Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [i]Beside them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They [j]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the [n]labor of man,
So that [o]he may bring forth [p]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [q]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [r]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the [s]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [t](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest [u]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar after their prey
[v]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[w]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [x]possessions.
25 [y]There is the (AR)sea, great and [z]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the (AS)ships move along,
And [aa](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [ab]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AW)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AX)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AY)take away their [ac]spirit, they expire
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [ad](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord (BC)be glad in His works;
32 [ae]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [af]I will sing to the Lord [ag](BG)as long as I live;
[ah]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ai]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BI)meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be (BK)consumed from the earth
And let the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[aj](BN)Praise [ak]the Lord!
Exaltation of the Afflicted
61 The (A)Spirit of the Lord [a]God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To (B)bring good news to the [b](C)afflicted;
He has sent me to (D)bind up the brokenhearted,
To (E)proclaim liberty to captives
And [c]freedom to prisoners;
2 To (F)proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the (G)day of vengeance of our God;
To (H)comfort all who mourn,
3 To (I)grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The (J)oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called [d](K)oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
4 Then they will (L)rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 (M)Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And [e]foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the (N)priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as (O)ministers of our God.
You will eat the (P)wealth of nations,
And in their [f]riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your (Q)shame you will have a (R)double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
(S)Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, (T)love justice,
I hate robbery [g]in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an (U)everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the (V)offspring whom the Lord has blessed.
23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, (A)being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (B)tutor to lead us to Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [a](D)tutor. 26 For you are all (E)sons of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is [b]neither male nor female; for (J)you are all one in (K)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (L)you [c]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [d]descendants, heirs according to (M)promise.
4 But when (A)the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, (B)born of a woman, born (C)under [a]the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under [b]the Law, that we might receive the adoption as (D)sons. 6 Because you are sons, (E)God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “(F)Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and (G)if a son, then an heir [c]through God.
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