Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
The Refuge of the Righteous
For the choir director: with the flutes. A Davidic psalm.
1 Listen to my words, Lord;
consider my sighing.(A)
2 Pay attention to the sound of my cry,(B)
my King and my God,(C)
for I pray to You.
3 At daybreak,(D) Lord, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I plead my case to You(E) and watch expectantly.
4 For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil cannot dwell with You.(F)
5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;(G)
You hate all evildoers.(H)
6 You destroy those who tell lies;(I)
the Lord abhors a man of bloodshed and treachery.(J)
7 But I enter Your house
by the abundance of Your faithful love;(K)
I bow down toward Your holy temple
in reverential awe of You.(L)
8 Lord, lead me in Your righteousness(M)
because of my adversaries;[a]
make Your way straight before me.(N)
9 For there is nothing reliable in what they say;[b](O)
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.(P)
10 Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.(Q)
Drive them out(R) because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.(S)
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;(T)
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,(U)
and may those who love Your name boast about You.(V)
12 For You, Lord, bless the righteous one;
You surround him with favor like a shield.(W)
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(X) A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger;
do not discipline me in Your wrath.(Y)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[c](Z)
heal me,(AA) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(AB)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(AC)
And You, Lord—how long?(AD)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.(AE)
5 For there is no remembrance of You in death;
who can thank You in Sheol?(AF)
Psalm 10
1 Lord,[a][b] why do You stand so far away?(A)
Why do You hide in times of trouble?(B)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(C)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(D)
the one who is greedy curses[c] and despises the Lord.(E)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:[d]
“There is no accountability,
since God does not exist.”(F)
5 His ways are always secure;[e]
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(G)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity.”(H)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(I)
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;(J)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(K)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.(L)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see.”(M)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand.(N)
Do not forget the afflicted.(O)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(P)
14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.(Q)
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.(R)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;(S)
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.[f](T)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(U)
the nations will perish from His land.(V)
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;[g]
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(W)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.(X)
Psalm 11
Refuge in the Lord
For the choir director. Davidic.
1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(Y)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountain like a bird
2 For look, the wicked string the bow;
they put the[i] arrow on the bowstring
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(AA)
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”(AB)
4 The Lord is in His holy temple;(AC)
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.(AD)
His eyes watch; He examines[j] everyone.
5 The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked.
He hates the lover of violence.(AE)
6 He will rain burning coals[k] and sulfur on the wicked;
a scorching wind will be their portion.[l](AF)
7 For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see His face.(AG)
38 Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites(A) went down, had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon.(B) Then they blew the ram’s horn,(C) and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”(D) 40 All the people followed him, playing flutes and rejoicing with such a great joy(E) that the earth split open from the sound.[a]
Adonijah Hears of Solomon’s Coronation
41 Adonijah and all the invited guests who were with him(F) heard the noise as they finished eating. Joab heard the sound of the ram’s horn and said, “Why is the town in such an uproar?”(G) 42 He was still speaking when Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest,(H) suddenly arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are an excellent man, and you must be bringing good news.”(I)
43 “Unfortunately not,” Jonathan answered him. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have had him ride on the king’s mule. 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon.(J) They have gone from there rejoicing. The town has been in an uproar; that’s the noise you heard. 46 Solomon has even taken his seat on the royal throne.(K)
47 “The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’(L) Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.(M) 48 And the king went on to say this: ‘May the Lord God of Israel be praised! Today He has provided one to sit on my throne,(N) and I am a witness.’”[b]
49 Then all of Adonijah’s guests got up trembling and went their separate ways. 50 Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, so he got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.(O)
51 It was reported to Solomon: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first[c] swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”
52 Then Solomon said, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground,(P) but if evil is found in him, he dies.”(Q) 53 So King Solomon sent for him, and they took him down from the altar. He came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”
David’s Dying Instructions to Solomon
2 As the time approached for David to die,(R) he instructed his son Solomon, 2 “As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth.(S) Be strong and be courageous like a man,(T) 3 and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in His ways and to keep His statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. This is written in the law of Moses, so that you will have success in everything you do(U) and wherever you turn, 4 and so that the Lord will carry out His promise that He made to me: ‘If your sons are careful to walk faithfully before Me with their whole mind and heart,(V) you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’(W)
Not Quite Persuaded
24 As he was making his defense this way, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind,(A) Paul! Too much study is driving you mad!”
25 But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment.(B) 26 For the king knows about these matters. It is to him I am actually speaking boldly. For I am convinced that none of these things escapes his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.”
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?”
29 “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”(C)
30 So the king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up, 31 and when they had left they talked with each other and said, “This man is doing nothing that deserves death or chains.”(D)
32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”(E)
Sailing for Rome
27 When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.(F) 2 So when we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.(G) 3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.(H) 4 When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast[a] of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.(I) 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 Sailing slowly for many days, we came with difficulty as far as Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side[b] of Crete off Salmone. 8 With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
28 “Learn(A) this parable(B) from the fig(C) tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.(D) 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, know[a] that He[b] is near—at the door! 30 I assure you:(E) This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth(F) will pass away,(G) but My words will never pass away.(H)
No One Knows the Day or Hour
32 “Now concerning that day(I) or hour no one knows—neither the angels(J) in heaven nor the Son(K)—except the Father.(L) 33 Watch! Be alert![c] For you don’t know when the time(M) is coming.(N) 34 It is like(O) a man on a journey, who left his house, gave authority to his slaves,(P) gave each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to be alert. 35 Therefore be alert,(Q) since you don’t know when the master(R) of the house is coming—whether in the evening or at midnight or at the crowing of the rooster or early in the morning. 36 Otherwise, he might come suddenly and find you sleeping.(S) 37 And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Be alert!”
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