Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “Shoshanim.”[a] A maskil from the Korah family. A love song.
45 Beautiful thoughts fill my mind
as I speak these lines for the king.
These words come from my tongue
as from the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are more handsome than anyone,
and you say such pleasant things.
So God will always bless you.
3 Put on your sword, mighty warrior,
so impressive in your splendid uniform.
4 Go out in your greatness to win the victory for what is true and right.
Let us see the amazing things you can do with your powerful right arm.[b]
5 Your sharp arrows will go deep into the hearts of your enemies,
who will fall to the ground in front of you.
6 God,[c] your kingdom will last forever.
You use your authority for justice.
7 You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
So God, your God, chose you to be king,
giving you more joy and honor than anyone like you.[d]
8 From your clothes comes the wonderful smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
In palaces decorated with ivory, you enjoy the music of stringed instruments.
9 Here are ladies of honor, daughters of kings.
Your bride[e] stands at your right side, wearing a gown decorated with the finest gold.
10 My lady,[f] listen to me.
Listen carefully and understand me.
Forget your people and your father’s family,
11 so that the king will be pleased with your beauty.
He will be your new husband,[g]
so you must honor him.
12 People from Tyre will bring you gifts.
Their richest people will try to win your friendship.
13 The princess is so beautiful in her gown,
like a pearl set in gold.
14 Clothed in beauty, she is led to the king,
followed by her bridesmaids.
15 Filled with joy and excitement,
they enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will be kings like their ancestors.
You will make them rulers throughout the land.
17 You will be famous for generations.
People will praise you forever and ever.
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
47 Everyone, clap your hands.
Shout with joy to God!
2 The Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King over all the earth.
3 He helped us defeat other nations.
He put those people under our control.
4 He chose our land for us.
He chose that wonderful land for Jacob, the one he loved. Selah
5 The Lord God goes up to his throne
at the sound of the trumpet and horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 God is the King of the whole world.
Sing songs of praise![a]
8 God sits on his holy throne;
he rules all the nations.
9 The leaders of the nations have come together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
All the rulers of the world belong to God.
He is over them all!
A song of praise from the Korah family.
48 The Lord is great!
He is praised throughout the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 His city is such a pleasant place.
It brings joy to people from around the world.
Mount Zion is the true mountain of God.[b]
It is the city of the great King.
3 In the palaces of that city,
God is known as the fortress.
4 Once some kings met together
and planned an attack against this city.
They marched toward the city,
5 but when they saw it, they were amazed.
They all panicked and ran away.
6 Fear grabbed them;
they trembled like a woman giving birth.
7 God, with a strong east wind,
you wrecked their big ships.
8 Yes, we heard the stories about your power.
But we also saw it in the city of our God, the city of the Lord All-Powerful.
God makes that city strong forever. Selah
9 God, in your Temple we remember your loving kindness.
10 Your name is known everywhere, God,
and people throughout the earth praise you.
You have shown that you do what is right.
11 Mount Zion is happy,
and the towns of Judah rejoice, because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem,
and count its towers.
13 Look at the tall walls,
and see the palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will lead us from now to the end of time!
14 The second terror is now past. The third terror is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet Blast
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet. Then there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said,
“The kingdom of the world has now become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah.
And he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 elders bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. 17 The elders said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful.
You are the one who is and who always was.
We thank you because you have used your great power
and have begun to rule.
18 The people of the world were angry,
but now is the time for your anger.
Now is the time for the dead to be judged.
It is time to reward your servants, the prophets,
and to reward your holy people,
the people, great and small, who respect you.
It is time to destroy those people who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. The Box of the Agreement[a] could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
The People God Blesses
27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman with the people there called out to him, “Blessings from God belong to the woman who gave birth to you and fed you!”
28 But Jesus said, “The people who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who have God’s blessing.”
Some People Doubt Jesus’ Authority(A)
29 The crowd grew larger and larger. Jesus said, “The people who live today are evil. They ask for a miracle as a sign from God. But no miracle will be done to prove anything to them. The only sign will be the miracle that happened to Jonah.[a] 30 Jonah was a sign for those who lived in Nineveh.[b] It is the same with the Son of Man. He will be a sign for the people of this time.
31 “On the judgment day, you people who live now will be compared with the queen of the South,[c] and she will be a witness who shows how guilty you are. Why do I say this? Because she traveled from far, far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone[d] greater than Solomon is right here, but you won’t listen!
32 “On the judgment day, you people who live now will also be compared with the people from Nineveh, and they will be witnesses who show how guilty you are. I say this because when Jonah preached to those people, they changed their hearts and lives. And you are listening to someone greater than Jonah, but you refuse to change!
Be a Light for the World(B)
33 “No one takes a light and puts it under a bowl or hides it. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so that the people who come in can see. 34 The only source of light for the body is the eye. When you look at people and want to help them, you are full of light. But when you look at people in a selfish way, you are full of darkness.[e] 35 So be careful! Don’t let the light in you become darkness. 36 If you are full of light, and there is no part of you that is dark, then you will be all bright, as though you have the light of a lamp shining on you.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International