Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45[a]
Nuptial Ode for the Messianic King
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” A maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
2 [c]My heart[d] is moved by a noble theme
as I sing my poem to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a skillful scribe.
3 You are the most handsome of men;[e]
grace has anointed your lips,
for God has blessed you forever.
4 Gird your sword upon your thigh, O warrior,
and advance in splendor and majesty.
5 Ride on triumphantly in truth, humility, and justice;
may your right hand perform wondrous deeds.
6 Your arrows are sharp;
nations will lie beneath your feet;
the enemies of the king will lose heart.[f]
7 Your throne, O God,[g] will last forever and ever;
the scepter of your kingdom will be a scepter of justice.
8 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has established you above your fellow kings
by anointing you with the oil of gladness.
9 [h]All your robes are fragrant
with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from palaces of ivory
stringed instruments bring joy to your heart.
10 Daughters of kings[i] are among your women in waiting;
at your right hand is your queen
adorned in gold of Ophir.
11 My daughter, listen carefully to my words
and follow them diligently.
Forget your people and your father’s house;[j]
12 then the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord,
13 bow down before him.
The Daughter of Tyre[k] will bring you gifts,
people of wealth will seek your favor.
14 Within the palace the king’s daughter is adorned
in robes threaded with gold.
15 In embroidered garments she is led to the king,
followed by her virgin companions,
who are also led to you.,[l]
16 They are brought in with joy and gladness
as they enter the palace of the king.
17 Your[m] sons will take the place of your ancestors;
you will make them princes in all the earth.
18 I will extol your name through all generations;
therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever.[n]
Psalm 47[a]
The Lord, King of All Nations
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of the sons of Korah.
2 All you peoples, clap your hands,[c]
shout to God with cries of gladness.
3 For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome;
he is the great King over all the earth.
4 He subdued nations under us
and brought peoples under our feet.
5 He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob,[d] whom he loved. Selah
6 [e]God has ascended amid shouts of joy;
the Lord, amid the sound of trumpets.
7 Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
8 For God is the King of the entire earth;
sing hymns of praise to him.
9 God reigns over all the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
10 The princes of the nations assemble
with the people of the God of Abraham;
for the rulers[f] of the earth belong to God,
and he is exalted on high.
Psalm 48[g]
Thanksgiving for the Deliverance of God’s People
1 A psalm of the sons of Korah.[h] A song.
2 Great is the Lord and worthy of high praise
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain,[i] 3 towering in its beauty,
is the joy of the entire earth.
Mount Zion, the true heights of the north,[j]
is the city of the great King.
4 God is in her citadels
and has revealed himself as her fortress.[k]
5 [l]For the kings conspired together
and came onward in unison.
6 As soon as they beheld her, they were astounded;
filled with panic, they fled.
7 They were seized with trembling,
with pains like those of a woman in labor,
8 as though a wind from the east[m]
were breaking up the ships of Tarshish.
9 What we had heard,
we have now beheld for ourselves[n]
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God
that he established to endure forever. Selah
10 O God, as we stand in the midst of your temple,
we will meditate on your kindness.[o]
11 Like your name,[p] O God,
your praise extends to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness;
12 let Mount Zion rejoice.
Let the towns of Judah exult
in your saving judgments.[q]
13 [r]Walk around Zion; pass throughout her;
count the number of her towers.
14 Take careful note of her ramparts,
walk through her citadels,
so that you may recount for future generations
15 that such is God;
our God forever and ever,
he will be our guide eternally.[s]
16 The wise man is remembered no longer than the fool,
because in the days to come both will have been forgotten.
The wise man must die no less than the fool.
17 As a result, I came to hate life,
since I loathe the work that is done under the sun;
for all is vanity and a chase after the wind.
A Chase after the Wind
18 So Many Labors with the Profit Going to Others.[a] Therefore, I have come to hate all my labor and toil under the sun because I now must bequeath its fruits to my successor.[b] 19 And I have no way of knowing in advance whether he will be wise or a fool. Either way, he will be the master of all the fruits of my work for which I toiled and employed my wisdom under the sun. This too is vanity.
20 As a result, I surrendered to feelings of despair concerning all of my labor and toil here under the sun. 21 For even though a man may labor with wisdom and knowledge and skill, he must leave everything he has to be enjoyed by another who has not toiled for it in any way. This also is vanity and a great misfortune.
22 For what does a man gain from all the toil and effort that he has expended under the sun? 23 His days are filled with pain and his labors are filled with stress. Even at night he has no peace of mind. This also is vanity.
24 The Happiness of Simple Things.[c] There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and to experience pleasure in his achievements. And I also came to realize that this too comes from God’s hand. 25 For without him who could eat or drink?
26 God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to those who please him, but to sinners he gives the task of gathering and amassing wealth that is to be given to someone who pleases him. This also is vanity and a chase after the wind.[d]
18 Paul’s First Meeting with Peter.[a] Then after three years, I did go up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 However, I did not set eyes on any of the other apostles, except for James, the brother of the Lord.[b] 20 I declare before God that I am not lying in anything I have written.
21 Afterward, I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.[c] 22 I was still unknown by sight to the Churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They had only heard it said, “The one who was formerly persecuting us is now preaching the faith that he had once tried to destroy.” 24 As a result, they gave glory to God because of me.
Chapter 2
The Council of Jerusalem[d]
Confirmation of Paul’s Gospel and Mission. 1 Fourteen years later, I traveled up to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas, and I also took along Titus. 2 I went up in response to a revelation, and I set before them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles—in a private meeting with the leaders—to ensure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.
3 Yet not even Titus, who was accompanying me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 Yet some false brethren were secretly brought in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might reduce us to slavery. 5 But not for a single moment did we submit to them, in order that the truth of the gospel might remain untouched for you.
6 As for those who were regarded as men of importance—whether or not they actually were important makes no difference to me, nor does it matter to God—these men did not add anything further to my message. 7 On the contrary, they realized that I had been entrusted with preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with preaching the gospel to the circumcised ( 8 for the one who worked through Peter in his mission to the Jews was also at work in me in my mission to the Gentiles).
9 Therefore, when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged as pillars of the community, recognized the grace that had been bestowed upon me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles while they concentrated on the Jews. 10 They asked only one thing: that we remember the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do.
The Authentic Faith of Those Converted[a]
Jesus Encounters Mixed Receptions[b]
53 Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth.[c] When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from that district.
54 He came to his hometown, and he began to teach the people in the synagogue. They were astonished and wondered, “Where did this man get such wisdom and these mighty deeds? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? Are not James and Joseph and Simon and Judas his brethren? 56 And are not all his sisters here with us? Where then did this man get all this?” 57 And so they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is always treated with honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
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