Book of Common Prayer
The Glories of the Messiah and His Bride
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a [c]ready writer.
2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
(B)Grace is poured upon Your lips;
Therefore God has blessed You forever.
3 [d]Gird Your (C)sword upon Your thigh, (D)O Mighty One,
With Your (E)glory and Your majesty.
4 (F)And in Your majesty ride prosperously because of truth, humility, and righteousness;
And Your right hand shall teach You awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the King’s enemies;
The peoples fall under You.
6 (G)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A (H)scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (I)anointed You
With the oil of (J)gladness more than Your companions.
8 All Your garments are (K)scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia,
Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad.
9 (L)Kings’ daughters are among Your honorable women;
(M)At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter,
Consider and incline your ear;
(N)Forget your own people also, and your father’s house;
11 So the King will greatly desire your beauty;
(O)Because He is your Lord, worship Him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
(P)The rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace;
Her clothing is woven with gold.
14 (Q)She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors;
The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to You.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
They shall enter the King’s palace.
Praise to God, the Ruler of the Earth
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great (A)King over all the earth.
3 (B)He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our (C)inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 (D)God has gone up with a shout,
The Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 (E)For God is the King of all the earth;
(F)Sing praises with understanding.
8 (G)God reigns over the nations;
God (H)sits on His (I)holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have gathered together,
(J)The people of the God of Abraham.
(K)For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
The Glory of God in Zion
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (L)city of our God,
In His holy mountain.
2 (M)Beautiful in [a]elevation,
The joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
3 God is in her palaces;
He is known as her refuge.
4 For behold, (N)the kings assembled,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
They were troubled, they hastened away.
6 Fear (O)took hold of them there,
And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
7 As when You break the (P)ships of Tarshish
With an east wind.
8 As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will (Q)establish it forever. Selah
Vision of the Measuring Line
2 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, (A)a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 So I said, “Where are you going?”
And he said to me, (B)“To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.”
3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, 4 who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: (C)‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. 5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be (D)a wall of fire all around her, (E)and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”
Future Joy of Zion and Many Nations
6 “Up, up! Flee (F)from the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have (G)spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. 7 “Up, Zion! (H)Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.”
8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who (I)touches you touches the [a]apple of His eye. 9 For surely I will (J)shake My hand against them, and they shall become [b]spoil for their servants. Then (K)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.
10 (L)“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I (M)will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord. 11 (N)“Many nations shall be joined to the Lord (O)in that day, and they shall become (P)My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then (Q)you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 And the Lord will (R)take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 (S)Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused (T)from His holy habitation!”
The Lukewarm Church
14 “And to the [a]angel of the church [b]of the Laodiceans write,
(A)‘These things says the Amen, (B)the Faithful and True Witness, (C)the Beginning of the creation of God: 15 (D)“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither [c]cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, (E)‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you (F)to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and (G)white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 (H)As many as I love, I rebuke and (I)chasten.[d] Therefore be [e]zealous and repent. 20 Behold, (J)I stand at the door and knock. (K)If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, (L)I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes (M)I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 (N)“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
The Parable of the Fig Tree(A)
32 “Now learn (B)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know (C)that [a]it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, (D)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 (E)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
No One Knows the Day or Hour(F)
36 (G)“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of [b]heaven, (H)but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 (I)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 (J)Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 (K)Watch therefore, for you do not know what [c]hour your Lord is coming. 43 (L)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what [d]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 (M)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.