Psalms, Chapter 45

(1) My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (2) Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. (3) Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. (4) And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. (5) Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. (6) Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. (7) Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (8) All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. (9) Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. (10) Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; (11) So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. (12) And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. (13) The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. (14) She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. (15) With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. (16) Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. (17) I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.

A Random Prayer...

Country Prayer for Lent

Dear Lord, we are now in the holy season of Lent. We begin to realize anew that these are the days of salvation, these are the acceptable days. We know that we are all sinners. We know that in many things we have all offended Your infinite majesty. We know that sin destroys Your life in us as a drought withers the leaves and chokes the life from the land, leaving an arid, dusty desert. Help us now, Lord, in our feeble attempts to make up for past sin. Bless our efforts with the rich blessing of Your grace. Make us realize ever more our need of penance and of mortification. Help us to see, in our ordinary difficulties and duties, in the trials and temptations of every day, the best opportunity of making up for past infidelities. Every day we are so often reminded in field and wood, in sky and stream, of Your own boundless generosity to us. Help us to realize that You are never outdone in generosity, and that the least thing we do for You will be rewarded, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and flowing over. Then we shall see, in our own souls, how the desert can blossom, and the dry and wasted land can bring forth the rich, useful fruit that was expected of it from the beginning. Amen.

more prayers...