Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45[a]
Song for a Royal Wedding
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” A maskil of the Korahites. A love song.
I
2 My heart is stirred by a noble theme,
as I sing my ode to the king.
My tongue is the pen of a nimble scribe.
II
3 You are the most handsome of men;
fair speech has graced your lips,
for God has blessed you forever.(A)
4 Gird your sword upon your hip, mighty warrior!
In splendor and majesty ride on triumphant!(B)
5 In the cause of truth, meekness, and justice
may your right hand show your wondrous deeds.
6 Your arrows are sharp;
peoples will cower at your feet;
the king’s enemies will lose heart.
7 Your throne, O God,[b] stands forever;(C)
your royal scepter is a scepter for justice.
8 You love justice and hate wrongdoing;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellow kings.
9 With myrrh, aloes, and cassia
your robes are fragrant.
From ivory-paneled palaces[c]
stringed instruments bring you joy.
10 Daughters of kings are your lovely wives;
a princess arrayed in Ophir’s gold[d]
comes to stand at your right hand.
III
11 Listen, my daughter, and understand;
pay me careful heed.
Forget your people and your father’s house,[e]
12 that the king might desire your beauty.
He is your lord;
13 (D)honor him, daughter of Tyre.
Then the richest of the people
will seek your favor with gifts.
14 All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters,(E)
her raiment threaded with gold;
15 In embroidered apparel she is led to the king.
The maids of her train are presented to the king.
16 They are led in with glad and joyous acclaim;
they enter the palace of the king.
IV
Psalm 47[a]
The Ruler of All the Nations
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
I
2 All you peoples, clap your hands;
shout to God with joyful cries.(A)
3 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
the great king over all the earth,(B)
4 Who made people subject to us,
nations under our feet,(C)
5 [b]Who chose our heritage for us,
the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.(D)
Selah
II
6 [c]God has gone up with a shout;
the Lord, amid trumpet blasts.(E)
7 Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
III
8 For God is king over all the earth;(F)
sing hymns of praise.
9 God rules over the nations;
God sits upon his holy throne.
10 The princes of the peoples assemble
with the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God,
highly exalted.(G)
Psalm 48[d]
The Splendor of the Invincible City
1 A psalm of the Korahites.[e] A song.
I
2 Great is the Lord and highly praised
in the city of our God:(H)
His holy mountain,
3 fairest of heights,
the joy of all the earth,(I)
Mount Zion, the heights of Zaphon,[f](J)
the city of the great king.
II
4 God is in its citadel,
renowned as a stronghold.
5 See! The kings assembled,
together they advanced.
6 [g]When they looked they were astounded;
terrified, they were put to flight!(K)
7 Trembling seized them there,
anguish, like a woman’s labor,(L)
8 As when the east wind wrecks
the ships of Tarshish![h]
III
9 [i]What we had heard we have now seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God,
which God establishes forever.
Selah
10 We ponder, O God, your mercy
within your temple
11 Like your name, O God,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.(M)
Your right hand is fully victorious.
12 Mount Zion is glad!
The daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!(N)
IV
21 [a]Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you should lead them into a grave sin?” 22 Aaron replied, “Do not let my lord be angry. You know how the people are prone to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us a god to go before us; as for this man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever is wearing gold, take it off.’ They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild because Aaron had lost control—to the secret delight of their foes. 26 Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” All the Levites(A) then rallied to him, 27 and he told them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Each of you put your sword on your hip! Go back and forth through the camp, from gate to gate, and kill your brothers, your friends, your neighbors!” 28 The Levites did as Moses had commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people fell. 29 Then Moses said, “Today you are installed as priests[b] for the Lord, for you went against your own sons and brothers, to bring a blessing upon yourselves this day.”
The Atonement. 30 On the next day Moses said to the people,(B) “You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.” 31 So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Ah, this people has committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! 32 Now if you would only forgive their sin! But if you will not, then blot me out of the book that you have written.”[c] 33 The Lord answered Moses: Only the one who has sinned against me will I blot out of my book. 34 Now, go and lead the people where I have told you. See, my angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting. 1 [a](A)Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving for Their Faith. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly(B) 3 calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope[b] of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen.(C) 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and [with] much conviction. You know what sort of people we were [among] you for your sake.(D) 6 And you became imitators[c] of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the holy Spirit, 7 so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.(E) 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and [in] Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.(F) 9 For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God(G) 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from [the] dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.(H)
11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me.(A) 12 [a]Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.(B) Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
The Similes of Salt and Light.[b] 13 (C)“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.[c] 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.(D) 15 Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.(E) 16 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.(F)
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