Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
God’s Eternal Reign
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;
The Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.(A)
2 Your throne has been established
from the beginning;[a]
You are from eternity.(B)
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.(C)
4 Greater than the roar of many waters—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.(D)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.(B)
2 Sing to Yahweh, praise His name;
proclaim His salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonderful works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
He is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name;(I)
bring an offering and enter His courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;(K)
tremble before Him, all the earth.(L)
10 Say among the nations: “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them exult.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for He is coming—
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.(R)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[a](A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[b] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt His name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to Him are[c] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(M)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[d] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[f] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(AD)
10 Go out, go out through the gates;
prepare a way for the people!
Build it up, build up the highway;(A)
clear away the stones!
Raise a banner for the peoples.(B)
11 Look, the Lord has proclaimed
to the ends of the earth,
“Say to Daughter Zion:(C)
Look, your salvation is coming,
His reward is with Him,(D)
and His gifts accompany Him.”
12 And they will be called[a] the Holy People,(E)
the Lord’s Redeemed;
and you will be called Cared For,
A City Not Deserted.
10 For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source[a] of their salvation perfect through sufferings.(A) 11 For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.[b] That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers,(B) 12 saying:
13 Again, I will trust in Him.[d] And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me.(D)[e]
14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil(E)— 15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.(F) 16 For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service[f] to God, to make propitiation(G) for the sins of the people.(H) 18 For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested.
The Nativity of the Messiah
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,(B) and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.(C)
20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.(D) 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus,[a](E) because He will save His people from their sins.”(F)
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel,[b]
which is translated “God is with us.”(G)
24 When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her(H) 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son.[c] And he named Him Jesus.(I)
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