Book of Common Prayer
66 (0) For the leader. A song. A psalm:
(1) Shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing the glory of his name,
make his praise glorious.
3 Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!
At your great power, your enemies cringe.
4 All the earth bows down to you,
sings praises to you, sings praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome dealings with humankind.
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They passed through the river on foot;
there we rejoiced in him.
7 With his power he rules forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let no rebel arise to challenge him. (Selah)
8 Bless our God, you peoples!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
9 He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 For you, God, have tested us,
refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net
and bound our bodies fast.
12 You made men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water.
But you brought us out
to a place of plenty.
13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings,
I will fulfill my vows to you,
14 those my lips pronounced and my mouth spoke
when I was in distress.
15 I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
along with the sweet smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth,
his praise was on my tongue.
18 Had I cherished evil thoughts,
Adonai would not have listened.
19 But in fact, God did listen;
he paid attention to my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
or turn his grace away from me.
67 (0) For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:
2 (1) God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)
3 (2) so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
4 (3) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
5 (4) Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
for you will judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)
6 (5) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
7 (6) The earth has yielded its harvest;
may God, our God, bless us.
8 (7) May God continue to bless us,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
116 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
4 But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”
5 Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
8 Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
9 I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
11 even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
117 Praise Adonai, all you nations!
Worship him, all you peoples!
2 For his grace has overcome us,
and Adonai’s truth continues forever.
Halleluyah!
2 Then Hannah prayed; she said:
“My heart exults in Adonai!
My dignity has been restored by Adonai!
I can gloat over my enemies,
because of my joy at your saving me.
2 “No one is as holy as Adonai,
because there is none to compare with you,
no rock like our God.
3 “Stop your proud boasting!
Don’t let arrogance come from your mouth!
For Adonai is a God of knowledge,
and he appraises actions.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the feeble are armed with strength.
5 The well-fed hire themselves for bread,
while those who were hungry hunger no more.
The barren woman has borne seven,
while the mother of many wastes away.
6 “Adonai kills and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave, and he brings up.
7 Adonai makes poor, and he makes rich;
he humbles, and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts up the needy from the trash pile;
he gives them a place with leaders
and assigns them seats of honor.
“For the earth’s pillars belong to Adonai;
on them he has placed the world.
9 He will guard the steps of his faithful,
but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
For it is not by strength that a person prevails —
10 those who fight Adonai will be shattered;
he will thunder against them in heaven —
Adonai will judge the ends of the earth.
He will strengthen his king
and enhance the power of his anointed.”
2 But you, explain what kind of behavior goes along with sound teaching. 2 Tell the older men to be serious, sensible, self-controlled and sound in their trust, love and perseverance.
3 Likewise, tell the older women to behave the way people leading a holy life should. They shouldn’t be slanderers or slaves to excessive drinking. They should teach what is good, 4 thus training the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to take good care of their homes and submit to their husbands. In this way, God’s message will not be brought into disgrace.
6 Similarly, urge the young men to be self-controlled, 7 and in everything set them an example yourself by doing what is good. When you are teaching, have integrity and be serious; 8 let everything you say be so wholesome that an opponent will be put to shame because he will have nothing bad to say about us.
9 Tell slaves to submit to their masters in everything, to give satisfaction without talking back 10 or pilfering. On the contrary, they should demonstrate complete faithfulness always, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Deliverer more attractive.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gavri’el was sent by God to a city in the Galil called Natzeret, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Yosef, of the house of David; the virgin’s name was Miryam. 28 Approaching her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored lady! Adonai is with you!” 29 She was deeply troubled by his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God. 31 Look! You will become pregnant, you will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua. 32 He will be great, he will be called Son of Ha‘Elyon. Adonai, God, will give him the throne of his forefather David; 33 and he will rule the House of Ya‘akov forever — there will be no end to his Kingdom.” 34 “How can this be,” asked Miryam of the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered her,
“The Ruach HaKodesh will come over you,
the power of Ha‘Elyon will cover you.
Therefore the holy child born to you
will be called the Son of God.
36 “You have a relative, Elisheva, who is an old woman; and everyone says she is barren. But she has conceived a son and is six months pregnant! 37 For with God, nothing is impossible.” 38 Miryam said, “I am the servant of Adonai; may it happen to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.