Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: An instruction[a] by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of[b] “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song
45 My heart is overflowing with good news;
I speak what I have composed to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants;
grace has anointed your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword to your side,
mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharpened
to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
People will fall under you.
6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.
7 You love justice and hate wickedness.
That is why God, even your God, has anointed you
rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.
8 All your clothes are scented with[c] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women;
the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”
10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty.
Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him.
12 The daughter[d] of Tyre will come with[e] a wedding gift;
wealthy people will entreat your favor.
13 In her chamber,[f] the king’s daughter is glorious;
her clothing is embroidered with gold thread.
14 In embroidered garments
she is presented to the king.
Her virgin companions who follow her train
will be presented to you.
15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented
when they enter the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors,
and you will set them up as princes in all the earth.
17 From generation to generation,
I will cause your name to be remembered.
Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with a loud cry of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
even the pride of Jacob whom he loved.
5 God has ascended on high with a shout,
the Lord has ascended[a] with the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing songs to God!
Sing songs!
Sing songs to our King!
Sing songs!
7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth;
sing a song of praise.
8 God is king over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles among the nations
have joined the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
A song: Lyrics[b] by the Sons of Korah.
Zion, City of God
48 Great is the Lord!
For he is to be praised greatly,
even in the city of our God,
his holy mountain.
2 Beautifully situated,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion towards the north,[c]
the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels
God is known as a place of refuge.
4 Behold, when the kings assembled together,
when they traveled together,
5 they looked and were awestruck;
they became afraid and ran away.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pains like those of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind destroyed the ships of Tarshish.
8 Just as we have heard,
so have we seen;
in the city of the Lord of the heavenly armies—
even in the city of our God—
God will establish her forever.
9 God, we have meditated on your gracious love
in the midst of your Temple.
10 God, according to your name,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion will be glad;
the towns[d] of Judah will rejoice because of your judgments.
12 March around Zion;
encircle her;
count her towers.
13 Take note of her ramparts;
investigate her citadels;
that you may speak about them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us until death.
Rebuilding Efforts Begin Again(A)
5 At that time, the prophets Haggai and Iddo’s son Zechariah prophesied specifically to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel. 2 So Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel and Jozadak’s son Jeshua restarted construction of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were there supporting them.
Government Interference
3 Right about then, Trans-Euphrates[a] Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and their colleagues approached and challenged them. They asked, “Who authorized you to build this Temple and to reconstruct this wall?” 4 In answer, we responded with a list of[b] the names of the men who were building the structure. 5 But God watched over the Jewish leaders, who could not be forced to stop working until Darius received a report and responded in reply.
A Memorandum
6 Here is a copy of the letter that Trans-Euphrates[c] Governor Tattenai, Shethar-bozenai, and his colleagues the Trans-Euphrates Persians sent to King Darius. 7 The letter sent to him was written like this:
To: King Darius:
Greetings![d]
8 This is to inform[e] the king that we traveled to the Temple of the great God in the Judean province, which is being built with large stones and reinforced with wooden beams in its walls. The work proceeds diligently and is in capable hands.[f]
9 We asked the elders, “Who authorized you to build this Temple and to reinforce these walls?” 10 We also asked them their names so that we could certify the identities[g] of their leaders to you.
11 In answer they responded, “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are rebuilding the Temple that was built many years ago by a great king of Israel. 12 But because our predecessors provoked the God of Heaven to become angry, he handed them over to the control[h] of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Chaldean who destroyed this Temple and transported the people to Babylon.
13 “However, during King Cyrus’ first year—that same King Cyrus of Babylon—issued a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God. 14 He delivered into the care of Sheshbazzar (whom he appointed governor) the gold and silver utensils that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Jerusalem Temple and brought into the Babylonian temple.
15 “And Cyrus[i] told him, ‘Take these utensils, go to Jerusalem, and carry them to the Temple, after the Temple of God has been built[j] in its appropriate place.’
16 “Then this very same Sheshbazzar arrived and laid the foundations for the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Since that time until now the Temple has been under construction and is not yet completed.”
17 Accordingly, with your approval we suggest that[k] a search be conducted within the king’s treasury at Babylon to verify[l] whether or not King Cyrus ever issued such a decree to reconstruct this Temple of God in Jerusalem. Then please notify us concerning the king’s pleasure in this matter.
The Vision of God’s Throne
4 After these things, I saw a door standing open in heaven. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” 2 Instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven with a person seated on the throne. 3 The person sitting there looked like jasper and carnelian, and there was a rainbow around the throne that looked like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were 24 other thrones, and on these thrones sat 24 elders wearing white robes and gold victor’s crowns on their heads. 5 Flashes of lightning, noises, and peals of thunder came from the throne. Burning in front of the throne were seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God.
6 In front of the throne was something like a sea of glass as clear as crystal. In the center of the throne and on each side of the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature was like an ox, the third living creature had a face like a human, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were full of eyes inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were saying,
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders bow down and worship in front of the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. They throw their victor’s crowns in front of the throne and say,
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory, honor, and power,
because you created all things;
they came into existence
and were created because of your will.”
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
13 That day Jesus left the house and sat down beside the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he began to tell them many things in parables. He said, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on stony ground, where they did not have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they did not have any roots, they dried up. 7 Other seeds fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew higher and choked them out. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop, some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown.[a] 9 Let the person who has ears[b] listen!”
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