Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 (H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
9 You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do (U)turn back;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (Y)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.
The Lord, an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I [c]have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in noblemen,
In [d]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [e]the earth;
On that very day his (I)plans perish.
5 (J)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and everything that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [f]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (U)watches over strangers;
He [g](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [h]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [m]it is pleasant and praise is [n](Z)beautiful.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (AN)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (AO)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [s]the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the [t]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His [u]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (AV)makes [v]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [w]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [x]showers (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (BF)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [y]they have (BJ)not known them.
[z]Praise [aa]the Lord!
13 Then the Lord said,
“Because (A)this people approaches Me with their [a]words
And honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me,
And their [b]reverence for Me [c]consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal (B)marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
And (C)the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.”
15 Woe to those who deeply (D)hide their [d]plans from the Lord,
And whose (E)deeds are done in a dark place,
And they say, “(F)Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
Shall the potter be considered [e]as equal with the clay,
That (G)what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Blessing after Discipline
17 Is it not yet just a little while
[f]Before Lebanon will be turned into a (H)fertile field,
And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day those who are (I)deaf will hear (J)words of a book,
And out of their gloom and darkness the (K)eyes of those who are blind will see.
19 The (L)afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord,
And the (M)needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the (N)ruthless will come to an end and the (O)scorner will be finished,
Indeed (P)all who [g]are intent on doing evil will be eliminated,
21 Who [h]cause a person to be indicted by a word,
And (Q)set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate,
And [i](R)defraud the one in the right with [j]meaningless arguments.
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed (S)Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:
“Jacob (T)will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;
23 But when [k]he sees his (U)children, the (V)work of My hands, in his midst,
They will sanctify My name;
Indeed, they will (W)sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who (X)err in [l]mind will (Y)know [m]the truth,
And those who [n]criticize will [o](Z)accept instruction.
22 I saw (A)no [a]temple in it, for the (B)Lord God the Almighty and the (C)Lamb are its [b]temple. 23 And the city (D)has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for (E)the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the (F)Lamb. 24 (G)The nations will walk by its light, and the (H)kings of the earth [c]will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for (I)there will be no night there) (J)its gates (K)will never be closed; 26 and (L)they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and (M)nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those [d]whose names are (N)written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The River and the Tree of Life
22 And (O)he showed me a (P)river of the (Q)water of life, [e]clear (R)as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of [f]the Lamb, 2 in the middle of (S)its street. (T)On either side of the river was (U)the tree of life, bearing twelve [g]kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 (V)There will no longer be any curse; and (W)the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will (X)serve Him; 4 they will (Y)see His face, and His (Z)name will be on their (AA)foreheads. 5 And (AB)there will no longer be any night; and they [h]will not have need (AC)of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will (AD)reign forever and ever.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now [a]at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to (A)the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was (B)filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And [b]how has it happened to me that the mother of (C)my Lord would come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And (D)blessed is she who [c]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her [d]by the Lord.”
Mary’s Song: The Magnificat
46 And Mary said:
48 For (A)He has had regard for the humble state of His bond-servant;
For behold, from now on all generations will [a]call me (B)blessed.
49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.
50 (C)And His mercy is to generation [b]after generation
Toward those who fear Him.
51 (D)He has done [c]mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the [d]thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has (E)exalted those who were humble.
53 (F)He has filled the hungry with good things,
And sent the rich away empty-handed.
54 He has given help to His servant Israel,
[e]In remembrance of His mercy,
55 (G)Just as He spoke to our fathers,
(H)To Abraham and his [f]descendants forever.”
56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.
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