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.
21 Then Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you brought such great sin upon them?”
22 Aaron said, “Sir,[a] don’t be angry. You know the people—that they’re intent on evil. 23 They told me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us because, as for this fellow Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold ornaments, tear them off.’ When they gave it to me, I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”
The Descendants of Levi Punish the Guilty Israelis
25 When Moses saw that the people were out of control—since Aaron had let them get out of control, something that incited ridicule from their enemies[b]— 26 he stood in the gate of the camp and called out: “Whoever is for the Lord come over[c] to me,” and all the sons of Levi gathered around him. 27 He told them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every man put his sword on his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and each of you kill his brother and friend and neighbor.’”
28 The descendants of Levi did just as Moses told them,[d] and about 3,000 people died that day. 29 Moses said, “You have been ordained[e] to serve the Lord[f] today, and you have brought a blessing on yourselves today because every man opposed his son or brother.”[g]
Moses Again Intercedes for the People
30 The next day Moses told the people, “You committed a great sin, and now I’ll go up to the Lord, and perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
31 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Please, Lord, this people committed a great sin by making a god of gold for themselves. 32 Now, if you will, forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of your book which you have written.”
33 The Lord told Moses, “Whoever sins against me, I’ll blot him out of my book. 34 Now, go, and lead the people where I told you, and now my angel will go before you, but on the day when I do punish, I’ll punish them for their sin.”
Greetings
1 From:[a] Paul, Silvanus,[b] and Timothy.
To: The church of the Thessalonians in union with God the Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[c]
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[d] be yours!
Paul’s Prayer for the Thessalonians
2 We always thank God for all of you when we mention you in our prayers. 3 In the presence of our God and Father, we constantly remember how your faith is active,[e] your love is hard at work,[f] and your hope in our Lord Jesus the Messiah[g] is enduring.[h] 4 Brothers whom God loves, we know that he has chosen you, 5 for the gospel we brought[i] did not come to you in words only, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. Indeed,[j] you know what kind of people we proved to be while we were with you, acting on your behalf.
6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord. In spite of a great deal of suffering, you welcomed the word with the joy that the Holy Spirit produces.[k] 7 As a result, you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 From you the word of the Lord has spread out not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place where your faith in God has become known. As a result, we do not need to say anything about it.
9 For people[l] keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God 10 and to wait for his Son whom he raised from the dead to come back[m] from heaven. This Jesus is the one who rescues us from the coming wrath.
11 “How blessed are you whenever people[a] insult you, persecute you, and say all sorts of evil things against you falsely[b] because of me! 12 Rejoice and be extremely glad, because your reward in heaven is great! That’s how they persecuted the prophets who came before you.”
Salt and Light in the World(A)
13 “You are the salt of the world. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 People[c] don’t light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people in such a way that they will see your good actions and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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