Book of Common Prayer

God’s Chosen One Will Rule

2 Why are the nations so shaken up and the people planning foolish things? ² The kings of the earth stand in a line ready to fight, and all the leaders are against the Lord and against His Chosen One. ³ They say, “Let us break their chains and throw them away from us.”

⁴ He Who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord makes fun of them. ⁵ Then He will speak to them in His anger and make them afraid, saying, ⁶ “But as for Me, I have set My King on Zion, My holy mountain.” ⁷ I will make known the words of the Lord. He said to Me, “You are My Son. Today I have become Your Father. ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give the nations for you to own. The ends of the earth will belong to You. ⁹ You will break them using a piece of iron. And they will be broken in pieces like pots of clay.”

¹⁰ So, kings, be wise. Listen, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear, and be full of joy as you shake in fear. ¹² Kiss the Son. Be afraid that He may be angry and destroy you in the way. For His anger is quick. Happy are all who put their trust in Him.

A Prayer for the Nation’s Good

85 O Lord, You showed favor to Your land. You have returned those of Jacob who were taken away. ² You have forgiven the sins of Your people. You have covered all their sin. ³ You have taken away all Your anger. You have turned away from Your burning anger.

⁴ O God Who saves us, give us life again. Make Your anger toward us stop. ⁵ Will You be angry with us forever? Will You spread out Your anger to families of all times? ⁶ Will You not bring us back to life again so that Your people may be happy in You? ⁷ Show us Your loving-kindness, O Lord, and save us.

⁸ I will listen to what God the Lord will say. For He will speak peace to His people, to those who are right with Him. But do not let them turn again to foolish things. ⁹ For sure His saving power is near those who fear Him, so His shining-greatness may live in the land. ¹⁰ Loving-kindness and truth have met together. Peace and what is right and good have kissed each other. ¹¹ Truth comes up from the earth. And what is right and good looks down from heaven. ¹² Yes, the Lord will give what is good. And our land will give its fruit. ¹³ What is right and good will go before Him and make a way for His steps.

The King Rules

110 The Lord says to my Lord, “Sit at My right side, for those who hate You will be a place to rest Your feet.” ² The Lord will send out Your strength from Zion, saying, “Rule in front of those who hate You.” ³ Your people will be willing to help in the day of Your power. Your young men will be dressed in holy clothes. They will come to You like water on the grass in the early morning.

⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a Religious Leader forever, in the same way as Melchizedek.” ⁵ The Lord is at Your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of His anger. ⁶ He will say who is guilty or not among the nations. He will fill them with dead bodies. He will crush the leaders of many lands. ⁷ He will drink from the river on the way. And so He will lift up His head.

A Prayer for the House of God

132 O Lord, remember David and all of his suffering. ² Remember how he swore to the Lord, and how he made a promise to the Powerful One of Jacob: ³ “For sure I will not go into my house or lie on my bed, ⁴ or let sleep come and close my eyes, ⁵ until I find a place for the Lord, a house of worship for the Powerful One of Jacob.”

⁶ See, we heard about it in Ephrathah. We found it in the field of Jaar. ⁷ Let us go into the House of God. Let us worship at His feet. ⁸ Rise up, O Lord. Go to the place where You can rest, You and the special box of the Way of Worship which is Your strength. ⁹ Let Your religious leaders be dressed with what is right and good. And let those who belong to You sing for joy.

¹⁰ Because of David Your servant, do not turn away from Your chosen one. ¹¹ The Lord has made a sure promise to David that He will never break: “I will set upon your throne your own children. ¹² If your sons will keep My Law and My Word which I will teach them, then their sons will sit upon your throne forever.”

¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has wanted it for a place to live: ¹⁴ “This is the place where I can rest forever. Here I will live, for I have wanted it. ¹⁵ I will give her many good things. I will give her poor people much bread. ¹⁶ I will dress her religious leaders with saving power. And those in her that belong to Me will sing for joy. ¹⁷ There I will make the horn of David grow and will make a lamp ready for My chosen one. ¹⁸ I will dress those who hate him with shame. But the crown on him will shine.”

¹⁰ Sing for joy and be glad, O people of Zion. For I am coming and I will live among you,” says the Lord. ¹¹ “Many nations will be joined to the Lord in that day and will become My people. I will live among you, and you will know that the Lord of All has sent Me to you. ¹² The Lord will receive Judah as His share in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. ¹³ All of you be quiet before the Lord. For He is coming from His holy place.”

Loving God Makes Us Love Our Christian Brothers

⁷ Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God. ⁸ Those who do not love do not know God because God is love. ⁹ God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ. ¹⁰ This is love! It is not that we loved God but that He loved us. For God sent His Son to pay for our sins with His own blood.

¹¹ Dear friends, if God loved us that much, then we should love each other. ¹² No person has ever seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us. His love is made perfect in us. ¹³ He has given us His Spirit. This is how we live by His help and He lives in us.

Love Gives Us More Faith in Christ

¹⁴ We have seen and are able to say that the Father sent His Son to save the world from the punishment of sin. ¹⁵ The person who tells of Him in front of men and says that Jesus is the Son of God, God is living in that one and that one is living by the help of God. ¹⁶ We have come to know and believe the love God has for us. God is love. If you live in love, you live by the help of God and God lives in you.

³¹ “He Who comes from above is above all. He who comes from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He tells of what He has seen and heard. But no one believes what He says. ³³ Whoever receives His words proves that God is true. ³⁴ He was sent by God and He speaks God’s Word. God gives Him all of His Spirit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. ³⁶ He who puts his trust in the Son has life that lasts forever. He who does not put his trust in the Son will not have life, but the anger of God is on him.”