Book of Common Prayer
Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm (A)of Solomon.
72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
2 (B)He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
3 (C)The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
4 (D)He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will [a]break in pieces the oppressor.
5 [b]They shall fear You
(E)As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
6 (F)He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 In His days the righteous shall flourish,
(G)And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.
8 (H)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 (I)Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
(J)And His enemies will lick the dust.
10 (K)The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
11 (L)Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.
12 For He (M)will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And (N)precious shall be their blood in His sight.
15 And He shall live;
And the gold of (O)Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.
16 There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
(P)And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.
17 (Q)His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And (R)men shall be blessed in Him;
(S)All nations shall call Him blessed.
18 (T)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
(U)Who only does wondrous things!
19 And (V)blessed be His glorious name forever!
(W)And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice
111 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
2 (B)The works of the Lord are great,
(C)Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
3 His work is (D)honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
(E)The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
6 He has declared to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the [b]heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are (F)verity[c] and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
8 (G)They stand fast forever and ever,
And are (H)done in truth and uprightness.
9 (I)He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
(J)Holy and awesome is His name.
10 (K)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.
The Majesty and Condescension of God
113 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
2 (B)Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
3 (C)From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.
4 The Lord is (D)high above all nations,
(E)His glory above the heavens.
5 (F)Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
6 (G)Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?
7 (H)He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the (I)needy out of the ash heap,
8 That He may (J)seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
9 (K)He grants the [b]barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.
Praise the Lord!
9 “Whom(A) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (B)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with (C)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (D)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(E)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
A Cornerstone in Zion
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion (F)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (G)Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of (H)Gibeon—
That He may do His work, (I)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His [a]unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
(J)A [b]destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
The New Jerusalem(A)
9 Then one of (B)the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came [a]to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you (C)the [b]bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10 And he carried me away (D)in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me (E)the [c]great city, the [d]holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 (F)having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 Also she had a great and high wall with (G)twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 (H)three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and (I)on them were the [e]names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me (J)had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand [f]furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 (K)The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve (L)pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. (M)And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin (A)betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, (B)“Rejoice, highly favored one, (C)the Lord is with you; [a]blessed are you among women!”
29 But [b]when she saw him, (D)she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found (E)favor with God. 31 (F)And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and (G)shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, (H)and will be called the Son of the Highest; and (I)the Lord God will give Him the (J)throne of His (K)father David. 33 (L)And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I [c]do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, (M)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called (N)the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For (O)with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.