Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. A wedding song to the tune of “Lilies.”
45 My heart is full of beautiful words
as I say my poem for the king.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men.
Your lips have been given the ability to speak gracious words.
God has blessed you forever.
3 Mighty one, put your sword at your side.
Put on glory and majesty as if they were your clothes.
4 In your majesty ride out with power
to fight for what is true, humble and fair.
Let your right hand do wonderful things.
5 Shoot your sharp arrows into the hearts of your enemies.
Let the nations come under your control.
6 Your throne is the very throne of God.
Your kingdom will last for ever and ever.
You will rule by treating everyone fairly.
7 You love what is right and hate what is evil.
So your God has placed you above your companions.
He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.
8 Myrrh and aloes and cassia make all your robes smell good.
In palaces decorated with ivory
the music played on stringed instruments makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among the women you honor.
At your right hand is the royal bride dressed in gold from Ophir.
10 Royal bride, listen and pay careful attention.
Forget about your people and the home you came from.
11 Let the king be charmed by your beauty.
Honor him. He is now your master.
12 The people of Tyre will come with gifts.
Wealthy people will try to gain your favor.
13 In her room, the princess looks glorious.
Her gown has gold threads running through it.
14 Dressed in beautiful clothes, she is led to the king.
Her virgin companions follow her.
They have been brought to be with her.
15 They are led in with joy and gladness.
They enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will rule just as your father and grandfather did.
You will make them princes through the whole land.
17 I will make sure that people will always remember you.
The nations will praise you for ever and ever.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
47 Clap your hands, all you nations.
Shout to God with cries of joy.
2 Do this because the Lord Most High is wonderful.
He is the great King over the whole earth.
3 He brought nations under our control.
He made them fall under us.
4 He chose our land for us.
The people of Jacob are proud of their land,
and God loves them.
5 God went up to his throne while his people were shouting with joy.
The Lord went up while trumpets were playing.
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is the King of the whole earth.
Sing a psalm of praise to him.
8 God rules over the nations.
He is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations come together.
They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham.
The kings of the earth belong to God.
He is greatly honored.
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.
Praise him in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Mount Zion is high and beautiful.
It brings joy to everyone on earth.
Mount Zion is like the highest parts of Mount Zaphon.
It is the city of the Great King.
3 God is there to keep it safe.
He has shown himself to be like a fort to the city.
4 Many kings joined forces.
They entered Israel together.
5 But when they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed.
They ran away in terror.
6 Trembling took hold of them.
They felt pain like a woman giving birth.
7 Lord, you destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
that were torn apart by an east wind.
8 What we heard we have also seen.
We have seen it
in the city of the Lord who rules over all.
We have seen it in the city of our God.
We have heard and seen that God makes it secure forever.
9 God, inside your temple
we think about your faithful love.
10 God, your fame reaches from one end of the earth to the other.
So people praise you from one end of the earth to the other.
You use your power to do what is right.
11 Mount Zion is filled with joy.
The villages of Judah are glad.
That’s because you judge fairly.
12 Walk all around Zion.
Count its towers.
13 Think carefully about its outer walls.
Just look at how safe it is!
Then you can tell its people that God keeps them safe.
14 This God is our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide to the very end.
Job’s Final Speech
29 Job continued to speak. He said,
2 “How I long for the times when things were better!
That’s when God watched over me.
3 The light of his lamp shone on me.
I walked through darkness by his light.
4 Those were the best days of my life.
That’s when God’s friendship blessed my house.
5 The Mighty One was still with me.
My children were all around me.
6 The path in front of me was like sweet cream.
It was as if the rock poured out olive oil for me.
7 “In those days I went to the city gate.
I took my seat as a member of the council.
8 Young people who saw me stepped to one side.
Old people stood up as I approached.
9 The leaders stopped speaking.
They covered their mouths with their hands.
10 The voices of the nobles became quiet.
Their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.
11 Everyone who heard me said good things about me.
Those who saw me honored me.
12 That’s because I saved poor people who cried out for help.
I saved helpless children whose fathers had died.
13 Those who were dying gave me their blessing.
I made the hearts of widows sing.
14 I put on a godly life as if it were my clothes.
Fairness was my robe and my turban.
15 I was like eyes for those who were blind.
I was like feet for those who couldn’t walk.
16 I was like a father to needy people.
I stood up for strangers in court.
17 Sinners are like animals that have powerful teeth.
But I took from their mouths the people they had caught.
18 “I thought, ‘I’ll die in my own house.
The days of my life will be as many as the grains of sand.
19 My roots will reach down to the water.
The dew will lie all night on my branches.
20 I will remain healthy and strong.
My bow will stay as good as new in my hand.’
Paul and Barnabas Preach in Iconium
14 At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue as usual. They spoke there with great power. Large numbers of Jews and Greeks became believers. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up some of the Gentiles who were there. They turned them against the two men and the new believers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent a lot of time there. They spoke boldly for the Lord. He gave them the ability to do signs and wonders. In this way the Lord showed that they were telling the truth about his grace. 4 The people of the city did not agree with one another. Some were on the side of the Jews. Others were on the side of the apostles. 5 Jews and Gentiles alike planned to treat Paul and Barnabas badly. Their leaders agreed. They planned to kill them by throwing stones at them. 6 But Paul and Barnabas found out about the plan. They escaped to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding area. 7 There they continued to preach the good news.
Paul Preaches in Lystra
8 In Lystra there sat a man who couldn’t walk. He hadn’t been able to use his feet since the day he was born. 9 He listened as Paul spoke. Paul looked right at him. He saw that the man had faith to be healed. 10 So he called out, “Stand up on your feet!” Then the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 The crowd saw what Paul had done. They shouted in the Lycaonian language. “The gods have come down to us in human form!” they exclaimed. 12 They called Barnabas Zeus. Paul was the main speaker. So they called him Hermes. 13 Just outside the city was the temple of the god Zeus. The priest of Zeus brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates. He and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas.
14 But the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about this. So they tore their clothes. They rushed out into the crowd. They shouted, 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We are only human, just like you. We are bringing you good news. Turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the living God. He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and the sea. He made everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 But he has given proof of what he is like. He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven. He gives you crops in their seasons. He provides you with plenty of food. He fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Paul and Barnabas told them all these things. But they had trouble keeping the crowd from offering sacrifices to them.
31 Again the Jews who had challenged him picked up stones to kill him. 32 But Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which good work are you throwing stones at me for?”
33 “We are not throwing stones at you for any good work,” they replied. “We are stoning you for saying a very evil thing. You are only a man. But you claim to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Didn’t God say in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods” ’? (Psalm 82:6) 35 We know that Scripture is always true. God spoke to some people and called them ‘gods.’ 36 If that is true, what about the one the Father set apart as his very own? What about this one the Father sent into the world? Why do you charge me with saying a very evil thing? Is it because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Don’t believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But what if I do them? Even if you don’t believe me, believe these works. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to arrest him. But he escaped from them.
40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan River. He went to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed. 41 Many people came to him. They said, “John never performed a sign. But everything he said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.
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