Book of Common Prayer
The Majesty of the Lord
93 The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 96:10; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6]. He is ·clothed [robed] in majesty.
The Lord is ·clothed [robed] in majesty
and ·armed [girded] with strength.
The world is ·set [established],
and it ·cannot be moved [will not totter].
2 Lord, your ·kingdom [L throne] was ·set up [established] long ago;
you are everlasting.
3 Lord, the ·seas [L rivers; C perhaps referring to currents within the sea] raise,
the ·seas [L rivers] raise their voice.
The ·seas [L rivers] raise up their pounding waves [C representing chaos].
4 The sound of the water is loud;
the ·ocean waves [L breakers of the sea] are ·powerful [majestic],
but the Lord above is much ·greater [more powerful/majestic; C God is in control of chaos].
5 Lord, your ·laws [decrees; testimonies] ·will stand forever [are very faithful/true].
·Your Temple will be holy forevermore [L At your house holiness is fitting/appropriate and will be for length of days].
Praise for the Lord’s Glory
96 Sing to the Lord a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3];
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and ·praise [bless] his name;
every day ·tell [announce the good news] ·how he saves us [L of his salvation/victory].
3 Tell the nations of his glory [C his manifest presence];
tell all peoples the ·miracles [wonderful acts] he does,
4 because the Lord is great; he should be praised ·at all times [or with vigor].
He ·should be honored [is awesome; should be feared] more than all the gods,
5 because all the gods of the nations are ·only idols [or worthless],
but the Lord made the heavens [Gen. 1].
6 The Lord has ·glory [splendor] and majesty;
he has power and beauty in his ·Temple [sanctuary; L Holy Place].
7 ·Praise [L Ascribe to] the Lord, all ·nations on earth [L families of peoples];
·praise the Lord’s [L ascribe to the Lord] glory and power.
8 ·Praise the glory of the Lord’s [L Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his] name.
Bring an ·offering [grain/gift/tribute sacrifice; Lev. 2:1] and come into his Temple courtyards.
9 ·Worship [Bow down to] the Lord ·because he is holy [L in the splendor of his holiness].
Tremble before him, everyone on earth.
10 Tell the nations, “The Lord ·is king [reigns; 47:2; 93:1; 97:1; 98:6; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].”
The earth is ·set [established], and it cannot be moved.
He will judge the people fairly.
11 Let the ·skies [heavens] rejoice and the earth be glad;
let the sea and everything in it ·shout [thunder; roar].
12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 before the Lord, because he is coming.
He is coming to judge the world;
he will judge the world with ·fairness [righteousness]
and the peoples with ·truth [faithfulness; 98:9].
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he ·acted crazy [acted mad/insane; L changed his mind/discernment] so Abimelech [C perhaps another name for Achish] would ·send [drive] him away, and David did leave [1 Sam. 21:10–15].
34 I will ·praise [bless] the Lord at all times;
his praise is always ·on my lips [L in my mouth].
2 My ·whole being [soul] praises the Lord.
The ·poor [humble] will hear and be glad.
3 ·Glorify [Praise; Magnify] the Lord with me,
and let us ·praise [L extol] his name together.
4 I ·asked the Lord for help [sought the Lord], and he answered me.
He ·saved [rescued; T delivered] me from all that I feared.
5 Those who ·go [L look] to him for help are ·happy [radiant],
and ·they [L their faces] are never ·disgraced [shamed].
6 This ·poor [afflicted] man [C someone in the congregation or the psalmist himself] ·called [prayed], and the Lord heard him
and ·saved him from [gave him victory over] all his ·troubles [distress].
7 The angel of the Lord [91:11; Gen. 32:1–2; 2 Kin. 6:17; Matt. 4:5–6] camps around those who fear God [Prov. 1:7],
and he saves them.
8 ·Examine [L Taste] and see how good the Lord is.
·Happy [Blessed] is the person who ·trusts [finds refuge in] him.
9 You ·who belong to the Lord [holy ones], fear him [Prov. 1:7]!
Those who fear him will ·have everything they need [not lack anything; 23:1].
10 Even lions [C the most noble wild beast] may get weak and hungry,
but those who ·look to [seek] the Lord ·will have every [L do not lack any] good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you ·to worship [L the fear of] the Lord.
12 ·You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days [L Who of you takes pleasure in life and loves days to experience good?].
13 You must ·not say evil things [L guard/keep your tongue from evil],
and ·you must not tell lies [L your lips from deception].
14 ·Stop doing [L Turn aside from] evil and do good.
·Look for [Seek] peace and ·work for [pursue] it.
