Book of Common Prayer
Lead Me to the Rock
For the choir director. On a stringed instrument. Of David.
61 (A)Hear my cry of lamentation, O God;
(B)Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the (C)end of the earth I call to You when my heart is (D)faint;
Lead me to (E)the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a (F)refuge for me,
A (G)tower of strength before the enemy.
4 Let me (H)sojourn in Your tent forever;
Let me (I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. [a]Selah.
5 For You, O God, have heard my (J)vows;
You have given me the inheritance of those who (K)fear Your name.
6 You will (L)add days to the king’s [b]life;
His years will be from generation to generation.
7 He will sit enthroned (M)before God forever;
Appoint (N)lovingkindness and truth that they may guard him.
8 So I will (O)sing praise to Your name forever,
As I (P)pay my vows day by day.
God Is a Refuge for Us
For the choir director. According to [c]Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 (Q)Surely my soul waits in silence for God;
From Him (R)is my salvation.
2 Surely He is my (S)rock and my salvation,
My (T)stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you assail a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a (U)leaning wall, like a fence thrust down?
4 Surely they have counseled to thrust him down from his high position;
They (V)find pleasure in falsehood;
They (W)bless with [d]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. [e]Selah.
5 Surely (X)wait in silence for God, O my soul,
For my hope is from Him.
6 Surely He is (Y)my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my (Z)salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my (AA)refuge is in God.
8 (AB)Trust in Him at all times, O people;
(AC)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Sin
Tav
His (B)praise stands forever.
The Righteous Will Be Remembered Forever
Aleph
Beth
Who greatly (D)delights in His commandments.
Gimel
Daleth
The generation of the (F)upright will be blessed.
He
3 (G)Wealth and riches are in his house,
Vav
And his righteousness stands forever.
Zayin
4 Light arises in the darkness (H)for the upright;
Heth
He is (I)gracious and compassionate and righteous.
Teth
5 It is well with the man who (J)is gracious and lends;
Yodh
Who sustains his [e]works with justice.
Kaph
6 For he will (K)never be shaken;
Lamedh
Mem
7 He will not fear an (M)evil report;
Nun
Samekh
Ayin
Until he (R)looks in triumph on his adversaries.
Pe
Tsadhe
His righteousness stands forever;
Qoph
His (T)horn will be raised in glory.
Resh
To Yahweh’s Name Give Glory
115 (A)Not to us, O Yahweh, not to us,
But (B)to Your name give glory
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (C)Why should the nations say,
“(D)Where, now, is their God?”
3 But our (E)God is in the heavens;
He (F)does whatever He pleases.
4 Their (G)idols are silver and gold,
The (H)work of man’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (I)do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
They have noses, but they do not smell;
7 As for their hands, they do not feel;
As for their feet, they do not walk;
They do not make a sound with their throat.
8 (J)Those who make them [b]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 O (K)Israel, (L)trust in Yahweh;
He is their (M)help and their shield.
10 O house of (N)Aaron, trust in Yahweh;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [c](O)fear Yahweh, trust in Yahweh;
He is their help and their shield.
12 Yahweh (P)remembered us; He will bless!
He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (Q)bless those who [d]fear Yahweh,
(R)The small together with the great.
14 May Yahweh (S)give you increase,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of Yahweh,
(T)Who made heaven and earth.
Yahweh’s Joy in Restoring Israel
14 Sing for joy, O daughter of Zion!
(A)Make a loud shout, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 Yahweh has taken away (B)His judgments against you;
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, Yahweh, is (C)in your midst;
You will (D)fear evil no more.
16 (E)In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(F)Do not fear, O Zion;
(G)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 Yahweh your God is (H)in your midst,
A (I)mighty one who will save.
He will (J)be joyful over you with gladness;
He will [a]be quiet in His love;
He will rejoice over you with joyful singing.
18 I will assemble those who (K)grieve about the appointed feasts—
They were from you, O Zion;
The reproach of exile is a burden on [b]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all those who (L)afflict you,
And I will save the (M)lame
And gather the banished,
And I will turn them—in their (N)shame—into (O)praise and a name
In all the earth.
20 At that time I will (P)bring you in,
Even at the time when I gather you together;
Indeed, I will give you to be a (Q)name and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (R)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says Yahweh.
Greetings and Grace
1 Paul, (A)a slave of God and an (B)apostle of Jesus Christ, [a]for the faith of God’s (C)elect and (D)the full knowledge of the truth which is (E)according to godliness, 2 in (F)the hope of eternal life, which the God (G)who cannot lie (H)promised [b](I)from all eternity, 3 but (J)at the proper time manifested His word in (K)preaching, (L)with which I was entrusted (M)according to the commandment of (N)God our Savior,
4 To (O)Titus, (P)my genuine child according to our (Q)common faith: (R)Grace and peace from God the Father and (S)Christ Jesus our Savior.
Qualifications of Elders
5 For this reason I left you in (T)Crete, that you would set in order what remains and (U)appoint (V)elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, (W)if any man is beyond reproach, the (X)husband of one wife, having faithful children, who are not accused of (Y)dissipation, or (Z)rebellious. 7 For the [c](AA)overseer must be beyond reproach as (AB)God’s steward, not (AC)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (AD)addicted to wine, not pugnacious, (AE)not fond of dishonest gain, 8 but (AF)hospitable, (AG)loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, 9 (AH)holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in (AI)sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict.
10 (AJ)For there are many (AK)rebellious men, (AL)empty talkers and deceivers, especially (AM)those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting (AN)whole families, teaching (AO)things they should not teach (AP)for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “(AQ)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (AR)reprove them (AS)severely so that they may be (AT)sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish (AU)myths and (AV)commandments of men who (AW)turn away from the truth. 15 (AX)To the pure, all things are pure, but (AY)to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their (AZ)mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 (BA)They profess to know God, but by their works they (BB)deny Him, being (BC)detestable and (BD)disobedient and (BE)unfit (BF)for any good work.
Luke’s Account of Things Fulfilled
1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things that [a](A)have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those, who (B)from the beginning [b]were (C)eyewitnesses and [c](D)servants of (E)the [d]word, handed them down to us, 3 it seemed fitting for me as well, (F)having [e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you (G)in orderly sequence, (H)most excellent (I)Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty about the things you have been [f](J)taught.
John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold
5 (K)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the (L)division of [g]Abijah, and he had a wife [h]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both (M)righteous in the sight of God, walking (N)blamelessly in all the commandments and righteous requirements of the [i]Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in [j]years.
8 Now it happened that while (O)he was performing his priestly service before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (P)to enter the [k]sanctuary of the [l]Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying (Q)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And (R)an angel of the [m]Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and (S)fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “(T)Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will [n]bear you a son, and (U)you will call his name [o]John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the [p]Lord; and (V)he will not drink any wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [q]while yet in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the [r]Lord their God. 17 And he will (X)go before Him in the spirit and power of (Y)Elijah, (Z)to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to (AA)make ready a people prepared for the [s]Lord.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For (AB)I am an old man and my wife is advanced in [t]years.” 19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am (AC)Gabriel, who (AD)stands before God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. And he (AE)kept [u]making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 And it happened that when the days of his priestly service were fulfilled, he went back home.
24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she [v]kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked upon me to (AF)take away my disgrace among men.”
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