Book of Common Prayer
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm (A)of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 (B)He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 (C)The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 (D)He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will [a]break in pieces the oppressor.
5 [b]They shall fear You
(E)As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 (F)He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
(G)And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 (H)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 (I)Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
(J)And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 (K)The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 (L)Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He (M)will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And (N)precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of (O)Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
(P)And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 (Q)His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And (R)men shall be blessed in Him;
(S)All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 (T)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
(U)Who only does wondrous things!
19 And (V)blessed be His glorious name forever!
(W)And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
י YOD
73 (A)Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74 (B)Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
75 I know, O Lord, (C)that Your judgments are [a]right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
77 Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.
78 Let the proud (D)be ashamed,
For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
80 Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
That I may not be ashamed.
כ KAPH
81 (E)My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
82 My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
83 For (F)I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
84 (G)How many are the days of Your servant?
(H)When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 (I)The proud have dug pits for me,
Which is not according to Your law.
86 All Your commandments are faithful;
They persecute me (J)wrongfully;
Help me!
87 They almost made an end of me on earth,
But I did not forsake Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
ל LAMED
89 (K)Forever, O Lord,
Your word [b]is settled in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You established the earth, and it [c]abides.
91 They continue this day according to (L)Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
92 Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.
94 I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will [d]consider Your testimonies.
96 (M)I have seen the consummation of all perfection,
But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Micaiah Warns Ahab(A)
22 Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. 2 Then it came to pass, in the third year, that (B)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel.
3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that (C)Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” 4 So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, (D)“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, (E)“Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”
6 Then the king of Israel (F)gathered [a]the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?”
So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
7 And (G)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of [b]Him?”
8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”
And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!”
10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made (H)horns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall (I)gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”
13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”
14 And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, (J)whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.”
15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?”
And he answered him, “Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king!”
16 So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
17 Then he said, “I saw all Israel (K)scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ”
18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: (L)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, (M)and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, (N)‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 23 (O)Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”
24 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and (P)struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, (Q)“Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?”
25 And Micaiah said, “Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an (R)inner chamber to hide!”
26 So the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in (S)prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.” ’ ”
28 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, (T)the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!”
Christ Crucified
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you (A)except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 (B)I was with you (C)in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching (D)were not with persuasive words of [b]human wisdom, (E)but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the (F)power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God [c]ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for (G)had they known, they would not have (H)crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written:
(I)“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 But (J)God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the (K)spirit of the man which is in him? (L)Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but (M)the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the [d]Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples(A)
18 (B)And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon (C)called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and (D)I will make you fishers of men.” 20 (E)They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 (F)Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Jesus Heals a Great Multitude(G)
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, (H)teaching in their synagogues, preaching (I)the gospel of the kingdom, (J)and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then [a]His fame went throughout all Syria; and they (K)brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 (L)Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from [b]Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.