Book of Common Prayer
A Song for the King’s Wedding
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A maskil. A love song of the sons of Korah.
45 Beautiful words fill my mind.
I am speaking of royal things.
My tongue is like the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are more handsome than anyone.
You are a very good speaker.
God has blessed you forever.
3 Put on your sword, powerful warrior.
Show your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty win the victory.
Defend what is true and right.
Your power will do amazing things.
5 Your sharp arrows will enter
the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations will be defeated before you.
6 God, your throne will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with fairness.
7 You love right and hate evil.
So God has chosen you to rule those with you.
Your God has given you much joy.
8 Your clothes smell like myrrh, aloes and cassia.
From palaces of ivory
music comes to make you happy.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women.
Your bride stands at your right side
wearing gold from Ophir.
10 Listen to me, daughter. Look and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s family.
11 The king loves your beauty.
Because he is your master, you should obey him.
12 People from the city of Tyre have brought a gift.
Wealthy people will want to meet you.
13 The princess is very beautiful.
Her gown is woven with gold.
14 In her beautiful clothes she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow behind her.
And they are also brought to him.
15 They come with happiness and joy.
They enter the king’s palace.
16 You will have sons to take the place of your ancestors.
You will make them rulers through all the land.
17 I will make your name famous from now on.
People will praise you forever and ever.
God, the King of the World
For the director of music. A song of the sons of Korah.
47 Clap your hands, all you people.
Shout to God with joy.
2 The Lord Most High is wonderful.
He is the great King over all the earth!
3 He defeated nations for us
and put them under our control.
4 He chose the land we would inherit.
We are the children of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah
5 God has risen with a shout of joy.
The Lord has risen as the trumpets sounded.
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is King of all the earth.
So sing a song of praise to him.
8 God is King over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of the nations meet
with the people of the God of Abraham.
Even the leaders of the earth belong to God.
He is supreme.
Jerusalem, the City of God
A song of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 It is high and beautiful.
It brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north.
It is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its palaces.
He is known as its protection.
4 Kings joined together
and came together to attack the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were amazed.
They ran away in fear.
6 Fear took hold of them.
They hurt like a woman having a baby.
7 You destroyed the large trading ships
with an east wind.
8 First we heard.
And now we have seen that
God will always keep his city safe.
It is the city of the Lord of heaven’s armies,
the city of our God. Selah
9 God, we come into your Temple.
There we think about your love.
10 God, your name is known everywhere.
Everywhere on earth people praise you.
Your right hand is full of goodness.
11 Mount Zion is happy.
All the towns of Judah rejoice
because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 Notice how strong they are. Look at the palaces.
Then you will be able to tell your children about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
14 The second great trouble is finished. The third great trouble is coming soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said:
“The power to rule the world
now belongs to our Lord and his Christ.
And he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the 24 elders[a] bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God. 17 They said:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful.
You are the One who is and who 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,
all who respect you, great and small.
It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth!”
19 Then God’s temple[b] in heaven was opened. The Ark of the Covenant that holds the agreement that God gave to his people could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
People Who Are Truly Blessed
27 When Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out. She said to Jesus, “Your mother is blessed because she gave birth to you and nursed you.”
28 But Jesus said, “Those who hear the teaching of God and obey it—they are the ones who are truly blessed.”
Give Us Proof!
29 The crowd grew larger. Jesus said, “The people who live today are evil. They ask for a miracle as a sign from God. But they will have no sign—only the sign of Jonah.[a] 30 Jonah was a sign for those people who lived in Nineveh. In the same way the Son of Man will be a sign for the people of this time. 31 On the Judgment Day the Queen of the South[b] will stand up with the men who live now. She will show that they are guilty because she came from far away to listen to Solomon’s wise teaching. And I tell you that someone greater than Solomon is here! 32 On the Judgment Day the men of Nineveh will stand up with the people who live now. And they will show that you are guilty, because when Jonah preached to those people, they changed their hearts and lives. And I tell you that someone greater than Jonah is here!
Be a Light to the World
33 “No one takes a light and puts it under a bowl or hides it. Instead, he puts the light on a lampstand so that the people who come in can see. 34 Your eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, then your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, then your whole body will be full of darkness. 35 So be careful! Don’t let the light in you become darkness. 36 If your whole body is full of light, and none of it is dark, then you will shine bright, as when a lamp shines on you.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.