Book of Common Prayer
Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.
For the choir director. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the (B)glory of His name;
Make His (C)praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How (D)awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will [a](E)give feigned obedience to You.
4 “(F)All the earth will worship You,
And will (G)sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.” [b]Selah.
5 (H)Come and see the works of God,
Who is (I)awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
6 He (J)turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through (K)the river on foot;
There let us (L)rejoice in Him!
7 He (M)rules by His might forever;
His (N)eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious (O)exalt themselves. Selah.
8 Bless our God, O peoples,
And [c](P)sound His praise abroad,
9 Who [d](Q)keeps us in life
And (R)does not allow our feet to [e]slip.
10 For You have (S)tried us, O God;
You have (T)refined us as silver is refined.
11 You (U)brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.
12 You made men (V)ride over our heads;
We went through (W)fire and through water,
Yet You (X)brought us out into a place of abundance.
13 I shall (Y)come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall (Z)pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was (AA)in distress.
15 I shall (AB)offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of (AC)rams;
I shall make an offering of [f]bulls with male goats. Selah.
16 (AD)Come and hear, all who [g]fear God,
And I will (AE)tell of what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And [h]He was (AF)extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [i](AG)regard wickedness in my heart,
The (AH)Lord [j]will not [k]hear;
19 But certainly (AI)God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 (AJ)Blessed be God,
Who (AK)has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.
The Nations Exhorted to Praise God.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 God be gracious to us and (AL)bless us,
And (AM)cause His face to shine [l]upon us— [m]Selah.
2 That (AN)Your way may be known on the earth,
(AO)Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the (AP)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Let the (AQ)nations be glad and sing for joy;
For You will (AR)judge the peoples with uprightness
And (AS)guide the nations on the earth. Selah.
5 Let the (AT)peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 The (AU)earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, (AV)blesses us.
7 God blesses us,
[n]That (AW)all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
116 (A)I love the Lord, because He (B)hears
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has (C)inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The (D)cords of death encompassed me
And the [a]terrors of [b]Sheol [c]came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then (E)I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I beseech You, [d](F)save my life!”
5 (G)Gracious is the Lord, and (H)righteous;
Yes, our God is (I)compassionate.
6 The Lord preserves (J)the simple;
I was (K)brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (L)rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has (M)dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have (N)rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.
9 I shall walk before the Lord
In the [e](O)land of the living.
10 I (P)believed when I said,
“I am (Q)greatly afflicted.”
11 I (R)said in my alarm,
“(S)All men are liars.”
12 What shall I (T)render to the Lord
For all His (U)benefits [f]toward me?
13 I shall lift up the (V)cup of salvation
And (W)call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I shall (X)pay my vows to the Lord,
Oh may it be (Y)in the presence of all His people.
15 (Z)Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His godly ones.
16 O Lord, [g]surely I am (AA)Your servant,
I am Your servant, the (AB)son of Your handmaid,
You have (AC)loosed my bonds.
17 To You I shall offer (AD)a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And (AE)call upon the name of the Lord.
18 I shall (AF)pay my vows to the Lord,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,
19 In the (AG)courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O (AH)Jerusalem.
[h]Praise [i]the Lord!
A Psalm of Praise.
Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving
2 Then Hannah (A)prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord;
(B)My [a]horn is exalted in the Lord,
My mouth [b]speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because (C)I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “(D)There is no one holy like the Lord,
Indeed, (E)there is no one besides You,
(F)Nor is there any rock like our God.
3 “[c]Boast no more so very proudly,
(G)Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
(H)For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
(I)And with Him actions are weighed.
4 “(J)The bows of the mighty are shattered,
(K)But the feeble gird on strength.
5 “Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
(L)Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But (M)she who has many children languishes.
6 “(N)The Lord kills and makes alive;
(O)He brings down to [d]Sheol and raises up.
7 “(P)The Lord makes poor and rich;
(Q)He brings low, He also exalts.
8 “(R)He raises the poor from the dust,
(S)He lifts the needy from the ash heap
(T)To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
(U)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And He set the world on them.
9 “(V)He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
(W)But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
(X)For not by might shall a man prevail.
10 “(Y)Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
(Z)Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
(AA)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
(AB)And He will give strength to His king,
(AC)And will exalt the [e]horn of His anointed.”
Duties of the Older and Younger
2 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for (A)sound doctrine. 2 (B)Older men are to be (C)temperate, dignified, sensible, (D)sound (E)in faith, in love, in [a]perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, (F)not malicious gossips nor (G)enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may [b]encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, (H)workers at home, kind, being (I)subject to their own husbands, (J)so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge (K)the young men to be [c]sensible; 7 in all things show yourself to be (L)an example of good deeds, with [d]purity in doctrine, dignified, 8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so (M)that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.
9 Urge (N)bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not [e]argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of (O)God our Savior in every respect.
Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called (B)Nazareth, 27 to (C)a virgin [a]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, [d]favored one! The Lord [e]is with you.” 29 But she (E)was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “(F)Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you (G)shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (H)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him (I)the throne of His father David; 33 (J)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, (K)and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How [f]can this be, since I [g]am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “(L)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (M)the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason (N)the [h]holy Child shall be called (O)the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and [i]she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For [j](P)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the [k]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
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