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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

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Psalm 113

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118^[a]

Psalm 113^[b]

Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly

¹Alleluia.

Praise, you servants of the Lord,^[c]
    praise the name of the Lord.
²^[d]Blessed be the name of the Lord
    now and forevermore.
³From the rising of the sun to its setting
    the name of the Lord is to be praised.
⁴^[e]High is the Lord over all the nations,
    and supreme over the heavens is his glory.
⁵Who is like the Lord, our God,
    the one who is enthroned on high
and who stoops down to look
⁶    on the heavens and the earth?
⁷^[f]He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
⁸seating them with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹He settles the barren woman^[g] in a home
    and makes her the joyful mother of children.
Alleluia.

Footnotes

Psalm 113:1 The Hallel (“praise”) psalms are found in three separate collections: the “Egyptian Hallel,” also known as the “Little Hallel” (Pss 113–118), the “Great Hallel” (Pss 120–136), and the “Concluding Hallel” (Pss 146–150). The Egyptian Hallel and the Great Hallel (most of which are pilgrimage psalms: Pss 120–134) were sung during the annual feasts (see Lev 23; Num 10:10). The Egyptian Hallel received a special place in the Passover liturgy; by custom Pss 113–114 were recited or sung before the festive meal and Pss 115–118 after it (see Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26). These were probably the last psalms Jesus sang before his Passion. Only the second (Ps 114) speaks directly of the Exodus, but the themes of the others make it an appropriate series to mark the salvation that began in Egypt and would spread to the nations. The concluding Hallel psalms (Pss 146–150) were incorporated into the daily prayers in the synagogue after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70.
Psalm 113:1 This psalm presents a surprising contrast in the praises of Israel: the acclamation of the glory of the Almighty One attains its summit, and certitude becomes even stronger that God is near to the lowly. His tenderness reaches those whom the powerful of the earth regard as nothing. The God of justice reverses established situations, as both the canticle of Hannah (see 1 Sam 2:4-8) and the Magnificat of Mary (see Lk 1:46-55) attest with equal intensity. In celebrating the salvation of the humiliated poor man and the abandoned woman, Israel keeps alive the hope of a wondrous renewal in the Messianic age (see Pss 76; 87; Isa 49:21; 54:1-8).
In praying this psalm, we are aware that the New Testament provides us with new motives for praising God the Father for the great condescension he manifests toward Zechariah, Mary, and those known as the poor of Yahweh. We can also chant this psalm in honor of the glorified Christ. Exalted by his Father above every earthly power and introduced by him into divine glory (Phil 2:9-11; Heb 2:7-9), Christ shows himself to be incomparable by uniting to his supreme transcendence an astonishing condescension. It was toward the poor and lowly that he stooped during his public ministry, eating and drinking with them (see Mk 2:16), offering them the kingdom of God (see Mt 5:3-12) with its mysteries (see Mk 4:11), and making them the princes of his new people (see Mk 3:13-19). It is on the poor and the weak in the eyes of the world that he continues to confer his spiritual riches and powers (see 1 Cor 1:26-28).
Psalm 113:1 Servants of the Lord: the Lord’s loyal people, together with the priests and the Levites, come together to worship the Lord. These are all those who know “the name of the Lord” (v. 3; see Ps 50:1; Zep 2:11; Mal 1:11). Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 113:2 The name of the Lord is to be proclaimed so that every generation may remember what he has done and how he has revealed himself (see Ex 3:16). This praise is to extend in time (forevermore) and in space (from the rising of the sun to its setting, i.e., from the east to the west; see Mal 1:11).
Psalm 113:4 The psalmist calls attention to the contrast: the exalted rule of the Lord and his accommodation to the needs of his people. Over all the nations: and by implication over all their gods (see Pss 95:3; 96:4f; 97:9). Over the heavens: i.e., above all creation.
Psalm 113:7 The Lord does not ally himself with the high and mighty but takes care of the poor and needy by transforming them from outcasts of society (the dust, see Isa 47:1, or rubbish heap, see Lam 4:5) into those who have a position of prominence (with the princes of his people, v. 8; see 1 Sam 2:8; Job 36:7). The afflicted man will be accorded recognition, and the oppressed woman will be given honor.
Psalm 113:9 Barren woman: a barren wife was considered cursed by God and a social outcast, a disappointment to her husband, to other women, and especially to herself (see Gen 16:2; 20:18; 1 Sam 1:6; 2:5; Lk 1:25). The Lord blesses her with children (see Ps 115:14; Isa 48:19; 54:1-3). Alleluia: i.e., “Hallelujah” or “Bless [or praise] the Lord”; it probably was once the first line of Ps 114.

Psalm 122

Psalm 122^[a]

The Pilgrim’s Greeting to the Holy City

¹A song of ascents. Of David.

