Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45
A Royal Wedding Song
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
1 My heart is moved by a noble theme
as I recite my verses to the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.(A)
2 You are the most handsome of men;
grace flows from your lips.(B)
Therefore God has blessed you forever.(C)
3 Mighty warrior, strap your sword at your side.
In your majesty and splendor(D)—
4 in your splendor ride triumphantly
in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
May your right hand show your awe-inspiring acts.(E)
5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.(F)
6 Your throne,(G) God, is[b] forever and ever;
the scepter of Your[c] kingdom is a scepter of justice.(H)
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;(I)
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.(J)
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women;(K)
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.(L)
10 Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider:
forget your people and your father’s house,(M)
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Bow down to him, for he is your lord.(N)
12 The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people,
will seek your favor with gifts.(O)
Psalm 47
God Our King
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Clap your hands, all you peoples;(A)
shout to God with a jubilant cry.(B)
2 For Yahweh, the Most High, is awe-inspiring,
a great King over all the 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)
5 God ascends among shouts of joy,
the Lord, among the sound of trumpets.(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 all the 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)
Psalm 48
Zion Exalted
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 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 on the slopes of the north
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 labor,(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 Yahweh of Hosts,
in the city of our God;
God will establish it forever.(S)
Job’s Final Claim of Innocence
29 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,
3 when His lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by His light!(A)
4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship(B) rested on my tent,
5 when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
6 when my feet were bathed in cream
and the rock(C) poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to the city gate
and took my seat in the town square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
while older men stood to their feet.
9 City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.(D)
10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.[a]
12 For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.(E)
13 The dying man blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
14 I clothed myself in righteousness,(F)
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.(G)
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I examined the case of the stranger.
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust(H)
and snatched the prey from his teeth.
Growth and Persecution in Iconium
14 The same thing happened in Iconium; they entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.(A) 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against the brothers.(B) 3 So they stayed there for some time and spoke boldly in reliance on the Lord, who testified to the message of His grace by granting that signs and wonders be performed through them.(C) 4 But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and some with the apostles.(D) 5 When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to assault and stone them, 6 they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns called Lystra and Derbe, and to the surrounding countryside.(E) 7 And there they kept evangelizing.(F)
Mistaken for Gods in Lystra
8 In Lystra a man without strength in his feet, lame from birth,[a] and who had never walked, sat 9 and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he jumped up and started to walk around.(G)
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the form of men!”(H) 12 And they started to call Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the main speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates. He, with the crowds, intended to offer sacrifice.
14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting:(I) 15 “Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things(J) to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.(K)[b] 16 In past generations He allowed all the nations(L) to go their own way, 17 although He did not leave Himself without a witness,(M) since He did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons(N) and satisfying your[c] hearts with food and happiness.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.
Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus
31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him.(A)
32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works(B) from the Father. Which of these works are you stoning Me for?”
33 “We aren’t stoning(C) You for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because You—being a man—make Yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your scripture,[a] I said, you are gods?(D)[b] 35 If He called those whom the word(E) of God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture(F) cannot be broken— 36 do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God?(G) 37 If I am not doing My Father’s works,(H) don’t believe Me. 38 But if I am doing them and you don’t believe Me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand[c] that the Father is in Me and I in the Father.”(I) 39 Then they were trying again to seize Him,(J) yet He eluded their grasp.(K)
Many beyond the Jordan Believe in Jesus
40 So He departed again across the Jordan(L) to the place where John(M) had been baptizing earlier, and He remained there. 41 Many came to Him(N) and said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.
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