Book of Common Prayer
¶ A Song of degrees.
1 LORD, remember David and all his afflictions:
2 How he swore unto the LORD and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob;
3 surely I will not come into the habitation of my house nor go up into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find out a place for the LORD, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.
6 Behold, we heard of her in Ephratah; we found her in the fields of the wood.
7 We will go into his tents; we will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength.
9 Thy priests are clothed with righteousness, and thy merciful ones shout for joy.
10 For the love of thy slave David, do not turn away thy face from thine anointed.
11 ¶ The LORD has sworn truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body I will set upon thy throne.
12 If thy sons will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their sons shall also sit upon thy throne for ever.
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired her for his habitation.
14 This shall be my rest for ever; here I will dwell; for I have desired her.
15 I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe her priests with saving health, and her merciful ones shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make the horn of David to bud; I have ordained a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown blossom.
7 ¶ I will mention the mercies of the LORD and the praises of the LORD according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us and the greatness of his goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies and according to the multitude of his mercies.
8 For he said, Surely they are my people, sons that do not lie: and he was their Saviour.
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the Angel of his face saved them: with his love and with his clemency he redeemed them; and he bore them and carried them all the days of the age.
10 But they were rebels and angered his holy Spirit; therefore, he was turned to be their enemy, and he himself fought against them.
11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him?
12 He that led them by the right hand of Moses with the arm of his glory, he who divided the water before them, thus making himself an everlasting name.
13 He that led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, they never stumbled.
14 The Spirit of the LORD pastored them as a beast that goes down into the valley; so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
15 ¶ Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory; where is thy zeal and thy strength, the feeling of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
16 Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel not acknowledge us; thou, O LORD, art our father; our everlasting Redeemer is thy name.
18 ¶ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: That being, his mother Mary espoused to Joseph (before they came together) she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being just and not willing to expose her publicly, desired to leave her secretly.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in dreams, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God With Us.
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife
25 and knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus.
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.
Aleph
1 ¶ I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Beth
2 My soul shall glory in the LORD; the meek shall hear of this, and be glad.
Gimel
3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Daleth
4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.
He
5 They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.
Vau
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
Zain
7 The angel of the LORD encamps round about those that fear him and delivers them.
Cheth
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man that shall trust in him.
Teth
9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints; for those that fear him lack nothing.
Jod
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but those that seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Caph
11 ¶ Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Lamed
12 Who is the man that desires life and loves many days that he may see good?
Mem
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Nun
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Samech
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Ain
16 The anger of the LORD is against those that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Pe
17 The righteous cried out, and the LORD heard and delivered them out of all their troubles.
Tzaddi
18 The LORD is near unto those that are of a broken heart and saves such as are of a contrite spirit.
Koph
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD shall deliver him out of them all,
Resh
20 keeping all his bones; not one of them shall be broken.
Schin
21 Evil shall slay the wicked; and those that hate the righteous shall be declared guilty.
Tau
22 The LORD ransoms the soul of his slaves, and none of those that trust in him shall be declared guilty.
14 ¶ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
15 (of whom the whole family in the heavens and on earth is named),
16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,
17 that the Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in charity,
18 may be able to well comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height
19 and to know the charity of the Christ, which passes all knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
21 unto him be glory in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} by Christ Jesus throughout all generations of the ages of the ages. Amen.
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