Book of Common Prayer
How Awesome Are Your Deeds
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
66 (A)Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name;
(B)give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, (C)“How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies (D)come cringing to you.
4 (E)All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 (F)Come and see what God has done:
(G)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6 He (H)turned the sea into dry land;
they (I)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
7 who rules by his might forever,
whose (J)eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
8 Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept our soul among the living
and (K)has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have (L)tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into (M)the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12 you let men (N)ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through (O)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will (P)perform my vows to you,
14 that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised (Q)when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
16 (R)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17 I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on[a] my tongue.[b]
18 If I had (S)cherished iniquity in my heart,
(T)the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly (U)God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Make Your Face Shine upon Us
To the choirmaster: with (V)stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
67 May God (W)be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to (X)shine upon us, Selah
2 that (Y)your way may be known on earth,
your (Z)saving power among all nations.
3 (AA)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
I Love the Lord
116 I (A)love the Lord, because he has (B)heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he (C)inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 (D)The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then (E)I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 (F)Gracious is the Lord, and (G)righteous;
our God is (H)merciful.
6 The Lord preserves (I)the simple;
when (J)I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your (K)rest;
for the Lord has (L)dealt bountifully with you.
8 For (M)you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
(N)in the land of the living.
10 (O)I believed, (P)even when[a] I spoke:
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 (Q)I said in my alarm,
(R)“All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I (S)render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up (T)the cup of salvation
and (U)call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will (V)pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 (W)Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his (X)saints.
16 O Lord, I am your (Y)servant;
I am your servant, (Z)the son of your maidservant.
You have (AA)loosed my bonds.
17 I will (AB)offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and (AC)call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will (AD)pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in (AE)the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
(AF)Praise the Lord!
The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever
Hannah's Prayer
2 And Hannah prayed and said,
(A)“My heart exults in the Lord;
(B)my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because (C)I rejoice in your salvation.
2 (D)“There is none holy like the Lord:
for there is none besides you;
there is (E)no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 (F)The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
(G)The barren has borne seven,
(H)but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 (I)The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 (J)The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
(K)he brings low and he exalts.
8 (L)He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
(M)to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
(N)For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.
9 (O)“He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 (P)The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
(Q)against them he will thunder in heaven.
(R)The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
(S)and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Teach Sound Doctrine
2 But as for you, teach what accords with (A)sound[a] doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, (B)sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 (C)Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, (D)not slanderers (E)or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, (F)pure, (G)working at home, kind, and (H)submissive to their own husbands, (I)that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge (J)the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be (K)a model of good works, and in your teaching (L)show integrity, (M)dignity, 8 and (N)sound speech that cannot be condemned, (O)so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 (P)Bondservants[b] are to be submissive to their own masters (Q)in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, (R)but showing all good faith, (S)so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named (B)Nazareth, 27 (C)to a virgin betrothed[a] to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, (E)O favored one, (F)the Lord is with you!”[b] 29 But (G)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for (H)you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, (I)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and (J)you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (K)the Most High. And the Lord God (L)will give to him the throne of (M)his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob (N)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”[c]
35 And the angel answered her, (O)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (P)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born[d] will be called (Q)holy—(R)the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her (S)who was called barren. 37 For (T)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[e] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And (U)the angel departed from her.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.