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 Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.
A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before [a]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 (E)Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord and He answered me,
And (H)rescued me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This wretched man cried out, and (K)the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 (M)Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 Fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no lack of anything.
10 The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will (Q)not lack any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [b](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)The (AI)afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord (AJ)rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
10 Go through, (A)go through the gates,
Clear a way [a]for the people!
(B)Build up, build up the (C)highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a (D)flag over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the (E)end of the earth:
(F)Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your (G)salvation is coming;
(H)Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
12 And they will call them, “(I)The holy people,
The (J)redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City (K)Not Abandoned.”
10 For (A)it was fitting for Him, (B)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (C)perfect the [a](D)originator of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who (E)sanctifies and those who (F)are [b]sanctified are all (G)from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them (H)brothers and sisters, 12 saying,
“(I)I will proclaim Your name to My brothers,
In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.”
13 And again,
“(J)I will put My trust in Him.”
And again,
“(K)Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Therefore, since the children share in [c](L)flesh and blood, (M)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that (N)through death He might destroy (O)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through (P)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For clearly He does not [d]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [e]descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He [f]had (Q)to be made like His brothers so that He might (R)become a merciful and faithful (S)high priest in (T)things pertaining to God, to (U)make [g]propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was [h](V)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are [i]tempted.
Conception and Birth of Jesus
18 Now the birth of Jesus the [a]Messiah was as follows: when His (A)mother Mary had been [b]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (B)found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to [c](C)send her away secretly. 20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “(D)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [d]the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son; and (E)you shall name Him Jesus, for [e]He (F)will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this [f]took place so that what was (G)spoken by the Lord through [g]the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “(H)Behold, the virgin will [h](I)conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him [i]Immanuel,” which translated means, “(J)God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 [j]but kept her a virgin until she (K)gave birth to a Son; and (L)he named Him Jesus.
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