Book of Common Prayer
A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.
For the music director; according to the [a]Shoshannim. A [b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart is moved with a good theme;
I [c]address my [d]verses to the [e]King;
My tongue is the pen of (A)a ready writer.
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of mankind;
(B)Grace is poured [f]upon Your lips;
Therefore God has (C)blessed You forever.
3 Strap (D)Your sword on Your thigh, [g](E)Mighty One,
In Your splendor and majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth, (F)humility, and righteousness;
Let Your (G)right hand teach You [h]awesome things.
5 Your (H)arrows are sharp;
The (I)peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are (J)in the heart of the King’s enemies.
6 (K)Your throne, God, is forever and ever;
(L)The scepter of Your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You have (M)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (N)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your companions.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (O)myrrh, aloes, and cassia;
From ivory palaces (P)stringed instruments have made You joyful.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (Q)Your noble women;
At Your (R)right hand stands the queen in (S)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter, look and incline your ear:
(T)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will crave your beauty.
Because He is your (U)Lord, (V)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (W)Tyre will come with a gift;
The (X)wealthy among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is (Y)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (Z)brought to the King (AA)in colorful garments;
The (AB)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be brought with joy and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
God, the King of the Earth.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 (A)Clap your hands, all you peoples;
(B)Shout to God with a voice of joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is to be (C)feared,
A (D)great King over all the earth.
3 He (E)subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our (F)inheritance for us,
The (G)pride of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 God has (H)ascended [a]with a shout,
The Lord, [b]with the (I)sound of a trumpet.
6 (J)Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to (K)our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the (L)King of all the earth;
Sing praises (M)with a psalm of wisdom.
8 God (N)reigns over the nations,
God [c]sits on (O)His holy throne.
9 The [d](P)princes of the people have assembled as the (Q)people of the God of Abraham,
For the (R)shields of the earth belong to God;
He is (S)highly exalted.
The Beauty and Glory of Zion.
A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (T)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised
In the (U)city of our God, His (V)holy mountain.
2 (W)Beautiful in elevation, (X)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (Y)city of the great King.
3 In its palaces,
God has made Himself known as a (Z)stronghold.
4 For, behold, the (AA)kings arrived,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (AB)terrified, they fled in a hurry.
6 [e]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as that of (AC)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (AD)east wind
You (AE)smash the (AF)ships of Tarshish.
8 Just as we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of armies, in the city of our God;
God will (AG)establish her forever. Selah
9 We have thought over (AH)Your goodness, God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (AI)name, God,
So is Your (AJ)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (AK)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Mount (AL)Zion shall be glad,
The (AM)daughters of Judah shall rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion and encircle her;
Count her (AN)towers;
13 Consider her (AO)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
So that you may (AP)tell of her to the next generation.
14 For [f]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (AQ)lead us [g]until death.
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (A)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 But Abram said, “Lord [b]God, what will You give me, since I [c]am childless, and the [d]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram also said, “[e]Since You have given me no [f]son, [g]one who has been (E)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; (F)but one who will come from your own [h]body shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and (G)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(H)So shall your [i]descendants be.” 6 (I)Then he believed in the Lord; and He [j]credited it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (K)give you this land to [k]possess it.” 8 But he said, “Lord [l]God, (L)how may I know that I will [m]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[n]Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he [o]brought all these to Him and (M)cut them [p]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (N)did not cut the birds. 11 And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
17 Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which (A)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(B)To your [a]descendants I have given this land,
From (C)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (D)the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, 20 the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”
The Old and the New
9 Now even the first covenant had (A)regulations for divine worship and (B)the earthly sanctuary. 2 For (C)a [a]tabernacle was equipped, the [b]outer sanctuary, in which were (D)the lampstand, (E)the table, and (F)the [c]sacred bread; this is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind (G)the second veil there was a [d]tabernacle which is called the (H)Most Holy Place, 4 having a golden [e](I)altar of incense and (J)the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was (K)a golden jar holding the manna, (L)Aaron’s staff which budded, and (M)the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the (N)cherubim of glory (O)overshadowing the [f]atoning cover; but about these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests (P)are continually entering the [g]outer [h]tabernacle, performing the divine worship, 7 but into (Q)the second, only (R)the high priest enters (S)once a year, (T)not without taking blood which he (U)offers for himself and for the [i](V)sins of the people committed in ignorance. 8 (W)The Holy Spirit is signifying this, (X)that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the [j]outer tabernacle is still standing, 9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly (Y)both gifts and sacrifices are offered which (Z)cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 10 since they relate only to (AA)food, (AB)drink, and various (AC)washings, (AD)regulations for the [k]body imposed until (AE)a time of reformation.
11 But when Christ appeared as a (AF)high priest of the (AG)good things [l]having come, He entered through (AH)the greater and more perfect [m]tabernacle, (AI)not made by hands, that is, (AJ)not of this creation; 12 and not through (AK)the blood of goats and calves, but (AL)through His own blood, He (AM)entered the holy place (AN)once for all time, [n]having obtained (AO)eternal redemption. 13 For if (AP)the blood of goats and bulls, and (AQ)the [o]ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the [p]cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will (AR)the blood of Christ, who through [q](AS)the eternal Spirit (AT)offered Himself without blemish to God, (AU)cleanse your conscience from (AV)dead works to serve (AW)the living God?
The Healing at Bethesda
5 After these things there was (A)a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem, by (B)the Sheep Gate, there is a pool which (C)in [a]Hebrew is called [b]Bethesda, having five [c]porticoes. 3 In these porticoes lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or [d]paralyzed.[e] 5 Now a man was there who had been [f]ill for thirty-eight years. 6 Jesus, upon seeing this man lying there and knowing that he had already been in that condition for a long time, *said to him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus *said to him, “(D)Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
(E)Now it was a Sabbath on that day. 10 So (F)the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is a Sabbath, and (G)it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward, Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not (H)sin anymore, (I)so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and informed (J)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason (K)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on a Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father [g]is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus’ Equality with God
18 For this reason therefore (L)the Jews (M)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, (N)making Himself equal with God.
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