Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Is King
1 Our Lord, you are King!
Majesty and power
are your royal robes.
You put the world in place,
and it will never be moved.
2 You have always ruled,
and you are eternal.
3 The ocean is roaring, Lord!
The sea is pounding hard.
4 Its mighty waves are majestic,
but you are even more majestic,
and you rule over all.
5 Your decisions are firm,
and your temple will always
be beautiful and holy.
Sing a New Song to the Lord
1 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Everyone on this earth,
sing praises to the Lord,
2 sing and praise his name.
Day after day announce,
“The Lord has saved us!”
3 Tell every nation on earth,
“The Lord is wonderful
and does marvelous things!
4 The Lord is great and deserves
our greatest praise!
He is the only God
worthy of our worship.
5 Other nations worship idols,
but the Lord created
the heavens.
6 Give honor and praise
to the Lord,
whose power and beauty
fill his holy temple.”
7 (A) Tell everyone of every nation,
“Praise the glorious power
of the Lord.
8 He is wonderful! Praise him
and bring an offering
into his temple.
9 Everyone on earth, now tremble
and worship the Lord,
majestic and holy.”
10 Announce to the nations,
“The Lord is King!
The world stands firm,
never to be shaken,
and he will judge its people
with fairness.”
11 Tell the heavens and the earth
to be glad and celebrate!
Command the ocean to roar
with all its creatures
12 and the fields to rejoice
with all their crops.
Then every tree in the forest
will sing joyful songs
13 to the Lord.
He is coming to judge
all people on earth
with fairness and truth.
(Written by David when he pretended to be crazy in front of Abimelech, so that Abimelech would send him away, and David could leave.)
Honor the Lord
1 (A) I will always praise the Lord.
2 With all my heart,
I will praise the Lord.
Let all who are helpless,
listen and be glad.
3 Honor the Lord with me!
Celebrate his great name.
4 I asked the Lord for help,
and he saved me
from all my fears.
5 Keep your eyes on the Lord!
You will shine like the sun
and never blush with shame.
6 I was a nobody, but I prayed,
and the Lord saved me
from all my troubles.
7 If you honor the Lord,
his angel will protect you.
8 (B) Discover for yourself
that the Lord is kind.
Come to him for protection,
and you will be glad.
9 Honor the Lord!
You are his special people.
No one who honors the Lord
will ever be in need.
10 Young lions[a] may go hungry
or even starve,
but if you trust the Lord,
you will never miss out
on anything good.
11 Come, my children, listen
as I teach you
to respect the Lord.
12 (C) Do you want to live
and enjoy a long life?
13 Then don't say cruel things
and don't tell lies.
14 Do good instead of evil
and try to live at peace.
15 If you obey the Lord,
he will watch over you
and answer your prayers.
16 But God despises evil people,
and he will wipe them all
from the earth,
till they are forgotten.
17 When his people pray for help,
he listens and rescues them
from their troubles.
18 The Lord is there to rescue
all
who are discouraged
and have given up hope.
19 The Lord's people
may suffer a lot,
but he will always
bring them safely through.
20 (D) Not one of their bones
will ever be broken.
21 Wicked people are killed
by their own evil deeds,
and if you hate God's people
you will be punished.
22 The Lord saves the lives
of his servants.
Run to him for protection,
and you won't be punished.
Hannah Asks the Lord for a Child
1 Elkanah lived in Ramah,[a] a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His great-great-grandfather was Zuph, so Elkanah was a member of the Zuph clan of the Ephraim tribe. Elkanah's father was Jeroham, his grandfather was Elihu, and his great-grandfather was Tohu.
2 Elkanah had two wives,[b] Hannah and Peninnah. Although Peninnah had children, Hannah did not have any.
7 especially when the family went to the house of the Lord[a] each year.
One day, Elkanah was there offering a sacrifice, when Hannah began crying and refused to eat. 8 So Elkanah asked, “Hannah, why are you crying? Why won't you eat? Why do you feel so bad? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?”
9 When the sacrifice had been offered, and they had eaten the meal, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli was sitting in his chair near the door to the place of worship. 10 Hannah was heartbroken and was crying as she prayed, 11 (A) “Lord All-Powerful, I am your servant, but I am so miserable! Please let me have a son. I promise to give him to you for as long as he lives, and his hair will never be cut.”[b]
12-13 Hannah prayed silently to the Lord for a long time. But her lips were moving, and Eli thought she was drunk. 14 “How long are you going to stay drunk?” he asked. “Sober up!”
