Book of Common Prayer
The Majesty of God
93 The Lord is king. He is clothed with majesty.
The Lord is clothed in majesty
and armed with strength.
The world is set,
and it cannot be moved.
2 Lord, your kingdom was set up long ago.
You are everlasting.
3 Lord, the seas rise up.
The seas raise their voice.
The seas lift up their pounding waves.
4 The sound of the water is loud.
The ocean waves are powerful.
But the Lord above is much greater.
5 Lord, your laws will stand forever.
Your Temple will be holy forevermore.
Praise for God’s Glory
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord and praise his name.
Every day tell how he saves us.
3 Tell the nations of his glory.
Tell all peoples the miracles he does.
4 The Lord is great; he should be praised.
He should be honored more than all the gods.
5 All the gods of the nations are only idols.
But the Lord made the skies.
6 The Lord has glory and majesty.
He has power and beauty in his Temple.
7 Praise the Lord, all nations on earth.
Praise the Lord’s glory and power.
8 Praise the glory of the Lord’s name.
Bring an offering and come into his Temple courtyards.
9 Worship the Lord because he is holy.
The whole earth should tremble before the Lord.
10 Tell the nations, “The Lord is king.”
The earth is set, and it cannot be moved.
He will judge the people fairly.
11 Let the skies rejoice and the earth be glad.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them show their joy.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.
13 They will sing before the Lord because he is coming.
He is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world with fairness
and the nations with truth.
Praise God Who Judges and Saves
David’s song from the time he acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away. And David did leave.
34 I will praise the Lord at all times.
His praise is always on my lips.
2 My whole being praises the Lord.
The poor will hear and be glad.
3 Tell the greatness of the Lord with me.
Let us praise his name together.
4 I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
He saved me from all that I feared.
5 Those who go to him for help are happy.
They are never disgraced.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him.
The Lord saved him from all his troubles.
7 The Lord saves those who fear him.
His angel camps around them.
8 Examine and see how good the Lord is.
Happy is the person who trusts the Lord.
9 People who belong to the Lord, fear him!
Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may become weak and hungry.
But those people who go to the Lord for help will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things.
You must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.
15 The Lord sees the good people.
He listens to their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil.
He makes the world forget them.
17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him.
He saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 People who do what is right may have many problems.
But the Lord will solve them all.
20 He will protect their very bones.
Not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked people.
Those who hate good people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord saves his servants’ lives.
No one who trusts him will be judged guilty.
6 Jerusalem, I have put guards on the walls to watch.
They must not be silent day or night.
You people who remind the Lord
should never be quiet.
7 You should not stop praying to the Lord until he builds up Jerusalem.
Don’t stop until he makes Jerusalem a city all people will praise.
10 Go through, go through the gates!
Make the way ready for the people.
Build up, build up the road!
Move all the stones off the road.
Raise the banner as a sign for the people.
11 The Lord is speaking
to all the faraway lands:
“Tell the people of Jerusalem,
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing your reward to you.
He is bringing his payment with him.’”
12 His people will be called the Holy People.
They will be called the Saved People of the Lord.
And Jerusalem will be called the City God Wants.
It will be named the City God Has Not Rejected.
10 God is the One who made all things. And all things are for his glory. God wanted to have many sons share his glory. So God made perfect the One who leads people to salvation. He made Jesus a perfect Savior through Jesus’ suffering.
11 Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers. 12 He says,
“Then, I will tell my fellow Israelites about you.
I will praise you when your people meet to worship you.” Psalm 22:22
13 He also says,
“I will trust in God.” Isaiah 8:17
And he also says,
“I am here. And with me are the children that God has given me.” Isaiah 8:18
14 These children are people with physical bodies. So Jesus himself became like them and had the same experiences they have. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death. That one is the devil. 15 Jesus became like men and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death. 16 Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the people who are from Abraham.[a] 17 For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way. He became like men so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for their sins. 18 And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 The mother of Jesus Christ was Mary. And this is how the birth of Jesus came about. Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, she learned that she was going to have a baby. She was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly.
20 While Joseph thought about this, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. The baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son. You will name the son Jesus.[a] Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel.”[b] This name means “God is with us.”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph married Mary. 25 But he did not have intimate relations with her until she gave birth to the son. And Joseph named the son Jesus.
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