Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
93 The Lord rules!
He is robed in majesty—
the Lord is robed,
clothed with strength.
Yes, he set the world firmly in place;[a]
it won’t be shaken.
2 Your throne is set firm for a very long time.
You are eternal!
3 Lord, the floods have raised up—
the floods have raised up their voices;
the floods raise up a roar!
4 But mightier than the sound of much water,
mightier than the sea’s waves,
mighty on high is the Lord!
5 Your laws are so faithful.
Holiness decorates your house, Lord, for all time.
Psalm 96
96 Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord! Bless his name!
Share the news of his saving work every single day!
3 Declare God’s glory among the nations;
declare his wondrous works among all people
4 because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.
He is awesome beyond all other gods
5 because all the gods of the nations are just idols,
but it is the Lord who created heaven!
6 Greatness and grandeur are in front of him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Give to the Lord, all families of the nations—
give to the Lord glory and power!
8 Give to the Lord the glory due his name!
Bring gifts!
Enter his courtyards!
9 Bow down to the Lord in his holy splendor!
Tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Tell the nations, “The Lord rules!
Yes, he set the world firmly in place;[a]
it won’t be shaken.
He will judge all people fairly.”
11 Let heaven celebrate! Let the earth rejoice!
Let the sea and everything in it roar!
12 Let the countryside and everything in it celebrate!
Then all the trees of the forest too
will shout out joyfully
13 before the Lord because he is coming!
He is coming to establish justice on the earth!
He will establish justice in the world rightly.
He will establish justice among all people fairly.
Psalm 34[a]
Of David, when he pretended to be crazy before Abimelech, who banished him so that he left.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
2 I[b] praise the Lord—
let the suffering listen and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Together let us lift his name up high!
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me.
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to God will shine;
their faces are never ashamed.
6 This suffering person cried out:
the Lord listened and saved him from every trouble.
7 On every side, the Lord’s messenger protects those who honor God; and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see how good the Lord is!
The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy!
9 You who are the Lord’s holy ones, honor him,
because those who honor him don’t lack a thing.
10 Even strong young lions go without and get hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me.
Let me teach you how to honor the Lord:
12 Do you love life;
do you relish the chance to enjoy good things?
13 Then you must keep your tongue from evil
and keep your lips from speaking lies!
14 Turn away from evil! Do good!
Seek peace and go after it!
15 The Lord’s eyes watch the righteous,
his ears listen to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord’s face is set against those who do evil,
to eliminate even the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry out, the Lord listens;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous have many problems,
but the Lord delivers them from every one.
20 He protects all their bones;
not even one will be broken.
21 But just one problem will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be held responsible.
22 The Lord saves his servants’ lives;
all those who take refuge in him
won’t be held responsible for anything.
6 Upon your walls, Jerusalem,
I have appointed sentinels.
Continually, all day and all night,
they won’t keep silent.
You who call on the Lord, don’t rest,
7 and don’t allow God to rest
until he establishes Jerusalem,
and makes it the praise of the earth.
10 Pass through, pass through the gates;
prepare the way for the people!
Build, build the road;
clear away the stones!
Raise up a signal for the peoples.
11 This is what the Lord announced
to the earth’s distant regions:
Say to Daughter Zion, “Look! Your deliverer arrives,
bringing reward and payment!”
12 They will be called The Holy People,
Redeemed By the Lord.
And you will be called Sought After—
A City That Is Not Abandoned.
Qualified to be a high priest
10 It was appropriate for God, for whom and through whom everything exists, to use experiences of suffering to make perfect the pioneer of salvation. This salvation belongs to many sons and daughters whom he’s leading to glory. 11 This is because the one who makes people holy and the people who are being made holy all come from one source. That is why Jesus isn’t ashamed to call them brothers and sisters when he says,
12 I will publicly announce your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will praise you in the middle of the assembly.[a]
13 He also says,
I will rely on him.[b]
And also,
Here I am with the children whom God has given to me.[c]
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death—the devil—by dying. 15 He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death. 16 Of course, he isn’t trying to help angels, but rather he’s helping Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way. This was so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, in order to wipe away the sins of the people. 18 He’s able to help those who are being tempted, since he himself experienced suffering when he was tempted.
Birth of Jesus
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn’t want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. 20 As he was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child she carries was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will call him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all of this took place so that what the Lord had spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled:
23 Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son,
And they will call him, Emmanuel.[a]
(Emmanuel means “God with us.”)
24 When Joseph woke up, he did just as an angel from God commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he didn’t have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. Joseph called him Jesus.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible