Book of Common Prayer
A Song for the King’s Wedding
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A maskil. A love song of the sons of Korah.
45 Beautiful words fill my mind.
I am speaking of royal things.
My tongue is like the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are more handsome than anyone,
and you are an excellent speaker,
so God has blessed you forever.
3 Put on your sword, powerful warrior.
Show your glory and majesty.
4 In your majesty win the victory
for what is true and right.
Your power will do amazing things.
5 Your sharp arrows will enter
the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations will be defeated before you.
6 God, your throne will last forever and ever.
You will rule your kingdom with fairness.
7 You love right and hate evil,
so God has chosen you from among your friends;
he has set you apart with much joy.
8 Your clothes smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From palaces of ivory
music comes to make you happy.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honored women.
Your bride stands at your right side
wearing gold from Ophir.
10 Listen to me, daughter; look and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s family.
11 The king loves your beauty.
Because he is your master, you should obey him.
12 People from the city of Tyre have brought a gift.
Wealthy people will want to meet you.
13 The princess is very beautiful.
Her gown is woven with gold.
14 In her beautiful clothes she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow behind her,
and they are also brought to him.
15 They come with happiness and joy;
they enter the king’s palace.
16 You will have sons to replace your fathers.
You will make them rulers through all the land.
17 I will make your name famous from now on,
so people will praise you forever and ever.
God, the King of the World
For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 Clap your hands, all you people.
Shout to God with joy.
2 The Lord Most High is wonderful.
He is the great King over all the earth!
3 He defeated nations for us
and put them under our control.
4 He chose the land we would inherit.
We are the children of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah
5 God has risen with a shout of joy;
the Lord has risen as the trumpets sounded.
6 Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.
7 God is King of all the earth,
so sing a song of praise to him.
8 God is King over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of the nations meet
with the people of the God of Abraham,
because the leaders of the earth belong to God.
He is supreme.
Jerusalem, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 The Lord is great; he should be praised
in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.
2 It is high and beautiful
and brings joy to the whole world.
Mount Zion is like the high mountains of the north;
it is the city of the Great King.
3 God is within its palaces;
he is known as its defender.
4 Kings joined together
and came to attack the city.
5 But when they saw it, they were amazed.
They ran away in fear.
6 Fear took hold of them;
they hurt like a woman having a baby.
7 You destroyed the large trading ships
with an east wind.
8 First we heard
and now we have seen
that God will always keep his city safe.
It is the city of the Lord All-Powerful,
the city of our God. Selah
9 God, we come into your Temple
to think about your love.
10 God, your name is known everywhere;
all over the earth people praise you.
Your right hand is full of goodness.
11 Mount Zion is happy
and all the towns of Judah rejoice,
because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem
and count its towers.
13 Notice how strong they are.
Look at the palaces.
Then you can tell your children about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us from now on.
12 One day Joseph’s brothers went to Shechem to graze their father’s flocks. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Go to Shechem where your brothers are grazing the flocks.”
Joseph answered, “I will go.”
14 His father said, “Go and see if your brothers and the flocks are all right. Then come back and tell me.” So Joseph’s father sent him from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph came to Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 Joseph answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing the flocks?”
17 The man said, “They have already gone. I heard them say they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph went to look for his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Joseph Sold into Slavery
18 Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from far away. Before he reached them, they made a plan to kill him. 19 They said to each other, “Here comes that dreamer. 20 Let’s kill him and throw his body into one of the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams.”
21 But Reuben heard their plan and saved Joseph, saying, “Let’s not kill him. 22 Don’t spill any blood. Throw him into this well here in the desert, but don’t hurt him!” Reuben planned to save Joseph later and send him back to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his robe with long sleeves 24 and threw him into the well. It was empty, and there was no water in it.
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. 21 In the wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe. 22 The Jews ask for miracles, and the Greeks want wisdom. 23 But we preach a crucified Christ. This causes the Jews to stumble and is foolishness to non-Jews. 24 But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called—Jews and Greeks. 25 Even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 God did this so that no one can brag in his presence. 30 Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin. 31 So, as the Scripture says, “If people want to brag, they should brag only about the Lord.”[a]
Jesus Chooses Some Followers
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, preaching the Good News from God. 15 He said, “The right time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Change your hearts and lives and believe the Good News!”
16 When Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee, he saw Simon[a] and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the lake because they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 18 So Simon and Andrew immediately left their nets and followed him.
19 Going a little farther, Jesus saw two more brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 Jesus immediately called them, and they left their father in the boat with the hired workers and followed Jesus.
Jesus Forces Out an Evil Spirit
21 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. On the Sabbath day He went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught like a person who had authority, not like their teachers of the law. 23 Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, 24 “Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are—God’s Holy One!”
25 Jesus commanded the evil spirit, “Be quiet! Come out of the man!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him.
27 The people were so amazed they asked each other, “What is happening here? This man is teaching something new, and with authority. He even gives commands to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the area of Galilee.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.