Book of Common Prayer
The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom(A)
2 Why (B)do the [a]nations [b]rage,
And the people plot a [c]vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the (C)rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His (D)Anointed,[d] saying,
3 “Let (E)us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens (F)shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have [e]set My King
[f]On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the [g]decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
(G)‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 (H)You shall [h]break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Prayer that the Lord Will Restore Favor to the Land
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm (A)of the sons of Korah.
85 Lord, You have been favorable to Your land;
You have (B)brought back the captivity of Jacob.
2 You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people;
You have covered all their sin. Selah
3 You have taken away all Your wrath;
You have turned from the fierceness of Your anger.
4 (C)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And cause Your anger toward us to cease.
5 (D)Will You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?
6 Will You not (E)revive us again,
That Your people may rejoice in You?
7 Show us Your mercy, Lord,
And grant us Your salvation.
8 I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to [a]folly.
9 Surely (F)His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
(G)That glory may dwell in our land.
10 Mercy and truth have met together;
(H)Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 (I)Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.
Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign(A)
A Psalm of David.
110 The (B)Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your (C)footstool.”
2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength (D)out of Zion.
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies!
3 (F)Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
(G)In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
4 The Lord has sworn
And (H)will not relent,
“You are a (I)priest forever
According to the order of (J)Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is (K)at Your right hand;
He shall [a]execute kings (L)in the day of His wrath.
6 He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
(M)He shall [b]execute the heads of many countries.
7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
(N)Therefore He shall lift up the head.
The Eternal Dwelling of God in Zion
A Song of Ascents.
132 Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions;
2 How he swore to the Lord,
(A)And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
4 I will (C)not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I (D)find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it (E)in Ephrathah;
(F)We found it (G)in the fields of [a]the woods.
7 Let us go into His tabernacle;
(H)Let us worship at His footstool.
8 (I)Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and (J)the ark of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests (K)be clothed with righteousness,
And let Your saints shout for joy.
10 For Your servant David’s sake,
Do not turn away the face of Your [b]Anointed.
11 (L)The Lord has sworn in truth to David;
He will not turn from it:
“I will set upon your throne (M)the [c]fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I shall teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore.”
13 (N)For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His [d]dwelling place:
14 “This(O) is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 (P)I will abundantly bless her [e]provision;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 (Q)I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
(R)And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 (S)There I will make the [f]horn of David grow;
(T)I will prepare a lamp for My [g]Anointed.
18 His enemies I will (U)clothe with shame,
But upon Himself His crown shall flourish.”
The Lord’s Reign in Zion(A)
4 Now (B)it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it.
2 Many nations shall come and say,
“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into (C)plowshares,
And their spears into [a]pruning hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
(D)Neither shall they learn war anymore.
The Coming Messiah
2 “But you, (A)Bethlehem (B)Ephrathah,
Though you are little (C)among the (D)thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be (E)Ruler in Israel,
(F)Whose goings forth are from of old,
From [a]everlasting.”
3 Therefore He shall give them up,
Until the time that (G)she who is in labor has given birth;
Then (H)the remnant of His brethren
Shall return to the children of Israel.
4 And He shall stand and (I)feed[b] His flock
In the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God;
And they shall abide,
For now He (J)shall be great
To the ends of the earth;
Knowing God Through Love(A)
7 (B)Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who (C)loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 (D)In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten (E)Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, (F)not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son (G)to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, (H)if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 (I)No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 (J)By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And (K)we have seen and testify that (L)the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 (M)Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and (N)he who abides in love abides in God, and God (O)in him.
31 (A)He who comes from above (B)is above all; (C)he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. (D)He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And (E)what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony (F)has certified that God is true. 34 (G)For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit (H)by measure. 35 (I)The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 (J)He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the (K)wrath of God abides on him.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.