Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 (H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
9 You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do (U)turn back;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (Y)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.
The Lord, an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I [c]have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in noblemen,
In [d]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [e]the earth;
On that very day his (I)plans perish.
5 (J)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and everything that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [f]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (U)watches over strangers;
He [g](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [h]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [m]it is pleasant and praise is [n](Z)beautiful.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (AN)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (AO)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [s]the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the [t]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His [u]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (AV)makes [v]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [w]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [x]showers (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (BF)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [y]they have (BJ)not known them.
[z]Praise [aa]the Lord!
David’s Prayer
18 Then David the king came in and sat before the Lord, and he said, “(A)Who am I, Lord [a]God, and who are the members of my household, that You have brought me this far? 19 And yet this was insignificant in Your eyes, Lord God, (B)for You have spoken also of the house of Your servant regarding the distant future. And (C)this is the [b]custom of mankind, Lord God. 20 Again what more can David say to You? For (D)You know Your servant, Lord God! 21 (E)For the sake of Your word, and according to Your heart, You have done all this greatness, to let Your servant know. 22 For this reason (F)You are great, Lord God; for (G)there is no one like You, and there is no God except You, (H)according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And (I)what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, and to make a name for Himself, and (J)to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, [c]because of (K)Your people whom (L)You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from other nations and their gods? 24 For (M)You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and (N)You, Lord, have become their God. 25 Now then, Lord God, the word that You have spoken about Your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do just as You have spoken, 26 (O)so that Your name may be great forever, by saying, ‘The Lord of armies is God over Israel’; and may the house of Your servant David be established before You. 27 For You, Lord of armies, God of Israel, have [d]given a revelation to Your servant, saying, ‘(P)I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found [e]courage to pray this prayer to You. 28 Now then, Lord God, You are God, and (Q)Your words are truth; and You have [f]promised this good thing to Your servant. 29 And now, may [g]it please You to bless the house of Your servant, so that it may continue forever before You. For You, Lord God, have spoken; and [h](R)with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”
Faith Brings Righteousness
3 [a]You foolish (A)Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ (B)was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by works of [b]the Law, or by (C)hearing [c]with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun [d]by the Spirit, are you now [e]being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you [f]suffer so many things in vain—(D)if indeed it was in vain? 5 So then, does He who (E)provides you with the Spirit and (F)works [g]miracles among you, do it by works of [h]the Law, or by (G)hearing [i]with faith?
6 Just as (H)Abraham (I)believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, recognize that (J)it is those who are of faith who are (K)sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God [j]would justify the [k]Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “(L)All the nations will be blessed in you.” 9 So then, (M)those who are of faith are blessed with [l]Abraham, the believer.
10 For all who are of works of [m]the Law are under a curse; for it is written: “(N)Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all the things written in the book of the Law, to do them.” 11 Now, that (O)no one is justified [n]by [o]the Law before God is evident; for, “[p](P)the righteous one will live by faith.” 12 [q]However, the Law is not [r]of faith; on the contrary, “(Q)The person who performs [s]them will live by [t]them.” 13 Christ (R)redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “(S)Cursed is everyone who hangs on (T)a [u]tree”— 14 in order that (U)in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we (V)would receive (W)the promise of the Spirit through faith.
John the Baptist Is Born
57 Now the time [a]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [b](A)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (B)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, [c]after his father. 60 And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 And they [d](D)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote [e]as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 64 (F)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. 65 And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in (G)the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed (H)the hand of the Lord was with him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.