Book of Common Prayer
The King of Glory and His Kingdom
A Psalm of David.
24 The (A)earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell therein.
2 For He has (B)founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the [a]waters.
3 (C)Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has (D)clean hands and (E)a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor (F)sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who (G)seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah
7 (H)Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
(I)And the King of glory shall come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
The Lord mighty in (J)battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O you gates!
Lift up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory. Selah
Praise to God in His Holiness and Majesty
A Psalm of David.
29 Give[a] (A)unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
2 [b]Give unto the Lord the glory [c]due to His name;
Worship the Lord in (B)the [d]beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
(C)The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks (D)the cedars,
Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 (E)He makes them also skip like a calf,
Lebanon and (F)Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord [e]divides the flames of fire.
The Glory of the Lord in Creation
To the Chief Musician. [a]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How (A)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have (B)set Your glory above the heavens!
2 (C)Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have [b]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence (D)the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I (E)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 (F)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You (G)visit[c] him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than [d]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 (H)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
(I)You have put all things under his feet,
7 All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
8 The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
9 (J)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
The Blessedness of Dwelling in the House of God
To the Chief Musician. (A)On[a] an instrument of Gath. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
84 How (B)lovely [b]is Your tabernacle,
O Lord of hosts!
2 (C)My soul longs, yes, even faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your (D)house;
They will still be praising You. Selah
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley (E)of [c]Baca,
They make it a spring;
The rain also covers it with [d]pools.
7 They go (F)from strength to strength;
[e]Each one (G)appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 (H)O God, behold our shield,
And look upon the face of Your [f]anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather [g]be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is (I)a sun and (J)shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
(K)No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
(L)Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
The Song of the Bow
17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 (A)and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written (B)in the Book [a]of Jasher:
19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
(C)How the mighty have fallen!
20 (D)Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of (E)Ashkelon—
Lest (F)the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of (G)the uncircumcised triumph.
21 “O (H)mountains of Gilboa,
(I)Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is [b]cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not (J)anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
(K)The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their (L)death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were (M)stronger than lions.
24 “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
(N)Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.
27 “How(O) the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”
Behave Like a Christian
9 (A)Let love be without hypocrisy. (B)Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 (C)Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, (D)in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 (E)rejoicing in hope, (F)patient[a] in tribulation, (G)continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 (H)distributing to the needs of the saints, (I)given[b] to hospitality.
14 (J)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 (K)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 (L)Be of the same mind toward one another. (M)Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 (N)Repay no one evil for evil. (O)Have[c] regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, (P)live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, (Q)do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, (R)“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore
(S)“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but (T)overcome evil with good.
The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations
31 (A)“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the [a]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 (B)All the nations will be gathered before Him, and (C)He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the (D)sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, (E)inherit the kingdom (F)prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 (G)for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; (H)I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was (I)naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; (J)I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (K)inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, (L)‘Depart from Me, you cursed, (M)into the everlasting fire prepared for (N)the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer [b]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (O)inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And (P)these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.