Book of Common Prayer
The Majesty of the Lord.
93 (A)The Lord [a]reigns, He is (B)clothed with majesty;
The Lord has (C)clothed and girded Himself with strength;
Indeed, the (D)world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
2 Your (E)throne is established from of old;
You (F)are from everlasting.
3 The (G)floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice,
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4 More than the sounds of many waters,
Than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord (H)on high is mighty.
5 Your (I)testimonies are fully confirmed;
(J)Holiness befits Your house,
O Lord, [b]forevermore.
A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.
96 (A)Sing to the Lord a (B)new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
(C)Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
3 Tell of (D)His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
4 For (E)great is the Lord and (F)greatly to be praised;
He is to be (G)feared (H)above all gods.
5 For (I)all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols,
But (J)the Lord made the heavens.
6 (K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 [b]Ascribe to the Lord, O (L)families of the peoples,
[c](M)Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 [d]Ascribe to the Lord the (N)glory of His name;
Bring an [e](O)offering and come into His courts.
9 (P)Worship the Lord in [f]holy attire;
(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “(R)The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the (S)world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will (T)judge the peoples with [g]equity.”
11 Let the (U)heavens be glad, and let the (V)earth rejoice;
Let (W)the sea [h]roar, and [i]all it contains;
12 Let the (X)field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the (Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, (Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
A Psalm of Praise.
150 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise God in His (A)sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty [c](B)expanse.
2 Praise Him for His (C)mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent (D)greatness.
3 Praise Him with (E)trumpet sound;
Praise Him with (F)harp and lyre.
4 Praise Him with (G)timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with (H)stringed instruments and (I)pipe.
5 Praise Him with loud (J)cymbals;
Praise Him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let (K)everything that has breath praise [d]the Lord.
[e]Praise [f]the Lord!
17 Your eyes will see (A)the King in His beauty;
They will behold (B)a far-distant land.
18 Your heart will meditate on (C)terror:
“Where is (D)he who counts?
Where is he who weighs?
Where is he who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a fierce people,
A people of [a](E)unintelligible speech [b]which no one comprehends,
Of a stammering tongue [c]which no one understands.
20 (F)Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an (G)undisturbed habitation,
(H)A tent which will not be folded;
Its stakes will never be pulled up,
Nor any of its cords be torn apart.
21 But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us
A place of (I)rivers and wide canals
On which no boat with oars will go,
And on which no mighty ship will pass—
22 For the Lord is our (J)judge,
The Lord is (K)our lawgiver,
The Lord is (L)our king;
(M)He will save us—
6 And (A)he said to me, “(B)These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the (C)God of the spirits of the prophets, (D)sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
7 “And behold, (E)I am coming quickly. (F)Blessed is he who [a]heeds (G)the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 (H)I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, (I)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But (J)he *said to me, “Do not do that. I am a (K)fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who [b]heed the words of (L)this book. Worship God.”
The Final Message
10 And he *said to me, “(M)Do not seal up (N)the words of the prophecy of this book, (O)for the time is near. 11 (P)Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.”
18 I testify to everyone who hears (A)the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone (B)adds to them, God will add to him (C)the plagues which are written in (D)this book; 19 and if anyone (E)takes away from the (F)words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from (G)the tree of life and [a]from the holy city, (H)which are written in this book.
20 He who (I)testifies to these things says, “Yes, (J)I am coming quickly.” Amen. (K)Come, Lord Jesus.
John Is Born
57 Now the time [a]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had [b](A)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.
59 And it happened that on (B)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, [c]after his father. 60 But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name.” 62 And they (D)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. 63 And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, “(E)His name is John.” And they were all astonished. 64 (F)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. 65 Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all (G)the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For (H)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.
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