Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
The Lord Praised for His Goodness.
111 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
I (A)will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
In the (B)company of the upright and in the assembly.
2 (C)Great are the works of the Lord;
They are [c](D)studied by all who delight in them.
3 [d](E)Splendid and majestic is His work,
And (F)His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused His [e]wonders [f]to be remembered;
The Lord is (G)gracious and compassionate.
5 He has (H)given [g]food to those who [h]fear Him;
He will (I)remember His covenant forever.
6 He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are [i](J)truth and justice;
All His precepts (K)are trustworthy.
8 They are (L)upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in [j](M)truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent (N)redemption to His people;
He has [k]ordained His covenant forever;
(O)Holy and [l]awesome is His name.
10 The [m](P)fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
All those who [n]follow (Q)His commandments have a good understanding;
His (R)praise endures forever.
The Lord Exalts the Humble.
113 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise Him, you (B)servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord.
2 (C)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time on and forever.
3 (D)From [c]the rising of the sun to its setting,
The (E)name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (F)high above all nations;
His (G)glory is above the heavens.
5 (H)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who (I)is enthroned on high,
6 Who (J)looks far down to
The heavens and the earth?
7 He (K)raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the garbage heap,
8 To (L)seat them with noblemen,
With the noblemen of His people.
9 He (M)has the infertile woman live in the house
As a joyful mother of children.
[d]Praise [e]the Lord!
9 “To (A)whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just (B)weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
‘[a](C)Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through (D)stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “This is the (E)place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“[b]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and (F)stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (G)hear the word of the Lord, you (H)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (I)covenant with death,
And with [c]Sheol we have made a [d]pact.
(J)The [e]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (K)falsehood our refuge and we have (L)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord [f]God says:
“(M)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (N)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [g]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [h]disturbed.
17 I will make (O)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (P)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (Q)covenant with death will be [i](R)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the [j](S)gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (T)trampling ground.
19 As (U)often as it passes through, it will [k]seize you;
For (V)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [l]sheer (W)terror to understand [m]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (X)blanket is too [n]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (Y)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (Z)Gibeon,
To do His (AA)task, His [o](AB)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [p]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (AC)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [q]God of armies
Of decisive (AD)destruction on all the earth.
9 (A)Then one of the seven angels who had the (B)seven bowls, [a]full of the (C)seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “(D)Come here, I will show you the (E)bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The New Jerusalem
10 And (F)he carried me away [b](G)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me (H)the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having (I)the glory of God. Her [c]brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a (J)stone of (K)crystal-clear jasper. 12 [d]It had a great and high wall, [e](L)with twelve (M)gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had (N)twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the (O)twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The one who spoke with me had a [f]gold measuring (P)rod to measure the city, its (Q)gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the [g]rod, [h]twelve thousand stadia; its length, width, and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, [i]144 cubits, by (R)human [j]measurements, which are also (S)angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was (T)jasper; and the city was (U)pure gold, like [k]clear (V)glass. 19 (W)The foundation stones of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was (X)jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, (Y)emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, (Z)sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve (AA)gates were twelve (AB)pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was (AC)pure gold, like transparent (AD)glass.
Jesus’ Birth Foretold
26 Now in the sixth month the angel (A)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named (B)Nazareth, 27 to (C)a virgin [a]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, (D)of the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord [d]is with you.” 29 But she (E)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And the angel said to her, “(F)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you (G)shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of (H)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him (I)the throne of His father David; 33 (J)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, (K)and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I [e]am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “(L)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of (M)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also (N)the [f]holy Child will be called (O)the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and [g]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. 37 For (P)nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
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