15-16 “Sir, please don't think I'm no good!” Hannah answered. “I'm not drunk, and I haven't been drinking. But I do feel miserable and terribly upset. I've been praying all this time, telling the Lord about my problems.”
17 Eli replied, “Go home. Everything will be fine. The God of Israel will answer your prayer.”
18 “Sir, thank you for being so kind to me,” Hannah said. Then she left, and after eating something, she felt much better.
Samuel Is Born
19 Elkanah and his family got up early the next morning and worshiped the Lord. Then they went back home to Ramah. Later the Lord blessed Elkanah and Hannah 20 with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the Lord for him.[c]
Hannah Gives Samuel to the Lord
21 The next time Elkanah and his family went to offer their yearly sacrifice, he took along a gift that he had promised to give to the Lord. 22 But Hannah stayed home, because she had told Elkanah, “Samuel and I won't go until he's old enough for me to stop nursing him. Then I'll give him to the Lord, and he can stay there at Shiloh for the rest of his life.”
23 “You know what's best,” Elkanah said. “Stay here until it's time to stop nursing him. I'm sure the Lord will help you do what you have promised.”[d] Hannah did not go to Shiloh until she stopped nursing Samuel.
24-25 When it was the time of year to go to Shiloh again, Hannah and Elkanah[e] took Samuel to the Lord's house. They brought along a three-year-old bull,[f] a sack containing about nine kilograms of flour, and a clay jar full of wine. Hannah and Elkanah offered the bull as a sacrifice, then brought the little boy to Eli.
26 “Sir,” Hannah said, “a few years ago I stood here beside you and asked the Lord 27 to give me a child. Here he is! The Lord gave me just what I asked for. 28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will be the Lord's servant for as long as he lives.”
Hannah Prays
Elkanah[g] worshiped the Lord there at Shiloh, and
The Person and Work of Christ
9 We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding his Spirit gives. 10 Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. 11 His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy.
12 I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you[a] have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. 13 God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 14 (A) who forgives our sins and sets us free.
15 (B) Christ is exactly like God,
who cannot be seen.
He is the first-born Son,
superior to all creation.
16 Everything was created by him,
everything in heaven
and on earth,
everything seen and unseen,
including all forces
and powers,
and all rulers
and authorities.
All things were created
by God's Son,
and everything was made
for him.
17 God's Son was before all else,
and by him everything
is held together.
18 (C) He is the head of his body,
which is the church.
He is the very beginning,
the first to be raised
from death,
so that he would be
above all others.
19 God himself was pleased
to live fully in his Son.
20 (D) And God was pleased
for him to make peace
by sacrificing his blood
on the cross,
so that all beings in heaven
and on earth
would be brought back to God.
Simeon Praises the Lord
22 (A) The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the Law of Moses says a mother is supposed to do after her baby is born.[a]
They took Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord, 23 (B) just as the Law of the Lord says, “Each first-born[b] baby boy belongs to the Lord.” 24 The Law of the Lord also says parents have to offer a sacrifice, giving at least a pair of doves or two young pigeons. So that is what Mary and Joseph did.
25 At this time a man named Simeon was living in Jerusalem. Simeon was a good man. He loved God and was waiting for him to save the people of Israel. God's Spirit came to him 26 and told him that he would not die until he had seen Christ the Lord.
27 When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to do what the Law of Moses says should be done for a new baby, the Spirit told Simeon to go into the temple. 28 Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and praised God,
29 “Lord, I am your servant,
and now I can die in peace,
because you have kept
your promise to me.
30 With my own eyes I have seen
what you have done
to save your people,
31 and foreign nations
will also see this.
32 (C) Your mighty power is a light
for all nations,
and it will bring honor
to your people Israel.”
33 Jesus' parents were surprised at what Simeon had said. 34 Then he blessed them and told Mary, “This child of yours will cause many people in Israel to fall and others to stand. The child will be like a warning sign. Many people will reject him, 35 and you, Mary, will suffer as though you had been stabbed by a dagger. But all this will show what people are really thinking.”
Anna Speaks about the Child Jesus
36 (D) The prophet Anna was also there in the temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. In her youth she had been married for seven years, but her husband died. 37 And now she was 84 years old.[c] Night and day she served God in the temple by praying and often going without eating.[d]
38 At this time Anna came in and praised God. She spoke about the child Jesus to everyone who hoped for Jerusalem to be set free.
The Return to Nazareth
39 (E) After Joseph and Mary had done everything that the Law of the Lord commands, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 The child Jesus grew. He became strong and wise, and God blessed him.
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