Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[c] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[d]
I say, “I have composed this special song[e] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[f]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[g]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[h]
For this reason[i] God grants you continual blessings.[j]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[k]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[l]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[m]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[n]
on behalf of justice.[o]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[p]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[q]
6 Your throne,[r] O God, is permanent.[s]
The scepter[t] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[u] justice and hate evil.[v]
For this reason God, your God,[w] has anointed you[x]
with the oil of joy,[y] elevating you above your companions.[z]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[aa] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[ab] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[ac]
9 Princesses[ad] are among your honored women.[ae]
Your bride[af] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[ag]
10 Listen, O princess.[ah]
Observe and pay attention![ai]
Forget your homeland[aj] and your family.[ak]
11 Then[al] the king will be attracted by[am] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[an] to him.[ao]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[ap]
13 The princess[aq] looks absolutely magnificent,[ar]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[as]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[at]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[au]
16 Your[av] sons will carry on[aw] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ax]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ay]
then the nations will praise you[az] forever.
Psalm 47[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.
47 All you nations, clap your hands.
Shout out to God in celebration.[b]
2 For the Lord Most High[c] is awe-inspiring;[d]
he is the great king who rules the whole earth![e]
3 He subdued nations beneath us[f]
and countries[g] under our feet.
4 He picked out for us a special land[h]
to be a source of pride for[i] Jacob,[j] whom he loves.[k] (Selah)
5 God has ascended his throne[l] amid loud shouts;[m]
the Lord has ascended amid the blaring of ram’s horns.[n]
6 Sing to God! Sing!
Sing to our king! Sing!
7 For God is king of the whole earth.
Sing a well-written song.[o]
8 God reigns[p] over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham,[q]
for God has authority over the rulers[r] of the earth.
He is highly exalted.[s]
Psalm 48[t]
A song, a psalm by the Korahites.
48 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God,[u] his holy hill.
2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at,[v]
a source of joy to the whole earth.[w]
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;[x]
it is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender.[y]
4 For[z] look, the kings assemble;[aa]
they advance together.
5 As soon as they see,[ab] they are shocked;[ac]
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.[ad]
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably,[ae]
like a woman writhing in childbirth.[af]
7 With an east wind
you shatter[ag] the large ships.[ah]
8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,[ai]
in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[aj]
in the city of our God.
God makes it permanently secure.[ak] (Selah)
9 Within your temple
we reflect on your loyal love, O God.
10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth
is worthy of your reputation, O God.[al]
You execute justice.[am]
11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns[an] of Judah are happy,[ao]
because of your acts of judgment.[ap]
12 Walk around[aq] Zion. Encircle it.
Count its towers.
13 Consider its defenses.[ar]
Walk through[as] its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it.[at]
14 For God, our God, is our defender forever.[au]
He guides[av] us.[aw]
The Supremacy of Christ
15 [a] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn[b] over all creation,[c]
16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created in him—all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions,[d] whether principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him.
17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together[e] in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn[f] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.[g]
19 For God[h] was pleased to have all his[i] fullness dwell[j] in the Son[k]
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him,[l] whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Paul’s Goal in Ministry
21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your[m] minds[n] as expressed through[o] your evil deeds, 22 but now he has reconciled you[p] by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— 23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm,[q] without shifting[r] from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.
Choosing the Twelve Apostles
12 Now[a] it was during this time that Jesus[b] went out to the mountain[c] to pray, and he spent all night[d] in prayer to God.[e] 13 When[f] morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:[g] 14 Simon[h] (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,[i] 15 Matthew, Thomas,[j] James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,[k] 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,[l] who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain
17 Then[m] he came down with them and stood on a level place.[n] And a large number[o] of his disciples had gathered[p] along with[q] a vast multitude from all over Judea, from[r] Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.[s] They came to hear him and to be healed[t] of their diseases, 18 and those who suffered from[u] unclean[v] spirits were cured. 19 The[w] whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power[x] was coming out from him and healing them all.
20 Then[y] he looked up[z] at his disciples and said:
“Blessed[aa] are you who are poor,[ab] for the kingdom of God belongs[ac] to you.
21 “Blessed are you who hunger[ad] now, for you will be satisfied.[ae]
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.[af]
22 “Blessed are you when people[ag] hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil[ah] on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because[ai] your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors[aj] did the same things to the prophets.[ak]
24 “But woe[al] to you who are rich, for you have received[am] your comfort[an] already.
25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food[ao] now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you[ap] who laugh[aq] now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you[ar] when all people[as] speak well of you, for their ancestors[at] did the same things to the false prophets.
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