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.
10 Go through, (A)go through the gates,
Clear the way [a]for the people;
(B)Build up, build up the (C)highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a (D)standard over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the (E)end of the earth,
(F)Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your (G)salvation comes;
(H)Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”
12 And they will call them, “(I)The holy people,
The (J)redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought out, a city (K)not forsaken.”
10 For (A)it was fitting for Him, (B)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (C)perfect the [a](D)author of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who (E)sanctifies and those who (F)are [b]sanctified are all (G)from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them (H)brethren, 12 saying,
“(I)I will proclaim Your name to My brethren,
In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
13 And again,
“(J)I will put My trust in Him.”
And again,
“(K)Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Therefore, since the children share in [c](L)flesh and blood, (M)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that (N)through death He might render powerless (O)him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through (P)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For assuredly He does not [d]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [e]descendant of Abraham. 17 Therefore, He [f]had (Q)to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might (R)become a merciful and faithful (S)high priest in (T)things pertaining to God, to (U)make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was (V)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
Conception and Birth of Jesus
18 Now the birth of Jesus [a]Christ was as follows: when His (A)mother Mary had been [b]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (B)found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned [c](C)to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “(D)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [d]the Child who has been [e]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and (E)you shall call His name Jesus, for [f]He (F)will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this [g]took place to fulfill what was (G)spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “(H)Behold, the virgin shall be with (I)child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name [h]Immanuel,” which translated means, “(J)God with us.” 24 And Joseph [i]awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 [j]but kept her a virgin until she (K)gave birth to a Son; and (L)he called His name Jesus.
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