Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 113[a]
113 Praise the Lord.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.
2 May the Lord’s name be praised
now and forevermore.
3 From east to west[b]
the Lord’s name is deserving of praise.
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations;
his splendor reaches beyond the sky.[c]
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God,
who sits on a high throne?[d]
6 He bends down to look[e]
at the sky and the earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dirt,
and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile,[f]
8 that he might seat him with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He makes the barren woman of the family[g]
a happy mother of children.[h]
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 115[a]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[b]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[c]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[d]
4 Their[e] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[f]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[g]
8 Those who make them will end up[h] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[i] and protector.[j]
10 O family[k] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[l] and protector.[m]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[n] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[o] and protector.[p]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[q] he will bless[r]—
he will bless the family[s] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[t]
both young and old.[u]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[v]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[w] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[x]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[y]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[z]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer
2 Hannah prayed,[a]
“My heart has rejoiced[b] in the Lord;
my horn[c] has been raised high because of the Lord.
I have loudly denounced[d] my enemies.
Indeed I rejoice in your deliverance.
2 No one is holy[e] like the Lord!
There is no one other than you!
There is no rock[f] like our God!
3 Don’t keep speaking[g] so arrogantly.[h]
Proud talk should not[i] come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is a God who knows;
he[j] evaluates what people do.
4 The bows of warriors are shattered,
but those who stumbled have taken on strength.[k]
5 The well fed hire themselves out to earn food,
but the hungry no longer lack.[l]
Even[m] the barren woman has given birth to seven,[n]
but the one with many children has declined.[o]
6 The Lord both kills and gives life;
he brings down to the grave[p] and raises up.[q]
7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He lifts the weak[r] from the dust;
he raises[s] the poor from the ash heap
to seat them with princes—
he bestows on them an honored position.[t]
The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—
he placed the world on them.
9 He watches over[u] his holy ones,[v]
but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness,[w]
for it is not by one’s own[x] strength that one prevails.
10 The Lord shatters[y] his adversaries;[z]
he thunders against them from[aa] the heavens.
The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth.
He will strengthen[ab] his king
and exalt the power[ac] of his anointed one.”[ad]
Turning Water into Wine
2 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.[a] Jesus’ mother[b] was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.[c] 3 When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine left.”[d] 4 Jesus replied,[e] “Woman,[f] why are you saying this to me?[g] My time[h] has not yet come.” 5 His mother told the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it.”[i]
6 Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing,[j] each holding twenty or thirty gallons.[k] 7 Jesus told the servants,[l] “Fill the water jars with water.” So they filled them up to the very top. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the head steward,”[m] and they did. 9 When[n] the head steward tasted the water that had been turned to wine, not knowing where it came from[o] (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he[p] called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone[q] serves the good wine first, and then the cheaper[r] wine when the guests[s] are drunk. You have kept the good wine until now!” 11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs,[t] in Cana of Galilee. In this way he revealed[u] his glory, and his disciples believed in him.[v]
Cleansing the Temple
12 After this he went down to Capernaum[w] with his mother and brothers[x] and his disciples, and they stayed there a few days.
Psalm 45[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[c] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[d]
I say, “I have composed this special song[e] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[f]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[g]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[h]
For this reason[i] God grants you continual blessings.[j]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[k]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[l]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[m]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[n]
on behalf of justice.[o]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[p]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[q]
6 Your throne,[r] O God, is permanent.[s]
The scepter[t] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[u] justice and hate evil.[v]
For this reason God, your God,[w] has anointed you[x]
with the oil of joy,[y] elevating you above your companions.[z]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[aa] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[ab] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[ac]
9 Princesses[ad] are among your honored women.[ae]
Your bride[af] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[ag]
10 Listen, O princess.[ah]
Observe and pay attention![ai]
Forget your homeland[aj] and your family.[ak]
11 Then[al] the king will be attracted by[am] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[an] to him.[ao]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[ap]
13 The princess[aq] looks absolutely magnificent,[ar]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[as]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[at]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[au]
16 Your[av] sons will carry on[aw] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ax]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ay]
then the nations will praise you[az] forever.
Psalm 138[a]
By David.
138 I will give you thanks with all my heart;
before the heavenly assembly[b] I will sing praises to you.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name,
because of your loyal love and faithfulness,
for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.[c]
3 When[d] I cried out for help, you answered me.
You made me bold and energized me.[e]
4 Let all the kings of the earth give thanks[f] to you, O Lord,
when they hear the words you speak.[g]
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s deeds,[h]
for the Lord’s splendor is magnificent.[i]
6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks after the lowly,
and from far away humbles[j] the proud.
7 Even when I must walk in the midst of danger,[k] you revive me.
You oppose my angry enemies,[l]
and your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord avenges me.[m]
O Lord, your loyal love endures.
Do not abandon those whom you have made.[n]
Psalm 149[a]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[b]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[c] of Zion delight in their King.[d]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[e]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[f]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[g]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[h] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[i] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[j] have been sentenced.[k]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[l]
Praise the Lord.
23 Now when the soldiers crucified[a] Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier,[b] and the tunic[c] remained. (Now the tunic[d] was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)[e] 24 So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice[f] to see who will get it.”[g] This took place[h] to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.”[i] So the soldiers did these things.
25 Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.[j] 26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman,[k] look, here is your son!” 27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time[l] the disciple took her into his own home.
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