Book of Common Prayer

45 My heart is overflowing with a beautiful thought! I will write a lovely poem to the King, for I am as full of words as the speediest writer pouring out his story.

⁸ Your robes are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. In your palaces of inlaid ivory, lovely music is being played for your enjoyment. ⁹ Kings’ daughters are among your concubines.^[a] Standing beside you is the queen, wearing jewelry of finest gold from Ophir.

^10-11 “I advise you, O daughter, not to fret about your parents in your homeland far away. Your royal husband delights in your beauty. Reverence him, for he is your lord. ¹² The people of Tyre, the richest people of our day, will shower you with gifts and entreat your favors.”

¹³ The bride,^[b] a princess, waits within her chamber, robed in beautiful clothing woven with gold. ¹⁴ Lovely^[c] she is, led beside her maids of honor to the king! ¹⁵ What a joyful, glad procession as they enter in the palace gates! ¹⁶ “Your sons will some day be kings like their father. They shall sit on thrones around the world!

¹⁷ “I will cause your name to be honored in all generations; the nations of the earth will praise you forever.”

47 Come, everyone, and clap for joy! Shout triumphant praises to the Lord! ² For the Lord, the God above all gods, is awesome beyond words; he is the great King of all the earth. ³ He subdues the nations before us ⁴ and will personally select his choicest blessings for his Jewish people^[a]—the very best for those he loves.

⁵ God has ascended with a mighty shout, with trumpets blaring. ^6-7 Sing out your praises to our God, our King. Yes, sing your highest praises to our King, the King of all the earth. Sing thoughtful praises! ⁸ He reigns above the nations, sitting on his holy throne. ⁹ The Gentile rulers of the world have joined with us in praising him—praising^[b] the God of Abraham—for the battle shields of all the armies of the world are his trophies. He is highly honored everywhere.

48 How great is the Lord! How much we should praise him. He lives upon Mount Zion in Jerusalem. ² What a glorious sight! See Mount Zion rising north of the city^[c] high above the plains for all to see—Mount Zion, joy of all the earth, the residence of the great King.

³ God himself is the defender of Jerusalem.^{[d] 4} The kings of the earth have arrived together to inspect the city. ⁵ They marvel at the sight and hurry home again, ⁶ afraid of what they have seen; they are filled with panic like a woman in travail! ⁷ For God destroys the mightiest warships with a breath of wind. ⁸ We have heard of the city’s glory—the city of our God, the Commander of the armies of heaven. And now we see it for ourselves! God has established Jerusalem forever.

⁹ Lord, here in your Temple we meditate upon your kindness and your love. ¹⁰ Your name is known throughout the earth, O God. You are praised everywhere for the salvation^[e] you have scattered throughout the world. ¹¹ O Jerusalem,^[f] rejoice! O people of Judah, rejoice! For God will see to it that you are finally treated fairly. ¹² Go, inspect the city! Walk around and count her many towers! ¹³ Note her walls and tour her palaces so that you can tell your children.

¹⁴ For this great God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide until we die.

9 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair shall not go on forever. Though soon the land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be under God’s contempt and judgment, yet in the future these very lands, Galilee and northern Transjordan, where lies the road to the sea, will be filled with glory. ² The people who walk in darkness shall see a great Light—a Light that will shine on all those who live in the land of the shadow of death. ³ For Israel will again be great, filled with joy like that of reapers when the harvesttime has come, and like that of men dividing up the plunder they have won. ⁴ For God will break the chains that bind his people and the whip that scourges them, just as he did when he destroyed the vast host of the Midianites by Gideon’s little band. ⁵ In that glorious day of peace there will no longer be the issuing of battle gear; no more the bloodstained uniforms of war; all such will be burned.

⁶ For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” ⁷ His ever-expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule with perfect fairness and justice from the throne of his father David. He will bring true justice and peace to all the nations of the world. This is going to happen because the Lord of heaven’s armies has dedicated himself to do it!

¹² I plan to keep on reminding you of these things even though you already know them and are really getting along quite well! ^13-14 But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered, and I am soon to die. As long as I am still here I intend to keep sending these reminders to you, ¹⁵ hoping to impress them so clearly upon you that you will remember them long after I have gone.

¹⁶ For we have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendor and his glory: ^17-18 I was there on the holy mountain when he shone out with honor given him by God his Father; I heard that glorious, majestic voice calling down from heaven, saying, “This is my much-loved Son; I am well pleased with him.”

¹⁹ So we have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things that otherwise would be dark and difficult. But when you consider the wonderful truth of the prophets’ words, then the light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts. ^20-21 For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.

⁵⁴ So they seized him and led him to the high priest’s residence, and Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵ The soldiers lit a fire in the courtyard and sat around it for warmth, and Peter joined them there.

⁵⁶ A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she spoke: “This man was with Jesus!”

⁵⁷ Peter denied it. “Woman,” he said, “I don’t even know the man!”

⁵⁸ After a while someone else looked at him and said, “You must be one of them!”

“No sir, I am not!” Peter replied.

⁵⁹ About an hour later someone else flatly stated, “I know this fellow is one of Jesus’ disciples, for both are from Galilee.”

⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.” And as he said the words, a rooster crowed.

⁶¹ At that moment Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered what he had said—“Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny me three times.” ⁶² And Peter walked out of the courtyard, crying bitterly.

^63-64 Now the guards in charge of Jesus began mocking him. They blindfolded him and hit him with their fists and asked, “Who hit you that time, prophet?” ⁶⁵ And they threw all sorts of other insults at him.

⁶⁶ Early the next morning at daybreak the Jewish Supreme Court assembled, including the chief priests and all the top religious authorities of the nation. Jesus was led before this Council ^67-68 and instructed to state whether or not he claimed to be the Messiah.

But he replied, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me or let me present my case. ⁶⁹ But the time is soon coming when I, the Messiah,^[a] shall be enthroned beside Almighty God.”