Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it—Build the roadway!
Remove the stones.
Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:[a]
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him,
and his reward goes before him!’”[b]
12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected[c] by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist,[a] in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer[b] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin,[c] and so[d] he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,[e] 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers;[f] in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”[g] 13 Again he says,[h] “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am,[i] with[j] the children God has given me.”[k] 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in[l] their humanity,[m] so that through death he could destroy[n] the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. 16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore he had[o] to be made like his brothers and sisters[p] in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement[q] for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together,[a] she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be,[b] was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her[c] privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an[d] angel of the Lord[e] appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him[f] Jesus,[g] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him[h] Emmanuel,”[i] which means[j] “God with us.”[k] 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord[l] told him. He took his wife, 25 but did not have marital relations[m] with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named[n] Jesus.
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