^[b]I rejoiced when they said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
²And finally our feet are standing
    at your gates, O Jerusalem.
³Jerusalem is built as a city
    that is firmly bound together^[c] in unity.
⁴There the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord,
as it was decreed for Israel
    to celebrate the name of the Lord.^[d]
⁵For there the thrones of judgment^[e] were established,
    the thrones of the house of David.
⁶Pray for the peace^[f] of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you rest secure.
⁷May there be peace within your walls
    and security in your palaces.”
⁸^[g]Out of love for my relatives and friends,
    I will say, “May peace be within you.”
⁹Out of love for the house of the Lord, our God,
    I will pray for your well-being.

Footnotes

Psalm 122:1 The pilgrims arrive where they can see Jerusalem, and their faces light up with joy, a joy that formed part of the Messianic hope. They come to a halt to admire the holy city restored by Nehemiah, and their remembrances sing in their heart: those of the gathering of the tribes at the Tent of Meeting (see Num 2:2) and of the happy era when David and Solomon ruled in their capital. The latter appeared to them as the symbol of unity and peace—“Shalom” signifies peace. In their desire for happiness, they already dream of the gathering together at some future time (see Isa 33:20; Zec 9:9ff).
One day Paul will speak of Christ present in his Church to reestablish the links of the human family (see Eph 2:19-22), and the visionary of Patmos will celebrate the definitively rediscovered unity in his marvelous description of a heavenly Jerusalem (see Rev 21:2—22:5). Hence, in praying this psalm, we as Christians must go beyond the original sense since we find ourselves drawn along by Christ in a spiritual pilgrimage that causes us to leave the world and enter ever further into the Church. It ultimately leads us from earth to heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem.
Psalm 122:1 The trials of an expatriate (see Ps 120) and the hazards of travel (see Ps 121) are overshadowed now by the joy that had drawn the pilgrim to his journey. The doxology in Jude 24 is the Christian equivalent of this progress and arrival: “To him who is able to keep you from falling [see Ps 121] and to bring you safely to his glorious presence, unblemished and rejoicing [see Ps 122].” The house of the Lord: the temple (see 2 Sam 7:5, 13; 1 Ki 5:2, 4).
Psalm 122:3 That is firmly bound together: Jerusalem is the symbol of the unity of the chosen people and the figure of the unity of the Church (see Eph 2:20ff). Some versions have translated this as: “where its community is one.”
Psalm 122:4 This verse presupposes the Deuteronomic law concerning unity of sanctuary (see Deut 12; 16:16; 1 Ki 12:27). To celebrate the name of the Lord: because of God’s saving acts and blessings for his people.
Psalm 122:5 Jerusalem was both the religious center, symbolized by the “house of the Lord” (v. 1), and the political center, symbolized by the thrones of judgment. The kings of Judah ruled by God’s will and upheld his kingship to the extent that they dispensed justice, which was a feature of the Messianic Age (see Isa 9:7; 11:3-5).
Psalm 122:6 Peace: the customary greeting in Hebrew, shalom, which also includes the idea of happiness and prosperity.
Psalm 122:8 Jerusalem is transferred into an ideal, an eschatological expression of what God had planned for his people, and the psalmist prays for the fulfillment of God’s plan. What Jerusalem was to the Israelite, the Church is to the Christian.

1 Samuel 1:20-28

²⁰The Birth of Samuel. In time it came to pass that Hannah conceived and bore a son whom she named Samuel, saying, “For I have asked the Lord for him.” ²¹When Elkanah and his household went up to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow, ²²Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, “After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will dwell there forever.” ²³Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Do what you think is best. Stay here until you have weaned him, only may the Lord bring his word to fulfillment.” So the woman stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.

²⁴Samuel’s Consecration. When she had weaned him, she took him with herself along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was still young. ²⁵After they sacrificed the bull, they brought the child to Eli. ²⁶^[a]She said, “Oh my lord, as my soul lives, I am the woman who stood beside you praying to the Lord. ²⁷I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted the request that I made of him. ²⁸Therefore, I have dedicated him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

Romans 8:14-21

¹⁴^[a]Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery leading to fear; rather, you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶The Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. ¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided that we share his sufferings so that we may also share his glory.

¹⁸The Future Glory That Shall Be Revealed.^[b] I consider that the sufferings we presently endure are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed in us. ¹⁹Indeed, creation itself eagerly awaits the revelation of the children of God. ²⁰For creation was subjected to frustration, not of its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope ²¹that creation itself will be freed from its slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Book of Common Prayer

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118[a]

Psalm 113[b]

Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly

Footnotes

Psalm 122[a]

The Pilgrim’s Greeting to the Holy City

Footnotes

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118^[a]

Psalm 113^[b]

Psalm 122^[a]