Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh Is King Over All the Earth
93 Yahweh is king; he clothes himself with majesty.
Yahweh clothes himself; he girds himself with might.
Yes, the world is established so that it will not be moved.
2 Your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
3 The rivers have lifted up, O Yahweh;
the rivers have lifted up their rumbling;[a]
the rivers have lifted up their pounding.
4 Mightier than the rumblings of many waters,
mightier than the mighty breakers of the sea,
Yahweh on high is mighty.
5 Your testimonies are fully reliable.
Holiness is fitting for your house,[b]
O Yahweh, forever.[c]
Yahweh the King Comes in Judgment
96 Sing to[a] Yahweh a new song;
sing to[b] Yahweh, all the earth.
2 Sing to[c] Yahweh; bless his name.
Announce[d] his salvation from day to day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For Yahweh is great and very worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,[e]
but Yahweh made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to Yahweh, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship Yahweh in holy array;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “Yahweh is king!
Yes, the world is established so that it will not be moved.
He will judge the peoples fairly.”
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice.
Let the sea with[f] its fullness roar.
12 Let the field with[g] all that is in it exult.
Then all the trees of the forests will sing for joy
13 before Yahweh, for he is coming;
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his faithfulness.
Thanksgiving for Yahweh’s Deliverance
Of David, when he pretended to be crazy[a] in front of Abimelech[b]
so that he drove him out, and so he departed.[c]
34 I will bless Yahweh at all times;
his praise shall be in my mouth continually.
2 My soul makes its boast in Yahweh;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Magnify Yahweh with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought Yahweh and he answered me,
and from all my terrors he delivered me.
5 They looked to him and were radiant,
and their faces shall not be ashamed.[d]
6 This poor man called and Yahweh heard,
and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him,
and he rescues them.
8 Taste and see that Yahweh is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear Yahweh, you his saints,[e]
for there is no lack for those who fear him.
10 The young lions are in want and suffer hunger,
but those who seek Yahweh will not lack for any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
who loves many days in order to see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn from evil and do good.
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of Yahweh are toward the righteous,
and his ears toward their cry for help.
16 The face of Yahweh is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 They[f] cry out and Yahweh hears
and delivers them from all of their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will incur guilt.
22 Yahweh redeems the life of his servants,
and none who take refuge in him will incur guilt.
The Family of Elkanah
1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.[a] 2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah, and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
7 And so he used to do[a] year after year; whenever[b] she went up to the house of Yahweh, she[c] would provoke her so that she[d] would weep and would not eat. 8 So Elkanah her husband would say to her: “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat? And why are you heartsick?[e] Am I not better to you than ten sons?” 9 Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking at Shiloh. (Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the temple[f] of Yahweh.) 10 She was deeply troubled,[g] so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. 11 She made a vow[h] and said: “O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant a male child[i] then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head.”[j] 12 While[k] she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth. 13 Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips were moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her to be drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you behave like someone who is drunk? Put away your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord. I am a woman deeply distressed,[l] but I have not drunk wine or strong drink. Rather, I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. 16 Do not regard your female servant as worthless,[m] but because of the extent of my worries and my provocation I have spoken all of this.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of him.” 18 And she said, “May your female slave find favor in your sight.” Then the woman went on her way and ate something, and her face did not look sad any longer.[n]
The Birth of Samuel
19 Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh and returned[o] to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah had sexual relations with[p] Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. 20 In due time,[q] Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for she said, “I requested him from Yahweh.”
21 So the man Elkanah went up with all his household to make the annual sacrifice[r] to Yahweh and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear before Yahweh; and he will remain there forever.” 23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, “Do what seems right to you;[s] stay until you wean him. Only may Yahweh fulfill his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 Then she brought him up with her when she had weaned him, along with three bulls, one ephah of flour, and a skin[t] of wine. She brought him to the house of Yahweh at Shiloh while the boy was still young. 25 They slaughtered the bull, and they brought the boy to Eli. 26 She said, “Excuse me, my lord. As you live,[u] my lord, I am the woman who stood with you in this place to pray to Yahweh. 27 I prayed for this boy, and Yahweh has given me my request that I asked from him. 28 I in turn have lent him to Yahweh. As long as he lives[v] he is lent to Yahweh.” Then they worshiped Yahweh there.
Prayer for Maturity Based on Christ’s Preeminence
9 Because of this also we, from the day we heard about it,[a] did not cease praying for you, and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual insight, 10 so that you may live in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects[b], bearing fruit in every good deed and increasing in the knowledge of God, 11 enabled with all power, according to his glorious might, for all steadfastness and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you for a share of the inheritance of the saints in light, 13 who has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us[c] to the kingdom of the Son he loves[d], 14 in whom we have the redemption, the forgiveness of sins, 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all[e] creation, 16 because all things in the heavens and on the earth were created by him, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers, all things were created through him and for him, 17 and he himself is before all things, and in him all things are held together, 18 and he himself is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may become first in everything, 19 because he was well pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by[f] making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
22 And when the days of their purification were completed according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him[a] to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb will be called holy to the Lord”)[b] 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”[c]
The Prophecy of Simeon
25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was[d] Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he would see the Lord’s Christ.[e] 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus so that they could do for him according to what was customary under the law, 28 he took him in his[f] arms and praised God and said,
29 “Now dismiss your slave in peace, Lord,
according to your word.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all the peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and mother were astonished at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed[g]— 35 and a sword will pierce your own soul also, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed!”
The Testimony of Anna
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (she was advanced in years,[h] having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,[i] 37 and herself as a widow up to eighty-four years)[j] who did not depart from the temple with fastings and prayers, serving night and day. 38 And at that same hour she approached and[k] began to give thanks[l] to God, and to speak about him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child was growing and becoming strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.
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