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 Central Sanctuary
12 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors,[a] has given you to possess.[b] 2 You must by all means destroy[c] all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods—on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree.[d] 3 You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars,[e] burn up their sacred Asherah poles,[f] and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place. 4 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship. 5 But you must seek only the place he[g] chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence,[h] and you must go there. 6 And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared,[i] your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 Both you and your families[j] must feast there before the Lord your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he[k] has blessed you. 8 You must not do as we are doing here today, with everyone[l] doing what seems best to him, 9 for you have not yet come to the final stop[m] and inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you do go across the Jordan River[n] and settle in the land he[o] is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety.[p] 11 Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing[q] everything I am commanding you—your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared,[r] and all your choice votive offerings that you devote to him.[s] 12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages[t] (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you).[u]
3 We do not give anyone[a] an occasion for taking an offense in anything,[b] so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants,[c] we have commended ourselves in every way,[d] with great endurance, in persecutions,[e] in difficulties, in distresses, 5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots,[f] in troubles,[g] in sleepless nights, in hunger, 6 by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by benevolence, by the Holy Spirit,[h] by genuine[i] love, 7 by truthful[j] teaching,[k] by the power of God, with weapons of righteousness both for the right hand and for the left,[l] 8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors,[m] and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet—see!—we continue to live; as those who are scourged[n] and yet not executed; 10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken freely to you,[o] Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide to you. 12 Our affection for you is not restricted,[p] but you are restricted in your affections for us. 13 Now as a fair exchange—I speak as to my[q] children—open wide your hearts to us[r] also.
Unequal Partners
14 Do not become partners[s] with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 15 And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar?[t] Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are[u] the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them[v] and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”[w] 17 Therefore “come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch no unclean thing,[x] and I will welcome[y] you,[z] 18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,”[aa] says the All-Powerful Lord.[ab]
Self-Purification
7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves[ac] from everything that could defile the body[ad] and the spirit, and thus accomplish[ae] holiness out of reverence for God.[af]
The Grateful Leper
11 Now on[a] the way to Jerusalem,[b] Jesus[c] was passing along[d] between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As[e] he was entering[f] a village, ten men with leprosy[g] met him. They[h] stood at a distance, 13 raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy[i] on us.” 14 When[j] he saw them he said, “Go[k] and show yourselves to the priests.”[l] And[m] as they went along, they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising[n] God with a loud voice. 16 He[o] fell with his face to the ground[p] at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.[q] (Now[r] he was a Samaritan.)[s] 17 Then[t] Jesus said,[u] “Were[v] not ten cleansed? Where are the other[w] nine? 18 Was no one found to turn back and give praise to God except this foreigner?”[x] 19 Then[y] he said to the man,[z] “Get up and go your way. Your faith has made you well.”[aa]
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