Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
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.
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!
19 Indeed, you people who live in Zion and in Jerusalem,[a] you[b] will weep no more. How gracious the Lord[c] will be to you at the sound of your cry! As soon as he hears it, he will answer you. 20 And although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water[d] of affliction, your teachers won’t hide themselves[e] anymore, but your own eyes will see your teachers. 21 And whether you turn to the right or turn to the left, your ears will hear a message behind you: “This is the way, walk in it.” 22 Then you will defile your carved idols that are overlaid with silver and your images plated with gold. You’ll throw them away like disgusting objects[f] and say to them, “Away with you!”
23 He will also provide rain for your seed that you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the ground will be[g] rich and abundant. At that time,[h] your cattle will graze in broad meadows, 24 and oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned[i] fodder that workers will winnow with shovels and forks. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks and canals[j] running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the sun’s light will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days,[k] when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.
16 Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said:
“Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made them a great people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with a public display of power[a] he led them out of there. 18 After he had put up with[b] them for 40 years in the wilderness, 19 he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then God gave their land to the Israelis[c] as an inheritance 20 for about 450 years.
“After that, he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 When they demanded a king, God gave them Kish’s son Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, for 40 years. 22 Then God[d] removed Saul[e] and made David their king, about whom he testified, ‘I have found that David, the son of Jesse, is a man after my own heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’[f] 23 It was from this man’s descendants that God, as he promised, brought to Israel a Savior, who is Jesus. 24 Before Jesus’ appearance, John had already preached a baptism of repentance to all the people in Israel. 25 When John was finishing his work, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the Messiah.[g] No, but he is coming after me, and I’m not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet.’
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