Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
1 The Lord reigns; He is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed; He has put on strength as His belt.
Indeed, the world is established;
it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne is established of old;
You are from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their roaring waves.
4 The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters,
yes, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Your statutes are very sure;
holiness is becoming to Your house,
O Lord, forever.
Psalm 96(A)
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song;
sing unto the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing unto the Lord, bless His name;
declare His salvation from day to day.
3 Proclaim His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Give unto the Lord, O families of the people,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8 Give unto the Lord the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
Indeed, the world is established; it shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field be joyful, and all that is in it;
then all the trees of the forests shall rejoice
13 before the Lord, for He comes,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with His faithfulness.
Psalm 34
A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise will continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and became radiant,
and their faces are not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints;
for the ones who fear Him will not be in need.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but the ones who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
and loves a long life in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against the ones doing evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the contrite of spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 A righteous one keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.
The Birth of Samuel
1 Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim Zuphim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives; the name of one was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
7 Thus it was yearly, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her. So Hannah wept and did not eat. 8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, “Hannah, why are you weeping? And why do you not eat? Why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 So Hannah arose after they had eaten in Shiloh and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest was sitting on a seat by the door of the tabernacle of the Lord. 10 And she was bitter, and prayed to the Lord, and wept severely. 11 So she made a vow and said, “O Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant, and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, but will give to Your maidservant a baby boy, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”[a]
12 And as she was praying before the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah was speaking in her heart. Her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Put away your wine from you.”
15 And Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman of sorrow. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not consider your handmaid to be a sinful woman, for out of the abundance of my concern and provocation I have spoken until now.”
17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant you your request that you have asked of Him.”
18 And she said, “Let your handmaid find grace in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was not sad as before.
19 They rose up in the morning early and worshipped before the Lord. And they returned and came to their house to Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And it came to pass that Hannah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Samuel saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
The Dedication of Samuel
21 Then the man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and live there forever.”
23 So Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems good to you. Wait until you have weaned him; only may the Lord establish His word.” So the woman remained, and nursed her son until she weaned him.
24 When she had weaned him, she took him up with her with three bulls, one ephah[b] of flour, and a bottle of wine. And she brought him to the house of the Lord in Shiloh, though the boy was young. 25 Then they slaughtered a bull, and they brought the boy to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman that stood by you here praying to the Lord. 27 For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 28 Therefore also I have let the Lord have him. As long as he lives he will be dedicated to the Lord.” And he worshipped the Lord there.
The Person and Work of Christ
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, enduring everything with perseverance and patience joyfully, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to be partakers in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of His dear Son, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell, 20 and to reconcile all things to Himself by Him, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him, I say—whether they are things in earth, or things in heaven.
22 When the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord”[a]) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”[b]
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 Led by the Spirit, he came into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he received Him in his arms and blessed God and said:
29 “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace,
according to Your word;
30 for my eyes have seen Your salvation
31 which You have prepared in the sight of all people,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of Your people Israel.”
33 Joseph and His mother were amazed at those things which were spoken about Him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Listen, this Child is destined to cause the fall and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign which will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And a sword will pierce through your own soul also.”
36 And there was Anna a prophetess, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity. 37 And she was a widow of about eighty-four years of age who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 Coming at that moment she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all those who looked for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The Return to Nazareth
39 When they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was upon Him.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.