Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
For the music director, a song, a psalm.
66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.[b]
Give him the honor he deserves![c]
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear[d] before you.
4 All the earth worships[e] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and witness[f] God’s exploits![g]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.[h]
6 He turned the sea into dry land;[i]
they passed through the river on foot.[j]
Let us rejoice in him there.[k]
7 He rules[l] by his power forever;
he watches[m] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt[n] themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise[o] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.[p]
9 He preserves our lives[q]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For[r] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap;[s]
you caused us to suffer.[t]
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.[u]
13 I will enter[v] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.[w]
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help[x]
and praised him with my tongue.[y]
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,[z]
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20 God deserves praise,[aa]
for[ab] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.[ac]
Psalm 67[ad]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67 May God show us his favor[ae] and bless us.[af]
May he smile on us.[ag] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[ah]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[ai]
4 Let foreigners[aj] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[ak] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[al]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[am]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[an]
Psalm 116[a]
116 I love the Lord
because he heard my plea for mercy,[b]
2 and listened to me.[c]
As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.[d]
3 The ropes of death tightened around me,[e]
the snares[f] of Sheol confronted me.
I was confronted[g] with trouble and sorrow.
4 I called on the name of the Lord,
“Please, Lord, rescue my life!”
5 The Lord is merciful and fair;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord protects[h] the untrained;[i]
I was in serious trouble[j] and he delivered me.
7 Rest once more, my soul,[k]
for the Lord has vindicated you.[l]
8 Yes,[m] Lord,[n] you rescued my life from death,
kept my eyes from tears
and my feet from stumbling.
9 I will serve[o] the Lord
in the land[p] of the living.
10 I had faith when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 I rashly declared,[q]
“All men are liars.”
12 How can I repay the Lord
for all his acts of kindness to me?
13 I will celebrate my deliverance,[r]
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people.
15 The Lord values
the lives of his faithful followers.[s]
16 Yes, Lord! I am indeed your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your female servant.[t]
You saved me from death.[u]
17 I will present a thank offering to you,
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
before all his people,
19 in the courts of the Lord’s temple,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 117[v]
Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer
2 Hannah prayed,[a]
“My heart has rejoiced[b] in the Lord;
my horn[c] has been raised high because of the Lord.
I have loudly denounced[d] my enemies.
Indeed I rejoice in your deliverance.
2 No one is holy[e] like the Lord!
There is no one other than you!
There is no rock[f] like our God!
3 Don’t keep speaking[g] so arrogantly.[h]
Proud talk should not[i] come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God who knows;
he[j] evaluates what people do.
4 The bows of warriors are shattered,
but those who stumbled have taken on strength.[k]
5 The well fed hire themselves out to earn food,
but the hungry no longer lack.[l]
Even[m] the barren woman has given birth to seven,[n]
but the one with many children has declined.[o]
6 The Lord both kills and gives life;
he brings down to the grave[p] and raises up.[q]
7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He lifts the weak[r] from the dust;
he raises[s] the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes—
he bestows on them an honored position.[t]
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—
he placed the world on them.
9 He watches over[u] his holy ones,[v]
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,[w]
for it is not by one’s own[x] strength that one prevails.
10 The Lord shatters[y] his adversaries;[z]
he thunders against them from[aa] the heavens.
The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.
He will strengthen[ab] his king
and exalt the power[ac] of his anointed one.”[ad]
Conduct Consistent with Sound Teaching
2 But as for you, communicate the behavior that goes with[a] sound teaching. 2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled,[b] sound in faith, in love, and in endurance.[c] 3 Older women likewise are to exhibit behavior fitting for those who are holy, not slandering, not slaves to excessive drinking, but teaching what is good. 4 In this way[d] they will train[e] the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled,[f] pure, fulfilling their duties at home,[g] kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the message[h] of God may not be discredited.[i] 6 Encourage younger men likewise to be self-controlled,[j] 7 showing yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss,[k] because he has nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves[l] are to be subject to their own masters in everything,[m] to do what is wanted and not talk back, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith,[n] in order to bring credit to[o] the teaching of God our Savior in everything.
Birth Announcement of Jesus the Messiah
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,[a] the angel Gabriel[b] was sent by[c] God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,[d] 27 to a virgin engaged[e] to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David,[f] and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The[g] angel[h] came[i] to her and said, “Greetings, favored one,[j] the Lord is with you!”[k] 29 But[l] she was greatly troubled[m] by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting.[n] 30 So[o] the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,[p] Mary, for you have found favor[q] with God! 31 Listen:[r] You will become pregnant[s] and give birth to[t] a son, and you will name him[u] Jesus.[v] 32 He[w] will be great,[x] and will be called the Son of the Most High,[y] and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father[z] David. 33 He[aa] will reign over the house of Jacob[ab] forever, and his kingdom will never end.” 34 Mary[ac] said to the angel, “How will this be, since I have not been intimate with[ad] a man?” 35 The angel replied,[ae] “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow[af] you. Therefore the child[ag] to be born[ah] will be holy;[ai] he will be called the Son of God.
36 “And look,[aj] your relative[ak] Elizabeth has also become pregnant with[al] a son in her old age—although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month![am] 37 For nothing[an] will be impossible with God.” 38 So[ao] Mary said, “Yes,[ap] I am a servant[aq] of the Lord; let this happen to me[ar] according to your word.”[as] Then[at] the angel departed from her.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.