Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45
For the choir director; according to shoshannim;[a] a maskil by Korah’s descendants; a love song.
1 My heart is overflowing with good news.
I will direct my song to the king.
My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants.
Grace is poured on your lips.
That is why Elohim has blessed you forever.
3 O warrior, strap your sword to your side
with your splendor and majesty.
4 Ride on victoriously in your majesty
for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand teach you awe-inspiring things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall beneath you.
6 Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
7 You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why Elohim, your Elohim, has anointed you,
rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces the music of stringed instruments delights you.
9 The daughters of kings are among your noble ladies.
The queen takes her place at your right hand
and wears gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter! Look closely!
Turn your ear toward me.
Forget your people, and forget your father’s house.
11 The king longs for your beauty.
He is your Lord.
Worship him.
12 The people of Tyre, the richest people,
want to win your favor with a gift.
13 The daughter of the king is glorious inside the palace.
Her dress is embroidered with gold.
14 Wearing a colorful gown, she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow her.
They will be brought to you.
15 With joy and delight they are brought in.
They enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your father.
You will make them princes over the whole earth.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered throughout every generation.
That is why the nations will give thanks to you forever and ever.
Psalm 47
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Clap your hands, all you people.
Shout to Elohim with a loud, joyful song.
2 We must fear Yahweh, Elyon.
He is the great Melek of the whole earth.
3 He brings people under our authority
and puts nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah
5 Elohim has gone up with a joyful shout.
Yahweh has gone up with the sound of a ram’s horn.
6 Make music to praise Elohim.
Play music for him!
Make music to praise our Melek.
Play music for him!
7 Elohim is the Melek of the whole earth.
Make your best music for him!
8 Elohim rules the nations.
Elohim sits upon his holy throne.
9 The influential people from the nations gather together
as the people of the Elohim of Abraham.
The rulers of the earth belong to Elohim.
He rules everything.
Psalm 48
A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Yahweh is great.
He should be highly praised.
His holy mountain is in the city of our Elohim.
2 Its beautiful peak is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion is on the northern ridge.
It is the city of the great king.
3 Elohim is in its palaces.
He has proved that he is a stronghold.
4 The kings have gathered.
They marched together.
5 When they saw Mount Zion,
they were astonished.
They were terrified and ran away in fear.
6 Trembling seized them
like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor.
7 With the east wind you smash the ships of Tarshish.
8 The things we had only heard about, we have now seen
in the city of Yahweh Tsebaoth,
in the city of our Elohim.
Elohim makes Zion stand firm forever. Selah
9 Inside your temple we carefully reflect on your mercy, O Elohim.
10 Like your name, O Elohim,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion.
Go around it.
Count its towers.
13 Examine its embankments.
Walk through its palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation,
14 “This Elohim is our Elohim forever and ever.
He will lead us beyond death.”
15 He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
16 He created all things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible.
Whether they are kings or lords,
rulers or powers—
everything has been created through him and for him.
17 He existed before everything
and holds everything together.
18 He is also the head of the church, which is his body.
He is the beginning,
the first to come back to life
so that he would have first place in everything.
19 God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. 20 God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.
21 Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. 22 But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. 23 This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.
Jesus Appoints Twelve Apostles(A)
12 At that time Yeshua went to a mountain to pray. He spent the whole night in prayer to God.
13 When it was day, he called his disciples. He chose twelve of them and called them apostles. 14 They were Simon (whom Yeshua named Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), and Judas Iscariot (who became a traitor).
Many People Are Cured(B)
17 Yeshua came down from the mountain with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples and many other people were there. They had come from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They wanted to hear him and be cured of their diseases. Those who were tormented by evil spirits were cured. 19 The entire crowd was trying to touch him because power was coming from him and curing all of them.
Jesus Teaches His Disciples
20 Yeshua looked at his disciples and said,
“Blessed are those who are poor.
The kingdom of God is theirs.
21 Blessed are those who are hungry.
They will be satisfied.
Blessed are those who are crying.
They will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you, avoid you,
insult you, and slander you
because you are committed to the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice then, and be very happy!
You have a great reward in heaven.
That’s the way their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But how horrible it will be for those who are rich.
They have had their comfort.
25 How horrible it will be for those who are well-fed.
They will be hungry.
How horrible it will be for those who are laughing.
They will mourn and cry.
26 How horrible it will be for you
when everyone says nice things about you.
That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.