rescued,
bring salvation by your right hand and answer me.
David’s Confidence in God’s Help
7 God has spoken in his holiness.[c]
I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.[d]
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, O God, who have rejected us?
Is it not you, O God, who no longer go out with our armies?
12 Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
13 In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.
Psalm 33
Blessed Is the Nation Whose God Is the Lord
Introductory Praise
1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, you righteous.
The praise of the upright is beautiful.
2 Thank the Lord with a lyre.
Make music for him with the ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing to him a new song.
Play skillfully and shout praises.
4 Yes, the word of the Lord is right,
and everything he does is trustworthy.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The mercy of the Lord fills the earth.
God’s Love in Creation
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.
By the breath of his mouth he made the whole army of stars.[a]
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap.
He puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all the inhabitants of the world revere him.
9 For he said, “Let it be,” and it was!
He gave a command, and there it stood.
God’s Rule of History
10 The Lord wrecks the plan of the nations.
He hinders the intentions of the peoples.
11 The plan of the Lord stands forever.
The intentions of his heart stand through all generations.
12 How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose to be his possession.
13 From heaven the Lord observes.
He sees all the children of Adam.
14 From his throne room he looks at all the inhabitants of earth.
15 He alone is the one who shapes all their hearts.
He understands all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by the great size of his army.
No hero is rescued by his great strength.
17 You cannot rely on a horse to save you.
Its great strength will not deliver you.
18 Look, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who wait for his mercy.
19 He will deliver their souls from death.
He keeps them alive in famine.
Concluding Prayer
20 Our souls wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 Yes, in him our heart rejoices,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your mercy, O Lord, be on us,
even as we wait confidently for you.
16 David moved a little beyond the summit. There Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him with a string of saddled donkeys. On them there were two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred cakes of raisins, one hundred cakes of summer fruit, and a container[a] of wine.
2 The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?”
Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the household of the king to ride on. The bread and fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is to provide something to drink for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 The king said, “So where is the grandson of your master?”
Ziba said to the king, “Well, he is staying in Jerusalem because he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will return the kingdom of my grandfather to me.’”
4 The king said to Ziba, “All right then. Everything that was Mephibosheth’s belongs to you.”
Ziba said, “I bow down before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”
5 King David came to Bahurim. There he was confronted by a man from the family of the house of Saul. His name was Shimei son of Gera. He was rushing out and calling down curses. 6 He threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David, as well as at all the people and all the warriors on David’s right and on his left. 7 This is what Shimei said as he cursed: “Get out! Get out, you bloody, worthless man! 8 The Lord has avenged upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, whom you replaced as king. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Just look at you now, sunk in disaster, because you are a bloody man.”
9 Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head.”
10 The king said, “What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who can say, ‘Why have you done this?’” 11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his followers, “Listen to me! My son, who came from my own body, is seeking my life. How much more now, this Benjaminite! Leave him alone. Let him curse. Perhaps the Lord has told him to do so. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and will return something good to me in exchange for his cursing this day.”
13 So David and his men kept traveling down the road, and Shimei kept following along, on the side of the hill opposite him, walking along, cursing, throwing stones, and flinging dirt at him.
14 The king and all the people who were with him traveled until they became exhausted, and then they stopped in order to recover.
Absalom’s Plans
15 Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, arrived at Jerusalem. Ahithophel was with him.
16 When Hushai the Arkite, David’s confidant, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty for your friend? Why didn’t you go with your friend?”
18 Hushai said to Absalom, “No. The person who has been chosen by the Lord, by this people, and by all the men of Israel—this is the one with whom I will be and with whom I will remain. 19 Besides, whom should I serve if not the king’s son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”
21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to watch over the palace. Let all Israel hear that you have become disgusting to your father, so that the hands of all who are with you may be strengthened.”
22 So they pitched a tent on the roof for Absalom, and Absalom went to[b] his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23 In those days the advice that Ahithophel gave was viewed as if it had come from God. All the advice of Ahithophel was viewed that way, both by David and also by Absalom.
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance. 18 I saw the Lord telling me: ‘Hurry, get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, these people know that I went from one synagogue to another imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I stood by, giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were putting him to death.’
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 They were listening to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he is not fit to live!”
23 When they started shouting and throwing off their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be interrogated by whipping, in order to learn why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him for the whipping, Paul asked the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to whip a man who is a Roman citizen and who has not been found guilty by a proper trial?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and said, “What are you about to do?[a] This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 Then the commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.”
Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Immediately, those who were about to interrogate him moved away from him. The commander was also alarmed when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen, because he had tied him up.
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem
11 As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here without delay.’”
4 They left and found a colt on the street, tied at a door; and they untied it. 5 Some who were standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 The disciples answered them just as Jesus had instructed them, and the men let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus, threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many people spread their garments on the road. Others spread branches that they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were crying out,
Hosanna![a]
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![b]
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest!
11 Jesus went into the temple courts in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. Since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.