Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45
For the worship leader. A contemplative song[a] of the sons of Korah to the tune “The Lilies.”[b] A love song.
1 My heart is bursting with a new song;
lyrics to my king erupt like a spring
for my king, to my king;
my tongue is the pen of a poet, ready and willing.
2 Better by far are you than all others, my king;
gracious words flow from your lips;
indeed, God has blessed you forever.
Psalm 45 describes the beauty, power, and influence of God’s anointed king and may have been composed in honor of a royal wedding.
Whether we realize it or not, the overall well-being of a nation is tied directly to its leaders. When the leaders are just and make good decisions, then the welfare of a nation is secure. But when leaders are unjust and make poor decisions, and they pursue personal agendas rather than the public good, then nations suffer. This is why Scripture instructs those of faith to pray for all people everywhere, especially that those in authority would lead the world to dignity and peace (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
Psalm 45 celebrates that rare breed, a godly king who pursues truth and justice. It anticipates a joyful union and future children who will one day follow in the steps of their father. May the world witness a new breed of leader, fashioned in the image of this psalm.
3 With your sword at your side,
you are glorious, majestic,
a mighty warrior.
4 Ride on in splendor; ride into battle victorious,
for the sake of truth, humility, and justice.
Perform awesome acts, trained by your powerful right hand.
5 Razor-sharp arrows leap from your bow
to pierce the heart of the king’s foes;
they lie, defeated, before you.
6 O God, Your throne is eternal;
You will rule your kingdom with a scepter of justice.
7 You have loved what is right and hated what is evil.
That is why God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness and lifted you above your companions.[c]
8 All of your clothing is drenched in the rich scent of myrrh, aloes, and cassia;
In palaces decked out with ivory, beautiful stringed instruments play for your pleasure.
9 At a royal wedding with the daughters of kings among the guests of honor,
your bride-queen stands at your right, adorned in gold from Ophir.
10 Hear this, daughter; pay close attention to what I am about to say:
you must forget your people and even your father’s house.
11 Because the king yearns for your beauty,
humble yourself before him, for he is now your lord.
12 The daughter of Tyre arrives with a gift;
the wealthy will bow and plead for your favor.
13 A stunning bride, the king’s daughter waits within;
her clothing is skillfully woven with gold.
14 She, in her richly embroidered gown, is carried to the king,
her virgin companions following close behind.
15 They walk in a spirit of celebration and gratefulness.
In delight, they enter the palace of the king.
16 O king, in this place where your ancestors reigned, you will have sons;
you will make them princes throughout all the land.
17 I will make sure your name is remembered by all future generations
so that the people will offer you thanks and praise now and forever.
Psalm 47
For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.
1 Clap your hands, all of you;
raise your voices joyfully and loudly.
Give honor for the True God of the universe;
2 Here’s why: The Eternal, the Most High, is awesome and deserves our great respect.
He is the great King over everything in this world.
3 He’s helped us win wars, suppressed our enemies,
and made nations bow at our feet.
4 He decides the extent of our inheritance and selects the land where we and our children will live,
for we are the pride of Jacob, the ones He loves.
[pause][a]
5 The True God ascends the throne acclaimed by shouts of the people.
The Eternal is announced by the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing! Shout! Play instruments!
Praise our God and King; sing praises to Him who is worthy.
7 For He is the King of all the earth. Sing praise, all who can.
Put words to music, and then sing praises
8 At the feet of the God who sits on His holy throne,
ruling over all the nations.
9 All those with influence in this world—princes, kings, and satraps—
gather with those who follow Abraham’s God.
For these defenders belong to God
who reigns over the nations!
Psalm 48
A song of the sons of Korah.
1 The Eternal is great and mighty, worthy of great praise
in the city of our True God, upon His holy mountain.
2 Situated high above, Mount Zion is beautiful to see,
the pleasure of the entire earth.
Mount Zion, in the north,[b]
is the city of the great King.
3 In her palaces, the True God
has revealed Himself as a mighty fortress.
4 Not long ago, enemy kings gathered together
and moved forward as one to attack the city.
5 When they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed;
amazement became fear, then panic. They fled for their lives.
6 They were overtaken by terror, trembling in anguish
like a woman in childbirth.
7 God, You shattered the ships of Tarshish
with the mighty east wind.
8 As we have heard stories of Your greatness,
now we have also seen it with our own eyes
right here, in the city of the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies.
Right here, in our God’s city,
the True God will preserve her forever.
[pause][c]
9 We have meditated upon Your loyal love, O God,
within Your holy temple.
10 Just as Your name reaches to the ends of the earth, O God,
so Your praise flows there too;
Your right hand holds justice.
11 So because of Your judgments,
may Mount Zion be delighted!
May the villages of Judah celebrate!
12 Explore Zion; make an accounting,
note all her towers;
13 Reflect upon her defenses;
stroll through her palaces
So that you can tell the coming generation all about her.
14 For so is God,
our True God, forever and ever;
He will be our guide till the end.
12 Moses: These are the regulations and judgments you must carefully obey in the land the Eternal, the God of your ancestors, is giving you to live in, for as long as you are alive. 2 Completely destroy all the places where the nations you’re going to conquer worshiped their gods—on the mountain heights and hilltops, and under every leafy tree.
