Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord of Love
Of David.
103 ·All that I am [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord;
·everything in me [L all my inward parts], ·praise [bless] his holy name.
2 ·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord
and do not forget all his ·kindnesses [gifts; benefits].
3 He forgives all ·my [or your] ·sins [iniquity]
and heals all ·my [or your] ·diseases [ills].
4 He ·saves [redeems] ·my [or your] life from the ·grave [L pit]
and ·loads [or crowns] ·me [or you] with ·love [loyalty] and ·mercy [compassion].
5 He satisfies ·me [or you] with good things [L as long as you live; or according to your desires]
and ·makes me young again [L renews your youth], like the eagle [Is. 40:31].
6 The Lord does what is ·right [righteous] and ·fair [just]
for all who are ·wronged by others [oppressed; exploited].
7 He ·showed [revealed] his ways to Moses [Ex. 34:5–7]
and his deeds to the ·people [sons] of Israel.
8 The Lord shows ·mercy [compassion] and ·is kind [grace].
He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger], and he has great ·love [loyalty; 86:15; 145:8–9; Ex. 34:6–7; Neh. 9:17. 31; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2].
9 He will not always ·accuse [charge; contend with] us,
and he will not ·be angry forever [L keep watch forever].
10 He ·has not punished us as our sins should be punished [L does not act toward us according to our sins];
he has not repaid us ·for the evil we have done [L according to our iniquity].
11 As high as the ·sky [heaven] is above the earth,
so great is his ·love [loyalty] for those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7].
12 He has taken our ·sins [transgressions] away from us
as far as the east is from west.
13 The Lord has ·mercy [compassion] on those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
as a father has ·mercy [compassion] on his children.
14 He knows how we were ·made [formed];
he remembers that we are dust [Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Job 4:19; 10:9; 34:15; Eccl. 3:20; 12:7].
15 Human ·life [L days] is like grass [90:5–6; Is. 51:12];
we ·grow [sprout; flourish] like a flower in the field [Job 14:2; Is. 40:6–7].
16 After the wind ·blows [passes by], ·the flower [L it] is gone,
and ·there is no sign of where it was [L no one can recognize its place].
17 But the Lord’s ·love [loyalty] for those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7]
continues forever and ever,
and his ·goodness [righteousness] continues to their ·grandchildren [L children’s children]
18 and to those who ·keep [observe; guard] his ·agreement [covenant; treaty; Ex. 19–24]
and who remember to ·obey [L do] his ·orders [precepts].
19 The Lord has ·set [established] his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything [93:1; 96:10; 99:1].
20 You who are his ·angels [or messengers], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
You are the mighty warriors who do what he says
and who ·obey [listen to] his voice.
21 You, his ·armies [hosts; C perhaps the angelic army], ·praise [bless] the Lord;
you are his ·servants [ministers] who do what he ·wants [desires].
22 Everything the Lord has made
should ·praise [bless] him in all the places he rules.
·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
Zechariah and Elizabeth
5 During the time ·Herod ruled Judea [L of Herod, king of Judea], there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ·Abijah’s group [the priestly division/order of Abijah; C priests were divided into twenty-four divisions; 2 Chr. 31:2]. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the ·family [L daughters; C female descendants] of Aaron [C brother of Moses and first high priest of Israel; for a priest like Zechariah to marry a woman of priestly ancestry was a special blessing]. 6 [L Both] Zechariah and Elizabeth ·truly did what God said was good [L were righteous before God]. They ·did [followed; walked in] everything the Lord commanded and were ·without fault [blameless] in keeping his ·law [regulations; requirements]. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth ·could not have a baby [could not conceive; T was barren], and both of them were very old [Gen. 17:17; 18:11].
8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his ·group [order; division] was on duty. 9 According to the custom of the ·priests [L priesthood], he was chosen by lot [C similar to dice; used to determine God’s will] to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense [1 Chr. 6:49; Heb. 9:6]. 10 ·There were a great many people [L The whole multitude of the people were] outside praying at the ·time [L hour] the incense was offered. 11 Then an angel ·of [sent by] the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense ·table [altar]. 12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was ·startled [shaken] and frightened. 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your ·prayer [petition]. Your wife, Elizabeth, will ·give birth to [bear for you] a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will bring you joy and ·gladness [delight], and many people will ·be happy [rejoice] because of his birth. 15 [L For; Because] John will be a great man ·for [in the eyes of; L before] the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer [C indicating he will be set apart to God for special service; Num. 6:3], and even ·from birth [or in his mother’s womb; 1:41, 44], he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will help many ·people [L of the children] of Israel return to the Lord their God [1 Kin. 18:37]. 17 He will go before ·the Lord [L him] in [the] spirit and power ·like [of] Elijah. He will ·make peace between parents and [L turn the hearts of parents/fathers back to] their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the ·right way of thinking [or wisdom of the righteous], ·to make a people ready [L to prepare a people who are fit/ready] for the ·coming of the Lord [L Lord; Mal. 4:5–6].”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know ·that what you say is true [L this]? [L For] I am an old man, and my wife is old, too [Gen. 17:17].”
19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel [C one of two named angels in Scripture (the other is Michael); Dan. 8:16; 9:21; 10:10–14]. I stand before God, who sent me to talk to you and to tell you this good news. 20 Now, ·listen [L look; T behold]! You will [L be silent and] not be able to speak until the day these things happen, because you did not believe ·what I told you [L my words]. ·But they will really happen [L …which will be fulfilled at their appointed time].”
21 Outside, the people were still waiting for Zechariah and were ·surprised that [wondering why] he was ·staying so long [delayed] in the Temple. 22 When Zechariah came outside, he could not speak to them, and they knew he had seen a vision in the Temple. He could only ·make signs [motion; gesture] to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his ·time [period; L days] of service at the Temple was finished, he went home.
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