Book of Common Prayer
The Majesty of the Lord.
93 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, He is (B)clothed with majesty;
The Lord has (C)clothed and encircled Himself with strength.
Indeed, the (D)world is firmly established; it will not be moved.
2 Your (E)throne is established from of old;
You (F)are from eternity.
3 The (G)floods have lifted up, Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord (H)on high is mighty.
5 Your (I)testimonies are fully confirmed;
(J)Holiness is pleasing to Your house,
Lord, [b]forevermore.
A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.
96 (A)Sing to the Lord a (B)new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
(C)Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of (D)His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For (E)great is the Lord, and (F)greatly to be praised;
He is to be (G)feared (H)above all gods.
5 For (I)all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols,
But (J)the Lord made the heavens.
6 (K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 [b]Ascribe to the Lord, you (L)families of the peoples,
[c](M)Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 [d]Ascribe to the Lord the (N)glory of His name;
Bring an [e](O)offering and come into His courtyards.
9 (P)Worship the Lord in [f]holy attire;
(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “(R)The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the (S)world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will (T)judge the peoples fairly.”
11 May the (U)heavens be joyful, and may the (V)earth rejoice;
May (W)the sea [g]roar, and [h]all it contains;
12 May the (X)field be jubilant, and all that is in it.
Then all the (Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, (Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness,
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
A Psalm of Praise.
150 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise God in His (A)sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [c](B)expanse.
2 Praise Him for His (C)mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent (D)greatness.
3 Praise Him with (E)trumpet sound;
Praise Him with (F)harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with (G)tambourine and dancing;
Praise Him with (H)stringed instruments and (I)flute.
5 Praise Him with loud (J)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 (K)Everything that has breath shall praise [d]the Lord.
[e]Praise [f]the Lord!
Intent of the Law
15 (A)Brothers and sisters, (B)I speak [a]in terms of human relations: (C)even though it is only a man’s [b]covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds [c]conditions to it. 16 Now the promises were spoken (D)to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, “(E)And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came (F)430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For (G)if the inheritance is [d]based on law, it is no longer [e]based on a promise; but (H)God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.
19 (I)Why the Law then? It was added on account of the [f]violations, having been (J)ordered through angels (K)at the hand of a [g]mediator, until (L)the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made. 20 Now (M)a mediator is not [h]for one party only; but God is only one. 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? [i](N)Far from it! For (O)if a law had been given that was able to impart life, then righteousness [j]would indeed have been [k]based on law. 22 But the Scripture has (P)confined [l]everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (A)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (B)prophesied, saying:
68 “(C)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished (D)redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a (E)horn of salvation for us
In the house of (F)His servant David—
70 (G)Just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets (H)from ancient times—
71 [a](I)Salvation (J)from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us;
72 (K)To show mercy to our fathers,
(L)And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (M)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Would serve Him without fear,
75 (N)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
76 And you, child, also will be called the (O)prophet of (P)the Most High;
For you will go on (Q)before the Lord to (R)prepare His ways;
77 To give His people the knowledge of salvation
[b]By (S)the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which (T)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 (U)To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the (V)way of peace.”
80 (W)Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 The [a]record of the genealogy of [b]Jesus the [c]Messiah, (A)the son of David, (B)the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered [d]Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, (C)Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered [e]Ram. 4 Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. 6 Jesse fathered David the king.
David (D)fathered Solomon by [f]her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon (E)fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered [g]Asa. 8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered [h]Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. 9 Uzziah fathered [i]Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered [j]Amon, and Amon (F)fathered Josiah. 11 Josiah fathered [k]Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the (G)deportation to Babylon.
12 After the (H)deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered [l]Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel fathered [m]Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14 Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15 Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16 Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, (I)who is called the [n]Messiah.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the (J)deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the (K)deportation to Babylon to the [o]Messiah, fourteen generations.
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