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]
Vision Three: The Surveyor
2 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?” He replied, “To measure Jerusalem in order to determine its width and its length.” 3 At this point the angelic messenger[a] who spoke to me went out, and another messenger came to meet him 4 and said to him, “Hurry, speak to this young man[b] as follows: ‘Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls[c] because of the multitude of people and animals there. 5 But I,’ the Lord says, ‘will be a wall of fire surrounding Jerusalem[d] and the source of glory in her midst.’”
6 “You there![e] Flee from the northland!” says the Lord, “for like the four winds of heaven[f] I have scattered you,” says the Lord. 7 “Escape, Zion, you who live among the Babylonians!”[g] 8 For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “For his own glory[h] he has sent me to the nations that plundered you—for anyone who touches you touches the pupil[i] of his[j] eye. 9 Yes, look here, I am about to punish them[k] so that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.
10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter![l] For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation,[m] and they will also be my[n] people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will take possession of[o] Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again. 13 Be silent in the Lord’s presence, all people everywhere,[p] for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.”[q]
To the Church in Laodicea
14 “To[a] the angel of the church in Laodicea write the following:[b]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[c] the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator[d] of God’s creation: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.[e] I wish you were either cold or hot! 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going[f] to vomit[g] you out of my mouth! 17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth,[h] and need nothing,” but[i] do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful,[j] poor, blind, and naked, 18 take my advice[k] and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me[l] white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness[m] will not be exposed, and buy eye salve[n] to put on your eyes so you can see! 19 All those[o] I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent! 20 Listen![p] I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home[q] and share a meal with him, and he with me. 21 I will grant the one[r] who conquers[s] permission[t] to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered[u] and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Learn[a] this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also you, when you see all these things, know[b] that he is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth,[c] this generation[d] will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.[e]
Be Ready!
36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it—not even the angels in heaven[f]—except the Father alone. 37 For just like the days of Noah[g] were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood, people[h] were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39 And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away.[i] It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.[j] 40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left.[k] 41 There will be two women grinding grain with a mill;[l] one will be taken and one left.
42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day[m] your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief[n] was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.[o]
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