Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72[a]
A Prayer for the King
1 Of Solomon.
I
2 O God, give your judgment to the king;
your justice to the king’s son;[b](A)
That he may govern your people with justice,
your oppressed with right judgment,(B)
3 That the mountains may yield their bounty for the people,
and the hills great abundance,(C)
4 That he may defend the oppressed among the people,
save the children of the poor and crush the oppressor.
II
5 May they fear you with the sun,
and before the moon, through all generations.(D)
6 May he be like rain coming down upon the fields,
like showers watering the earth,(E)
7 That abundance may flourish in his days,
great bounty, till the moon be no more.
III
8 [c]May he rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.(F)
9 May his foes kneel before him,
his enemies lick the dust.(G)
10 May the kings of Tarshish and the islands[d] bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(H)
11 May all kings bow before him,
all nations serve him.(I)
12 For he rescues the poor when they cry out,
the oppressed who have no one to help.
13 He shows pity to the needy and the poor(J)
and saves the lives of the poor.
14 From extortion and violence he redeems them,
for precious is their blood[e] in his sight.
IV
15 Long may he live, receiving gold from Sheba,
prayed for without cease, blessed day by day.
16 [f]May wheat abound in the land,
flourish even on the mountain heights.
May his fruit be like that of Lebanon,
and flourish in the city like the grasses of the land.(K)
17 May his name be forever;
as long as the sun, may his name endure.(L)
May the tribes of the earth give blessings with his name;[g]
may all the nations regard him as favored.(M)
18 [h]Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does wonderful deeds.(N)
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may he fill all the earth with his glory.(O)
Amen and amen.
20 The end of the psalms of David, son of Jesse.
Psalm 111[a]
Praise of God for Goodness to Israel
1 Hallelujah!
I will praise the Lord with all my heart(A)
in the assembled congregation of the upright.[b]
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Majestic and glorious is his work,
his righteousness endures forever.
4 He won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the Lord.(B)
5 He gives food to those who fear him,[c]
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He showed his powerful deeds to his people,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are true and just,
reliable all his decrees,
8 Established forever and ever,
to be observed with truth and equity.
9 He sent release to his people,
decreed his covenant forever;
holy and fearsome is his name.
10 [d]The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;(C)
prudent are all who practice it.
His praise endures forever.
Psalm 113[a]
Praise of God’s Care for the Poor
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise, you servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord.(A)
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
both now and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting(B)
let the name of the Lord be praised.
II
4 High above all nations is the Lord;
above the heavens his glory.(C)
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
enthroned on high,
6 (D)looking down on heaven and earth?
7 He raises the needy from the dust,
lifts the poor from the ash heap,(E)
8 Seats them with princes,
the princes of the people,
9 Gives the childless wife a home,
the joyful mother of children.(F)
Hallelujah!
9 [a]“To whom would he impart knowledge?
To whom would he convey the message?
To those just weaned from milk,
those weaned from the breast?
10 For he says,
‘Command on command, command on command,
rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!’”
11 [b]Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language
he will speak to this people,(A)
12 to whom he said:
“This is the resting place,
give rest to the weary;
And this is the place of repose”—
but they refused to hear.(B)
13 So for them the word of the Lord shall be:
“Command on command, command on command,
Rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!”
So that when they walk, they shall stumble backward,
broken, ensnared, and captured.(C)
14 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
who rule[c] this people in Jerusalem:(D)
15 You have declared, “We have made a covenant with death,
with Sheol[d] we have made a pact;
When the raging flood passes through,
it will not reach us;
For we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,”—(E)
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I am laying a stone in Zion,[e]
a stone that has been tested,
A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;
whoever puts faith in it will not waver.(F)
17 I will make judgment a measuring line,
and justice a level.—[f]
Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters shall flood the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death shall be canceled
and your pact with Sheol shall not stand.
When the raging flood passes through,
you shall be beaten down by it.(G)
19 Whenever it passes, it shall seize you;
morning after morning it shall pass,
by day and by night.
Sheer terror
to impart the message!
20 For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in,
and the cover too narrow to wrap in.
21 For the Lord shall rise up as on Mount Perazim,
bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon,[g]
To carry out his work—strange his work!
to perform his deed—alien his deed!
22 Now, cease scoffing,
lest your bonds be tightened,
For I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord, the God of hosts,
for the whole land.(H)
9 One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”[a] 10 He took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.(A) 11 It gleamed with the splendor of God. Its radiance was like that of a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal.(B) 12 It had a massive, high wall, with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationed and on which names were inscribed, [the names] of the twelve tribes of the Israelites. 13 There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west.(C) 14 The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were inscribed the twelve names of the twelve apostles[b] of the Lamb.(D)
15 [c]The one who spoke to me held a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city was square, its length the same as [also] its width. He measured the city with the rod and found it fifteen hundred miles[d] in length and width and height. 17 He also measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits[e] according to the standard unit of measurement the angel used. 18 [f]The wall was constructed of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every precious stone; the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,(E) 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made from a single pearl; and the street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.(A) 28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”(B) 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 (C)Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 (D)He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,[a] and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”(E) 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”[b] 35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.(F) 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived[c] a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.”(G) 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
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