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]
Israel is Reclaimed and Reunited
10 At that time[a] a root from Jesse[b] will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance,[c] and his residence will be majestic. 11 At that time[d] the Lord[e] will again lift his hand[f] to reclaim[g] the remnant of his people[h] from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros,[i] Cush,[j] Elam, Shinar,[k] Hamath, and the seacoasts.[l]
12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations;
he will gather Israel’s dispersed people[m]
and assemble Judah’s scattered people
from the four corners of the earth.
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end,[n]
and Judah’s hostility[o] will be eliminated.
Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah,
and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim.
14 They will swoop down[p] on the Philistine hills to the west;[q]
together they will loot the people of the east.
They will take over Edom and Moab,[r]
and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
15 The Lord will divide[s] the gulf[t] of the Egyptian Sea;[u]
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River[v] and send a strong wind;[w]
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams,[x]
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria
for the remnant of his people,[y]
just as there was for Israel,
when[z] they went up from the land of Egypt.
The Great White Throne
11 Then[a] I saw a large[b] white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven[c] fled[d] from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then[e] books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life.[f] So[g] the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.[h] 13 The[i] sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death[j] and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then[k] Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 If[l] anyone’s name[m] was not found written in the book of life, that person[n] was thrown into the lake of fire.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 Then[o] I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist,[p] and the sea existed no more. 2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence[q] of God is among human beings.[r] He[s] will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.[t] 4 He[u] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.”[v]
5 And the one seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new!” Then[w] he said to me, “Write it down,[x] because these words are reliable[y] and true.” 6 He also said to me, “It is done![z] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water[aa] free of charge[ab] from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers[ac] will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells,[ad] idol worshipers,[ae] and all those who lie, their place[af] will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.[ag] That[ah] is the second death.”
Birth Announcement of John the Baptist
5 During the reign[a] of Herod[b] king of Judea, there lived a priest named Zechariah who belonged to[c] the priestly division of Abijah,[d] and he had a wife named Elizabeth,[e] who was a descendant of Aaron.[f] 6 They[g] were both righteous in the sight of God, following[h] all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.[i] 7 But they did not have a child, because Elizabeth was barren,[j] and they were both very old.[k]
8 Now[l] while Zechariah[m] was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,[n] 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,[o] to enter[p] the Holy Place[q] of the Lord and burn incense. 10 Now[r] the whole crowd[s] of people were praying[t] outside at the hour of the incense offering.[u] 11 An[v] angel of the Lord,[w] standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared[x] to him. 12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel,[y] was seized with fear.[z] 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,[aa] and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you[ab] will name him John.[ac] 14 Joy and gladness will come[ad] to you, and many will rejoice at[ae] his birth,[af] 15 for he will be great in the sight of[ag] the Lord. He[ah] must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.[ai] 16 He[aj] will turn[ak] many of the people[al] of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go as forerunner before the Lord[am] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,[an] to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.”
18 Zechariah[ao] said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this?[ap] For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.”[aq] 19 The[ar] angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands[as] in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring[at] you this good news. 20 And now,[au] because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time,[av] you will be silent, unable to speak,[aw] until the day these things take place.”
21 Now[ax] the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they began to wonder[ay] why he was delayed in the Holy Place.[az] 22 When[ba] he came out, he was not able to speak to them. They[bb] realized that he had seen a vision[bc] in the Holy Place,[bd] because[be] he was making signs to them and remained unable to speak.[bf] 23 When his time of service was over,[bg] he went to his home.
24 After some time[bh] his wife Elizabeth became pregnant,[bi] and for five months she kept herself in seclusion.[bj] She said,[bk] 25 “This is what[bl] the Lord has done for me at the time[bm] when he has been gracious to me,[bn] to take away my disgrace[bo] among people.”[bp]
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