Book of Common Prayer
The Eternal Reign of the Lord
93 The (A)Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
(B)He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be [a]moved.
2 (C)Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
3 The floods have [b]lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their waves.
4 (D)The Lord on high is mightier
Than the noise of many waters,
Than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your testimonies are very sure;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, [c]forever.
A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment(A)
96 Oh, (B)sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the [a]nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For (C)the Lord is great and (D)greatly to be praised;
(E)He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For (F)all the gods of the peoples are idols,
(G)But the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and (H)beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 (I)Give[b] to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
8 [c]Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Oh, worship the Lord (J)in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the [d]nations, (K)“The Lord reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be [e]moved;
(L)He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 (M)Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
(N)Let the sea roar, and [f]all its fullness;
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice
13 before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
(O)He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.
Praise to the Lord from Creation
148 Praise[a] the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
2 Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all you stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (A)you heavens of heavens,
And (B)you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (C)He commanded and they were created.
6 (D)He also established them forever and ever;
He made a decree which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(E)You great sea creatures and all the depths;
8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
9 (F)Mountains and all hills;
Fruitful trees and all cedars;
10 Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and flying fowl;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and maidens;
Old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For His (G)name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 And He (H)has exalted the [b]horn of His people,
The praise of (I)all His saints—
Of the children of Israel,
(J)A people near to Him.
[c]Praise the Lord!
Let All Things Praise the Lord
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [b]firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent (B)greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the [c]trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
[d]Praise the Lord!
The Changeless Promise(A)
15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: (B)Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of (C)one, (D)“And to your Seed,” who is (E)Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, (F)which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God [a]in Christ, (G)that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if (H)the inheritance is of the law, (I)it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Purpose of the Law
19 What purpose then does the law serve? (J)It was added because of transgressions, till the (K)Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was (L)appointed through angels by the hand (M)of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, (N)but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined (O)all under sin, (P)that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Zacharias’ Prophecy
67 Now his father Zacharias (A)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed(B) is the Lord God of Israel,
For (C)He has visited and redeemed His people,
69 (D)And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
70 (E)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been (F)since the world began,
71 That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
72 (G)To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 (H)The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might (I)serve Him without fear,
75 (J)In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the (K)prophet of the Highest;
For (L)you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 To give (M)knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the [a]Dayspring from on high [b]has visited us;
79 (N)To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To (O)guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So (P)the child grew and became strong in spirit, and (Q)was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ(A)
1 The book of the (B)genealogy[a] of Jesus Christ, (C)the Son of David, (D)the Son of Abraham:
2 (E)Abraham begot Isaac, (F)Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot (G)Judah and his brothers. 3 (H)Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, (I)Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot (J)Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and (K)Jesse begot David the king.
(L)David the king begot Solomon by her [b]who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 (M)Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot (N)Abijah, and Abijah begot [c]Asa. 8 Asa begot (O)Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot (P)Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot (Q)Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 (R)Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot [d]Amon, and Amon begot (S)Josiah. 11 (T)Josiah begot [e]Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were (U)carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, (V)Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot (W)Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of (X)Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.