Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: An instruction[a] by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of[b] “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song
45 My heart is overflowing with good news;
I speak what I have composed to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants;
grace has anointed your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword to your side,
mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharpened
to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
People will fall under you.
6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.
7 You love justice and hate wickedness.
That is why God, even your God, has anointed you
rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.
8 All your clothes are scented with[c] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women;
the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”
10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty.
Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him.
12 The daughter[d] of Tyre will come with[e] a wedding gift;
wealthy people will entreat your favor.
13 In her chamber,[f] the king’s daughter is glorious;
her clothing is embroidered with gold thread.
14 In embroidered garments
she is presented to the king.
Her virgin companions who follow her train
will be presented to you.
15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented
when they enter the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors,
and you will set them up as princes in all the earth.
17 From generation to generation,
I will cause your name to be remembered.
Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with a loud cry of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
even the pride of Jacob whom he loved.
5 God has ascended on high with a shout,
the Lord has ascended[a] with the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing songs to God!
Sing songs!
Sing songs to our King!
Sing songs!
7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth;
sing a song of praise.
8 God is king over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles among the nations
have joined the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
A song: Lyrics[b] by the Sons of Korah.
Zion, City of God
48 Great is the Lord!
For he is to be praised greatly,
even in the city of our God,
his holy mountain.
2 Beautifully situated,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion towards the north,[c]
the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels
God is known as a place of refuge.
4 Behold, when the kings assembled together,
when they traveled together,
5 they looked and were awestruck;
they became afraid and ran away.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pains like those of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind destroyed the ships of Tarshish.
8 Just as we have heard,
so have we seen;
in the city of the Lord of the heavenly armies—
even in the city of our God—
God will establish her forever.
9 God, we have meditated on your gracious love
in the midst of your Temple.
10 God, according to your name,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion will be glad;
the towns[d] of Judah will rejoice because of your judgments.
12 March around Zion;
encircle her;
count her towers.
13 Take note of her ramparts;
investigate her citadels;
that you may speak about them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us until death.
14 The second catastrophe is over. The third catastrophe is coming very soon.
The Vision of the Seventh Angel Blowing His Trumpet
15 When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The world’s kingdom has become
the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,[a]
and he will rule forever and ever.”
16 Then the twenty-four elders who were sitting on their thrones in God’s presence fell on their faces and worshipped God. 17 They said,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to rule.
18 The nations were angry,
but the time for[b] your wrath has come.
It is time for the dead to be judged—
to reward your servants, the prophets, the saints, and all who fear your name,
both unimportant and important,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen inside his Temple. There were flashes of lightning, noises, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
True Blessedness
27 As Jesus[a] was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and told him, “How blessed is the womb that gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you!”
28 But he said, “Instead, how blessed are those who hear God’s word and obey it!”
The Sign of Jonah(A)
29 Now as the crowds continued to throng around Jesus,[b] he went on to say, “This people living today are[c] an evil generation. It craves a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah, 30 because just as Jonah became a sign[d] to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be a sign to this generation. 31 The queen of the south will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today,[e] because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. But look, something greater than Solomon is here! 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment and condemn the people living today,[f] because they repented at the preaching of Jonah. But look, something greater than Jonah is here!”
The Lamp of the Body(B)
33 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a hiding place[g] or under a basket,[h] but on a lamp stand, so that those who enter may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it’s evil, your body is full of darkness. 35 Therefore, be careful that the light in you isn’t darkness. 36 Now if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”
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