Commanding heights are recognized as positions of power and advantage. They are also closer to the sky on mountains and hills, which are thought to be the home of the gods. Nations chose heights and hilltops as places of worship. Leafy trees are also a favored location because of the shelter and shade they provided in a hot climate, and because they reach all realms of creation—the underworld, the physical world, and the heavens. In the absence of trees, carved poles serve as portable tree shrines honoring the goddess Asherah.
Moses: 3 Tear down their altars, smash their monoliths, burn their sacred poles,[a] and shatter their idols! Wipe out every trace of the names of their gods in those places. 4 The Eternal your God doesn’t want you to worship Him in the way these nations worshiped their gods, setting up shrines and altars all over the land. 5 He will choose a place within the territory of one of your tribes to be His home; He will put His Name there. Go there to worship Him. 6 Whenever you have something to offer, take it there: burnt offerings and sacrifices, tithes, uplifted offerings, freewill gifts, payments to fulfill vows, and firstborn animals from your herds and flocks. 7 Eat your sacred meals there in His presence, and celebrate with your whole household how the Eternal your God has blessed everything you’ve done. 8 Right now we’re letting everyone do as he or she sees fit here with unregulated sacrifices, 9 because you aren’t yet living in peace on the land He is going to give you. 10 When you’ve crossed the Jordan River and have settled in the land He is giving you to live in and pass on to your descendants, and you’re living in safety because He’s defeated the enemies all around you and they’re no longer a threat, 11 then bring everything I command you to the place the Eternal, your True God, will choose as a sanctuary, as a place for His name. Bring your burnt offerings and other sacrifices there; bring your tithes, uplifted offerings, and the special gifts you choose to dedicate along with your vow to the Eternal. 12 Celebrate in His presence with your sons and daughters and with your male and female slaves. And be sure to invite any Levites who live in your town, because their tribe won’t have any property as yours does.
3 We are careful in what we teach so that our words won’t be a stumbling block and so that no one will discredit our ministry. 4 But as God’s servants, we commend ourselves in every situation. So that with great endurance we persevere even in anguish and hardship. We have been cornered by the enemy 5 suffering beatings, imprisonments, uproars, toil, sleeplessness, and starvation. 6 And by the Holy Spirit with purity, understanding, patience, kindness, and sincerest love we have proved ourselves. 7 Now with the voice of truth and power of God—armed on the right and armed on the left with righteousness from God—we continue. 8 Whether respected or loathed, praised or criticized as frauds, yet true, 9 as unknown to this world, and yet well known to God, we serve Him. We are treated as dying and yet we live, as punished and yet we are not executed. 10 Though we are sorrowful, we continually rejoice. As the poorest of the poor, we bring richness to all, and though we have nothing, we possess all things.
11 Corinthians, we have been completely open to you. We’ve exposed the truth, holding nothing back while our hearts open wide to take you in. 12 We have revealed our affection toward you—though it’s obvious you have a hard time showing your affection toward us. 13 If I could offer some fatherly advice: open yourselves up as children; share your hearts with us as we have done for you.
14 Don’t develop partnerships with those who are not followers of Jesus’ teachings. For what real connection can exist between righteousness and rebellion? How can light participate in darkness? 15 What harmony can exist between the Anointed and Satan?[a] Do the faithful and the faithless have anything in common? 16 Can the temple of God find common ground with idols? Don’t you see that we house the temple of the living God within us? Remember when He said,
“I will make My home with them and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be My people.[b]
17 So then turn away from them,
turn away and leave without looking back,”[c] says the Lord.
“Stay away from anything unclean, anything impure,
and I will welcome you.[d]
18 And I will be for you as a father,
and you will be for Me as sons and daughters,”[e]
Says the Lord Almighty!
The most important partnership in life is marriage. There are other kinds of union, but the union of husband and wife transcends any other. God created sexual intimacy as a unique gift to marriage. Its purpose goes beyond pleasure and procreation. As a man and a woman join their bodies together, the Spirit does a unique work of binding these two individuals as one person. But the involvement of the Spirit is not possible when a believer is intimate with a nonbeliever. They are not filled with the same Spirit and cannot experience the fullness God intends. Paul’s instructions are practical, simple, and clear.
7 Because we have these promises, dearly loved ones, out of respect for God we should scour the filth from our flesh and spirit and move toward perfect beauty and holiness.
11 Jesus was still pressing toward Jerusalem, taking a road that went along the border between Samaria (considered undesirable territory) and Galilee. 12 On the outskirts of a border town along this road, He was greeted from a distance by a group of 10 people who were under quarantine because of an ugly and disgusting skin disease known as leprosy.
Lepers (shouting across the distance): 13 Jesus, Master, show mercy to us!
Jesus: 14 Go now and present yourselves to the priests for inspection of your disease.
They went, and before they reached the priests, their skin disease was healed, leaving no trace of the disease that scarred them and separated them from the community.
15 One of them, the instant he realized he had been healed, turned and ran back to Jesus, shouting praises to God. 16 He prostrated himself facedown at Jesus’ feet.
Leper: Thank You! Thank You!
Now this fellow happened to be, not a Jew, but a Samaritan.
Jesus: 17 Didn’t all ten receive the same healing this fellow did? Where are the other nine? 18 Was the only one who came back to give God praise an outsider? 19 (to the Samaritan man) Get up, and go your way. Your faith has made you healthy again.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.