Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[c] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[d]
I say, “I have composed this special song[e] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[f]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[g]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[h]
For this reason[i] God grants you continual blessings.[j]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[k]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[l]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[m]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[n]
on behalf of justice.[o]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[p]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[q]
6 Your throne,[r] O God, is permanent.[s]
The scepter[t] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[u] justice and hate evil.[v]
For this reason God, your God,[w] has anointed you[x]
with the oil of joy,[y] elevating you above your companions.[z]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[aa] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[ab] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[ac]
9 Princesses[ad] are among your honored women.[ae]
Your bride[af] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[ag]
10 Listen, O princess.[ah]
Observe and pay attention![ai]
Forget your homeland[aj] and your family.[ak]
11 Then[al] the king will be attracted by[am] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[an] to him.[ao]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[ap]
13 The princess[aq] looks absolutely magnificent,[ar]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[as]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[at]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[au]
16 Your[av] sons will carry on[aw] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ax]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ay]
then the nations will praise you[az] forever.
Psalm 47[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.
47 All you nations, clap your hands.
Shout out to God in celebration.[b]
2 For the Lord Most High[c] is awe-inspiring;[d]
he is the great king who rules the whole earth![e]
3 He subdued nations beneath us[f]
and countries[g] under our feet.
4 He picked out for us a special land[h]
to be a source of pride for[i] Jacob,[j] whom he loves.[k] (Selah)
5 God has ascended his throne[l] amid loud shouts;[m]
the Lord has ascended amid the blaring of ram’s horns.[n]
6 Sing to God! Sing!
Sing to our king! Sing!
7 For God is king of the whole earth.
Sing a well-written song.[o]
8 God reigns[p] over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham,[q]
for God has authority over the rulers[r] of the earth.
He is highly exalted.[s]
Psalm 48[t]
A song, a psalm by the Korahites.
48 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God,[u] his holy hill.
2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at,[v]
a source of joy to the whole earth.[w]
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;[x]
it is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender.[y]
4 For[z] look, the kings assemble;[aa]
they advance together.
5 As soon as they see,[ab] they are shocked;[ac]
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.[ad]
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably,[ae]
like a woman writhing in childbirth.[af]
7 With an east wind
you shatter[ag] the large ships.[ah]
8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,[ai]
in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[aj]
in the city of our God.
God makes it permanently secure.[ak] (Selah)
9 Within your temple
we reflect on your loyal love, O God.
10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth
is worthy of your reputation, O God.[al]
You execute justice.[am]
11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns[an] of Judah are happy,[ao]
because of your acts of judgment.[ap]
12 Walk around[aq] Zion. Encircle it.
Count its towers.
13 Consider its defenses.[ar]
Walk through[as] its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it.[at]
14 For God, our God, is our defender forever.[au]
He guides[av] us.[aw]
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I summoned.
I am the one;
I am present at the very beginning
and at the very end.[a]
13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;
my right hand spread out the sky.
I summon them;
they stand together.
14 All of you, gather together and listen!
Who among them[b] announced these things?
The Lord’s ally[c] will carry out his desire against Babylon;
he will exert his power against the Babylonians.[d]
15 I, I have spoken—
yes, I have summoned him;
I lead him and he will succeed.[e]
16 Approach me—listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens,[f] I am there.”
So now, the Sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his Spirit.[g]
17 This is what the Lord, your Protector,[h] says,
the Holy One of Israel:[i]
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had obeyed my[j] commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river,[k]
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea.[l]
19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand,[m]
and your children[n] like its granules.
Their name would not have been cut off
and eliminated from my presence.[o]
20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Babylonians!
Announce it with a shout of joy!
Make this known—
proclaim it throughout the earth![p]
Say, ‘The Lord protects[q] his servant Jacob.
21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;
he makes water flow out of a rock for them;
he splits open a rock and water flows out.’[r]
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas[a] and get information from him,[b] and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles[c] except James the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you[d] that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you![e] 21 Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 But I was personally[f] unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news[g] of the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 So[h] they glorified God because of me.[i]
Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2 I went there[j] because of[k] a revelation and presented[l] to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so[m] only in a private meeting with the influential people,[n] to make sure that I was not running—or had not run[o]—in vain. 3 Yet[p] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 4 Now this matter arose[q] because of the false brothers with false pretenses[r] who slipped in unnoticed to spy on[s] our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.[t] 5 But[u] we did not surrender to them[v] even for a moment,[w] in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.[x]
6 But from those who were influential[y] (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people[z])—those influential leaders[aa] added[ab] nothing to my message.[ac] 7 On the contrary, when they saw[ad] that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised[ae] just as Peter was entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised[af] 8 (for he who empowered[ag] Peter for his apostleship[ah] to the circumcised[ai] also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)[aj] 9 and when James, Cephas,[ak] and John, who had a reputation as[al] pillars,[am] recognized[an] the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me[ao] the right hand of fellowship, agreeing[ap] that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.[aq] 10 They requested[ar] only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
Rejection at Nazareth
6 Now[a] Jesus left that place and came to his hometown,[b] and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue.[c] Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas?[d] And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son[e] of Mary[f] and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. 4 Then[g] Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” 5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then[h] he went around among the villages and taught.
Sending Out the Twelve Apostles
7 Jesus[i] called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits.[j] 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff[k]—no bread, no bag,[l] no money in their belts— 9 and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics.[m] 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there[n] until you leave the area. 11 If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off[o] your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So[p] they went out and preached that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them.
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