Book of Common Prayer
A Royal Wedding Song
For the choir director: according to ‘The Lilies.’(A) A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
45 My heart is moved by a noble theme
as I recite my verses to the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer.(B)
2 You are the most handsome of men;[a]
grace flows from your lips.(C)
Therefore God has blessed you for ever.(D)
3 Mighty warrior, strap your sword at your side.
In your majesty and splendour(E) –
4 in your splendour ride triumphantly
in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
May your right hand show your awe-inspiring acts.(F)
5 Your sharpened arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.(G)
6 Your throne,(H) God, is[b] for ever and ever;
the sceptre of your kingdom is a sceptre of justice.(I)
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;(J)
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy
more than your companions.
8 Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments;
from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.(K)
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honoured women;(L)
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.(M)
10 Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider:
Forget your people and your father’s house,(N)
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Bow down to him, for he is your lord.(O)
12 The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people,
will seek your favour with gifts.(P)
13 In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious,
her clothing embroidered with gold.(Q)
14 In colourful garments she is led to the king;
after her, the virgins, her companions, are brought to you.(R)
15 They are led in with gladness and rejoicing;
they enter the king’s palace.(S)
16 Your sons will succeed your ancestors;
you will make them princes throughout the land.(T)
17 I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.(U)
God Our King
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples;(A)
shout to God with a jubilant cry.(B)
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is awe-inspiring,
a great King over the whole earth.(C)
3 He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.(D)
4 He chooses for us our inheritance –
the pride of Jacob, whom he loves.(E) Selah
5 God ascends among shouts of joy,
the Lord, with the sound of a ram’s horn.(F)
6 Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our King, sing praise!(G)
7 Sing a song of wisdom,[a]
for God is King of the whole earth.(H)
8 God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.(I)
9 The nobles of the peoples have assembled
with the people of the God of Abraham.(J)
For the leaders[b] of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.(K)
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great and highly praised
in the city of our God.(L)
His holy mountain, 2 rising splendidly,
is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion – the summit of Zaphon –
is the city of the great King.(M)
3 God is known as a stronghold
in its citadels.(N)
4 Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.(O)
5 They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.(P)
6 Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labour,(Q)
7 as you wrecked the ships of Tarshish
with the east wind.(R)
8 Just as we heard, so we have seen
in the city of the Lord of Armies,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it for ever.(S) Selah
9 God, within your temple,
we contemplate your faithful love.(T)
10 Like your name, God, so your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth;(U)
your right hand is filled with justice.(V)
11 Mount Zion is glad.
Judah’s villages[c] rejoice
because of your judgements.(W)
12 Go round Zion, encircle it;
count its towers,
13 note its ramparts; tour its citadels
so that you can tell a future generation:(X)
14 ‘This God, our God for ever and ever –
he will always lead us.’[d](Y)
16 For, just like the fool, there is no lasting remembrance of the wise,(A) since in the days to come both will be forgotten. How is it that the wise person dies just like the fool? 17 Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
The Emptiness of Work
18 I hated all my work that I laboured at under the sun(B) because I must leave it to the one who comes after me.(C) 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?(D) Yet he will take over all my work that I laboured at skilfully under the sun. This too is futile. 20 So I began to give myself over[a] to despair concerning all my work that I had laboured at under the sun. 21 When there is a person whose work was done with wisdom, knowledge, and skill,(E) and he must give his portion to a person who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great wrong. 22 For what does a person get with all his work and all his efforts(F) that he labours at under the sun? 23 For all his days are filled with grief, and his occupation is sorrowful;(G) even at night, his mind does not rest.(H) This too is futile.
24 There is nothing better for a person than to eat, drink, and enjoy[b],[c] his work.(I) I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,(J) 25 because who can eat and who can enjoy life[d] apart from him?[e] 26 For to the person who is pleasing in his sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy;(K) but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and accumulating in order to give to the one who is pleasing in God’s sight.(L) This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.(M)
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem(A) to get to know Cephas,[a](B) and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James,(C) the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21 Afterwards, I went to the regions of Syria(D) and Cilicia.(E) 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They just kept hearing, ‘He who formerly persecuted(F) us now preaches the faith(G) he once tried to destroy.’ 24 And they glorified God because of me.[b]
Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem
2 Then after fourteen years I went up again(H) to Jerusalem with Barnabas,(I) taking Titus(J) along as well. 2 I went up according to a revelation(K) and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but did so privately to those recognised as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false brothers(L) had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth(M) of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognised as important (what they[c] once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favouritism[d](N)) – they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised,(O) just as Peter(P) was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James,(Q) Cephas,[e](R) and John(S) – those recognised as pillars(T) – acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor,(U) which I had made every effort to do.
Rejection at Nazareth
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left there. 54 He went to his home town(A) and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?(B) 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?(C) Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James,(D) Joseph,[a] Simon, and Judas?(E) 56 And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all these things? ’ 57 And they were offended by him.
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his home town and in his household.’(F) 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
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