Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 24
The King of Glory
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By David. A psalm.
The King of Glory Owns the Whole World
1 The earth is the Lord’s
and everything that fills it,
the world and all who live in it,
2 because he founded it on the seas,
and he established it on the rivers.[a]
The King of Glory Is Served by a Holy People
3 Who may go up to the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
whose soul is not set on what is false,
who does not swear deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God who saves him.
6 Such are the people of Jacob who look for the Lord,
who seek your face.[b] Interlude
The King of Glory Comes
7 Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift yourselves up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
8 Who is this King of Glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates.
Lift up, you ancient doors,
and the King of Glory will come in.
10 Who is he, this King of Glory?
The Lord of Armies—he is the King of Glory. Interlude[c]
Psalm 29
The God of Glory Thunders
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A psalm by David.
The God of Glory Thunders
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you sons of God,[a]
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name.
Bow down to the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is heard over the waters.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders above the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord thunders in power.
The voice of the Lord thunders in majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars.
The Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Mount Lebanon skip like a calf.
Sirion[b] skips like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord slashes with flashes of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness.
The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord destroys the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
So in his temple they all say, “Glory!”
10 The Lord is seated over the flood.
The Lord is seated as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people.
The Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 8
Your Name Is Majestic
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For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] A psalm by David.
The Glory of God Declared by the Heavens
The Glory of God Declared by Children
1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Set this glory of yours above the heavens.[b]
2 From the lips of little children and nursing babies
you have established strength[c] because of your foes,
to put a stop to the enemy and the avenger.
The Glory of the Son of Man
3 Whenever I look up at your heavens, the works of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place—
4 what is man that you remember him,
the son of man[d] that you pay attention to him!
5 Nevertheless, you make him suffer need,
apart from God for a while,[e]
but you crown him with glory and honor.
6 You make him the ruler over the works of your hands.
You put everything under his feet:
7 all flocks and cattle, and even the wild animals,
8 the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
which pass through the currents of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Psalm 84
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
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For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] By the Sons of Korah.[b]
A psalm.
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
1 How I love your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies.
2 My soul grows weak and even wastes away,
as I long for the courtyards of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow has found a nest for herself,
where she may place her young near your altars,
O Lord of Armies, my King and my God.
The Blessings of Being There
4 How blessed are those who live in your house. Interlude
They are always praising you.
5 How blessed is everyone whose strength is found in you.
The highways to Jerusalem[c] are in their hearts.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[d]
it becomes full of springs.[e]
The autumn rain also covers it with pools.[f]
7 They go from strength to strength.
Each one will appear before God in Zion.
Prayer
8 O Lord, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Interlude
Give ear, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our Shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your Anointed One.[g]
The Blessings of Being There
10 Yes, one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather wait at the doorway of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord is a sun and shield.
God gives grace and glory.
The Lord does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of Armies, how blessed is everyone who trusts in you.
6 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, a common burden that people bear:[a] 2 God gives somebody wealth, riches, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of everything that he craves, but God does not give him the opportunity to eat it. Instead, a stranger eats it. This is vapor, and a sickening evil.
3 A man may father a hundred children and live many years, but if his soul is not satisfied with good things and he does not even have a proper burial, no matter how many days he lives, I say, “A stillborn baby is better off than he is.” 4 Why? Because that baby comes like a vapor and leaves in darkness, and its name gets covered in darkness. 5 The baby does not see the sun or know it,[b] but it enjoys more peaceful rest than that man does, 6 even if that man would live a thousand years two times without enjoying good things. They all go to the same place, don’t they?
7 All of a man’s hard work is to feed his mouth, but his appetite[c] never feels satisfied.
8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? What advantage does a poor man gain, who knows how to keep walking among the living?[d] 9 Better to have eyes that look at what is actually there than desires that roam. This too is vapor and chasing the wind.
10 Whatever exists already has its name,[e] and it is already known what man is. He is not able to win in court against one who is stronger than he is.[f]
11 Yes, the more words,[g] the more vapor. What advantage does a man have?
12 For who knows what is good for a man in life, in the few days of his life, that vanishes like vapor, that passes like a shadow?[h] Who will tell the man what will be after him, under the sun?
Peter Sees a Vision
9 The next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray at about the sixth hour.[a] 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and an object coming down. It was like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.[b] 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[c] of the earth and birds of the sky.
13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 Yet the voice came to him a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.”
16 This happened three times, and then the object was immediately taken up to heaven.[d]
17 While Peter was inwardly perplexed about what the vision he had seen might mean, just then the men who were sent by Cornelius arrived. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there as a guest.
19 While Peter was still deep in thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “See, three men are looking for you! 20 Now get up, go downstairs, and don’t hesitate to go with them, because I have sent them.”
21 Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They replied, “Cornelius the centurion is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is highly respected by the whole Jewish nation. He was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to listen to what you have to say.” 23 So Peter invited them in and received them as guests.
Peter Goes to the Home of Cornelius
The next day, Peter got ready and left with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him.
32 Do not be afraid, little flock, because your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not become old, a treasure in the heavens that will not fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Be Ready!
35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and keep your lamps burning. 36 Be like people waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 Blessed are those servants, whom the master will find watching when he comes. Amen I tell you: He will dress himself and have them recline at the table, and he will come and serve them. 38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch,[a] they will be blessed if he finds them alert. 39 But know this: If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you are not expecting him.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.