Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. A wedding song to the tune of “Lilies.”
45 My heart is full of beautiful words
as I say my poem for the king.
My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
2 You are the most excellent of men.
Your lips have been given the ability to speak gracious words.
God has blessed you forever.
3 Mighty one, put your sword at your side.
Put on glory and majesty as if they were your clothes.
4 In your majesty ride out with power
to fight for what is true, humble and fair.
Let your right hand do wonderful things.
5 Shoot your sharp arrows into the hearts of your enemies.
Let the nations come under your control.
6 Your throne is the very throne of God.
Your kingdom will last for ever and ever.
You will rule by treating everyone fairly.
7 You love what is right and hate what is evil.
So your God has placed you above your companions.
He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.
8 Myrrh and aloes and cassia make all your robes smell good.
In palaces decorated with ivory
the music played on stringed instruments makes you glad.
9 Daughters of kings are among the women you honor.
At your right hand is the royal bride dressed in gold from Ophir.
10 Royal bride, listen and pay careful attention.
Forget about your people and the home you came from.
11 Let the king be charmed by your beauty.
Honor him. He is now your master.
12 The people of Tyre will come with gifts.
Wealthy people will try to gain your favor.
13 In her room, the princess looks glorious.
Her gown has gold threads running through it.
14 Dressed in beautiful clothes, she is led to the king.
Her virgin companions follow her.
They have been brought to be with her.
15 They are led in with joy and gladness.
They enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will rule just as your father and grandfather did.
You will make them princes through the whole land.
17 I will make sure that people will always remember you.
The nations will praise you for ever and ever.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
47 Clap your hands, all you nations.
Shout to God with cries of joy.
2 Do this because the Lord Most High is wonderful.
He is the great King over the whole earth.
3 He brought nations under our control.
He made them fall under us.
4 He chose our land for us.
The people of Jacob are proud of their land,
and God loves them.
5 God went up to his throne while his people were shouting with joy.
The Lord went up while trumpets were playing.
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is the King of the whole earth.
Sing a psalm of praise to him.
8 God rules over the nations.
He is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations come together.
They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham.
The kings of the earth belong to God.
He is greatly honored.
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great. He is really worthy of praise.
Praise him in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 Mount Zion is high and beautiful.
It brings joy to everyone on earth.
Mount Zion is like the highest parts of Mount Zaphon.
It is the city of the Great King.
3 God is there to keep it safe.
He has shown himself to be like a fort to the city.
4 Many kings joined forces.
They entered Israel together.
5 But when they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed.
They ran away in terror.
6 Trembling took hold of them.
They felt pain like a woman giving birth.
7 Lord, you destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
that were torn apart by an east wind.
8 What we heard we have also seen.
We have seen it
in the city of the Lord who rules over all.
We have seen it in the city of our God.
We have heard and seen that God makes it secure forever.
9 God, inside your temple
we think about your faithful love.
10 God, your fame reaches from one end of the earth to the other.
So people praise you from one end of the earth to the other.
You use your power to do what is right.
11 Mount Zion is filled with joy.
The villages of Judah are glad.
That’s because you judge fairly.
12 Walk all around Zion.
Count its towers.
13 Think carefully about its outer walls.
Just look at how safe it is!
Then you can tell its people that God keeps them safe.
14 This God is our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide to the very end.
16 Like a foolish person, a wise person won’t be remembered very long.
The days have already come when both of them have been forgotten.
Like a person who is foolish,
a wise person must die too!
Work Is Meaningless
17 So I hated life. That’s because the work done on this earth made me sad. None of it has any meaning. It’s like chasing the wind. 18 I hated everything I had worked for on earth. I’ll have to leave all of it to someone who lives after me. 19 And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Either way, they’ll take over everything on earth I’ve worked so hard for. That doesn’t have any meaning either. 20 So I began to lose hope because of all my hard work on this earth. 21 A person might use wisdom, knowledge and skill to do their work. But then they have to leave everything they own to someone who hasn’t worked for it. That doesn’t have any meaning either. In fact, it isn’t fair. 22 What do people get for all their hard work on earth? What do they get for all their worries? 23 As long as they live, their work is nothing but pain and sorrow. Even at night their minds can’t rest. That doesn’t have any meaning either.
24 A person can’t do anything better than eat, drink and be satisfied with their work. I’m finally seeing that those things also come from the hand of God. 25 Without his help, who can eat or find pleasure? 26 God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness to the person who pleases him. But to a sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth. Then the sinner must hand it over to the one who pleases God. That doesn’t have any meaning either. It’s like chasing the wind.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem. I went there to get to know Peter. I stayed with him for 15 days. 19 I didn’t see any of the other apostles. I only saw James, the Lord’s brother. 20 Here is what you can be sure of. And God is even a witness to it. What I am writing you is not a lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 The members of Christ’s churches in Judea did not know me in a personal way. 23 They only heard others say, “The man who used to attack us has changed. He is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Paul Is Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem. This time I went with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went because God showed me what he wanted me to do. I spoke in private to those who are respected as leaders. I told them the good news that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t running my race for no purpose. And I wanted to know that I had not been running my race for no purpose. 3 Titus was with me. He was a Greek. But even he was not forced to be circumcised. 4 This matter came up because some people had slipped in among us. They had pretended to be believers. They wanted to find out about the freedom we have because we belong to Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves again. 5 We didn’t give in to them for a moment. We did this so that the truth of the good news would be kept safe for you.
6 Some people in Jerusalem were thought to be important. But it makes no difference to me what they were. God does not treat people differently. Those people added nothing to my message. 7 In fact, it was just the opposite. They recognized the task I had been trusted with. It was the task of preaching the good news to the Gentiles. My task was like Peter’s task. He had been trusted with the task of preaching to the Jews. 8 God was working in Peter as an apostle to the Jews. God was also working in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John are respected as pillars in the church. They recognized the special grace given to me. So they shook my hand and the hand of Barnabas. They wanted to show they accepted us. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles. They would go to the Jews. 10 They asked only one thing. They wanted us to continue to remember poor people. That was what I had wanted to do all along.
A Prophet Without Honor
53 Jesus finished telling these stories. Then he moved on from there. 54 He came to his hometown of Nazareth. There he began teaching the people in their synagogue. They were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom? Where did he get this power to do miracles?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary? Aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Then where did this man get all these things?” 57 They were not pleased with him at all.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 He did only a few miracles in Nazareth because the people there had no faith.
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