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 girded 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 everlasting.
3 The (G)floods have lifted up, O 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 befits Your house,
O 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 good tidings 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, O (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 courts.
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 with [g]equity.”
11 Let the (U)heavens be glad, and let the (V)earth rejoice;
Let (W)the sea [h]roar, and [i]all it contains;
12 Let the (X)field exult, 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 Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]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 O (E)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (H)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, 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 O (M)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (Q)not be in want of 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 man 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)Depart 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 open to their cry.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [d](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)Many are the (AI)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (AJ)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will be [f]condemned.
Elkanah and His Wives
1 Now there was a certain man from (A)Ramathaim-zophim from the (B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was (C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had (D)two wives: the name of one was (E)Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? (A)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of (B)the temple of the Lord. 10 She, [a]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She (C)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed (D)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a [b]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and (E)a razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she [c]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, (F)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “(G)How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman [d]oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I (H)have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not [e]consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and [f]provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “(I)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel (J)grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “(K)Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and (L)her face was no longer sad.
Samuel Is Born to Hannah
19 Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in (M)Ramah. And Elkanah [g]had relations with Hannah his wife, and (N)the Lord remembered her. 20 It came about [h]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “(O)Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
21 Then the man Elkanah (P)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will (Q)bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and (R)stay there forever.” 23 (S)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best [i]to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only (T)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Now when she had weaned him, (U)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to (V)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. 25 Then (W)they slaughtered the bull, and (X)brought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Oh, my lord! (Y)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. 27 (Z)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 (AA)So I have also [j]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is [k]dedicated to the Lord.” And (AB)he worshiped the Lord there.
9 For this reason also, (A)since the day we heard of it, (B)we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the [a](C)knowledge of His will in all spiritual (D)wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will (E)walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, [b](F)to please Him in all respects, (G)bearing fruit in every good work and [c]increasing in the [d]knowledge of God; 11 (H)strengthened with all power, according to [e]His glorious might, [f]for the attaining of all steadfastness and [g]patience; (I)joyously 12 giving thanks to (J)the Father, who has qualified us [h]to share in (K)the inheritance of the [i]saints in (L)Light.
The Incomparable Christ
13 [j]For He rescued us from the [k](M)domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of [l](N)His beloved Son, 14 (O)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 [m]He is the (P)image of the (Q)invisible God, the (R)firstborn of all creation. 16 For [n](S)by Him all things were created, (T)both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (U)thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—(V)all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He [o](W)is before all things, and in Him all things [p]hold together. 18 He is also (X)head of (Y)the body, the church; and He is (Z)the beginning, (AA)the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For [q]it was (AB)the Father’s good pleasure for all (AC)the [r]fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to (AD)reconcile all things to Himself, having made (AE)peace through (AF)the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, (AG)whether things on earth or things in [s]heaven.
22 (A)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “(B)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “(C)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was (D)righteous and devout, (E)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And (F)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (G)see death before he had seen the Lord’s [a]Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, [b](H)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, 28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace,
(I)According to Your word;
30 For my eyes have (J)seen Your salvation,
31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 (K)A Light [c]of revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 And His father and (L)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary (M)His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for (N)the fall and [d]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— 35 and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a (O)prophetess, [e]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of (P)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in [f]years (Q)and had lived with her husband seven years after her [g]marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with (R)fastings and prayers. 38 At that very [h]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were (S)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Return to Nazareth
39 When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to (T)their own city of Nazareth. 40 (U)The Child continued to grow and become strong, [i]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
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