15 ·The Lord sees the [L The eyes of the Lord are on] ·good [righteous] people
and ·listens to their prayers [L his ears attend to their cries for help].
16 But the ·Lord is [L face of the Lord is] against those who do evil;
he ·makes the world forget them [L cuts memory of them off the earth].
17 ·The Lord hears good people when they [L They] cry out to him,
and he saves them from all their ·troubles [distress].
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who ·do what is right may [are righteous] have many ·problems [afflictions],
but the Lord ·will solve them [L saves them from them] all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate ·good [righteous] people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord ·saves [redeems; ransoms] his servants’ lives;
no one who ·trusts [finds refuge in] him will be judged guilty.
6 Jerusalem, I ·have put guards [post watchmen] on your walls.
They ·must not [or will never] be silent day or night.
You people who ·remind the Lord of your needs in prayer [or call on the Lord]
should ·never be quiet [take no rest].
7 You should ·not stop praying to him [L give him no rest] until he builds up Jerusalem
and makes it a city ·all people will praise [of praise/pride in the earth].
10 Go through, go through the gates!
Make the way ready for the people.
Build up, build up the ·road [highway]!
Move all the stones off the road.
Raise ·the banner as a sign [a standard/signal flag] for the ·people [nations].
11 The Lord ·is speaking [announces]
to ·all the faraway lands [L the end of the earth]:
“·Tell the people of Jerusalem [L Say to the daughter of Zion; Zech. 9:9],
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing ·your reward to you [L his reward with him];
·he is bringing his payment [his recompense/reward is] with him.’”
12 ·His people [L They] will be called the Holy People,
the ·Saved People [Redeemed] of the Lord,
and Jerusalem will be called ·the City God Wants [L Sought After],
the City ·God Has Not Rejected [or Not Abandoned; Deserted].
10 God is the One ·who made all things, and all things are for his glory [L through whom and for whom all things exist]. He wanted to ·have many children share his [lead/bring many children/sons to] glory, so [L it was fitting/appropriate that] he made the ·One who leads people to [Leader/Pioneer/Source of their] salvation perfect through suffering.
11 [L For indeed] ·Jesus, [L the one] who makes people holy, and those who are made holy ·are from the same family [or have the same Father; or have one origin; L are all from one]. ·So [For this reason] he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He says,
“Then, I will ·tell my brothers and sisters about you [L proclaim your name to my brothers (and sisters)];
I will ·praise [sing hymns/praise songs to] you in the ·public meeting [midst of the assembly; Ps. 22:22].”
13 He also says,
“I will ·trust [put my confidence] in ·God [L him; Is. 8:17].”
And he also says,
“I am here, and with me are the children God has given me [Is. 8:18].”
14 [L Therefore] Since these children ·are people with physical bodies [have in common their flesh and blood], Jesus himself ·became like them [shared their humanity; L likewise shared the same things]. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death—the devil— 15 and free those who were ·like slaves [held in slavery] all their lives because of their fear of death. 16 [L For] Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the ·people who are from [seed/descendants of] Abraham [C the father of the Jewish nation; Gen. 12—25]. 17 For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so he could ·be their [L become a] merciful and faithful high priest in ·service [L the things pertaining] to God. Then Jesus could ·die in their place to take away [make atonement for; be the sacrifice that pays for; be the sacrifice that appeases God’s wrath against] ·their sins [L the sins of the people]. 18 And now he can help those who are ·tempted [or tested], because he himself suffered and ·was tempted [or was tested; or passed the test].
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 This is how the birth of Jesus ·Christ [the Messiah] came about. His mother Mary was ·engaged [pledged; T betrothed; C a formal agreement between families that required a “divorce” to annul] to marry Joseph, but before they ·married [came to live together], she ·learned she was [or was found/discovered to be] ·pregnant [T with child] ·by the power of [through] the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a ·good [righteous] man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to ·divorce her [end the engagement] ·secretly [privately; quietly].
20 While Joseph ·thought about [considered; decided; resolved to do] these things, [L look; T behold] an angel of the Lord ·came [appeared] to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, ·descendant [son] of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because ·the baby [L what is conceived] in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins [C the name Jesus means “the Lord saves”].”
22 All this happened to ·bring about [fulfill] what the Lord had ·said [spoken] through the prophet: 23 “[L Look; T Behold] The virgin will ·be pregnant [L conceive in her womb; Is. 7:14]. She will ·have [give birth to] a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which [C in Hebrew] means “God is with us.”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had ·told [commanded] him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, 25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And ·Joseph [L he] named him Jesus.
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