Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s Protection.
For the music director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 (A)Hear my cry, God;
(B)Give Your attention 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 against the enemy.
4 Let me [a](H)dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me (I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah
5 For You have heard my (J)vows, God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who (K)fear Your name.
6 You will [b](L)prolong the king’s [c]life;
His years will be like generations.
7 He will [d]sit enthroned (M)before God forever;
Appoint (N)faithfulness and truth that they may watch over him.
8 So I will (O)sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may (P)pay my vows day by day.
God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.
For the music director; [e]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 (Q)My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him (R)comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my (S)rock and my salvation,
My (T)stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you attack a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a (U)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4 They have planned only to thrust him down from his high position;
They (V)delight in falsehood;
They (W)bless with [f]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. Selah
5 My soul, (X)wait in silence for God alone,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He alone is (Y)my rock and my salvation,
My refuge; I will not be shaken.
7 My (Z)salvation and my glory rest on God;
The rock of my strength, my (AA)refuge is in God.
8 (AB)Trust in Him at all times, you people;
(AC)Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
Prosperity of One Who Fears the Lord.
112 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Blessed is a person who [c]fears the Lord,
Who greatly (B)delights in His commandments.
2 His [d](C)descendants will be mighty [e]on the earth;
The generation of the (D)upright will be blessed.
3 (E)Wealth and riches are in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness (F)for the upright;
He is (G)gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
5 It goes well for a person who (H)is gracious and lends;
He will [f]maintain his cause in judgment.
6 For he will (I)never be shaken;
The (J)righteous will be [g]remembered forever.
Heathen Idols Contrasted with the Lord.
115 (A)Not to us, Lord, not to us,
But (B)to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy, because of Your [a]truth.
2 (C)Why should the nations say,
“(D)Where, then, 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 human hands.
5 They have mouths, but they (I)cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
6 They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have noses, but they cannot smell;
7 [b]They have hands, but they cannot feel;
[c]They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
8 (J)Those who make them [d]will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.
9 (K)Israel, (L)trust in the Lord;
He is their (M)help and their shield.
10 House of (N)Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who [e](O)fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord (P)has been mindful of us; He will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will (Q)bless those who [f]fear the Lord,
(R)The small together with the great.
14 May the Lord (S)increase you,
You and your children.
15 May you be blessed of the Lord,
(T)Maker of heaven and earth.
14 Shout for joy, daughter of Zion!
(A)Shout in triumph, Israel!
Rejoice and triumph with all your heart,
Daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away (B)His judgments against you,
He has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is (C)in your midst;
You will no longer (D)fear disaster.
16 (E)On that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“(F)Do not be afraid, Zion;
(G)Do not let your hands fall limp.
17 The Lord your God is (H)in your midst,
A [a](I)victorious warrior.
He will (J)rejoice over you with joy,
He will [b]be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
18 I will gather those who are (K)worried about the appointed feasts—
They [c]came from you, Zion;
The disgrace of exile is a burden on [d]them.
19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time
With all your (L)oppressors;
I will save (M)those who limp
And gather the scattered,
And I will turn their (N)shame into (O)praise and fame
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 make you (Q)famous and praiseworthy
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I (R)restore your fortunes before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.
Salutation
1 Paul, (A)a bond-servant of God and an (B)apostle of Jesus Christ, [a]for the faith of those (C)chosen of God and (D)the knowledge of the truth which is (E)according to godliness, 2 in (F)the hope of eternal life, which God, (G)who cannot lie, (H)promised [b](I)long ages ago, 3 but (J)at the proper time revealed His word in (K)the proclamation (L)with which I was entrusted (M)according to the commandment of (N)God our Savior;
4 To (O)Titus, (P)my true [c]son [d]in a (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 children who believe, not accused of (Y)indecent behavior or (Z)rebellion. 7 For the [e](AA)overseer must be beyond reproach as (AB)God’s steward, not (AC)self-willed, not quick-tempered, not (AD)overindulging in wine, not [f]a bully, (AE)not greedy for money, 8 but (AF)hospitable, (AG)loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, 9 (AH)holding firmly the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to [g]exhort in (AI)sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 (AJ)For there are many (AK)rebellious people, (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 [h]dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “(AQ)Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason (AR)reprimand 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 deeds they (BB)deny Him, being (BC)detestable and (BD)disobedient and (BE)worthless (BF)for any good deed.
Introduction
1 Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things [a](A)accomplished among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who (B)from the beginning [b]were (C)eyewitnesses and [c](D)servants of (E)the [d]word, 3 it seemed fitting to me as well, (F)having [e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you (G)in an orderly sequence, (H)most excellent (I)Theophilus; 4 so that you may know the exact truth about the [f]things you have been [g](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 [h]Abijah; and he had a wife [i]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both (M)righteous in the sight of God, walking (N)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. 7 And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, 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 appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot (P)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer (Q)outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 Now (R)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and (S)fear [k]gripped 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 bear you a son, and (U)you shall [l]name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will (V)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [m]while still in his mother’s womb. 16 And he will (W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. 17 And it is he who will (X)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of (Y)Elijah, (Z)to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to (AA)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For (AB)I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her [n]years.” 19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am (AC)Gabriel, who [o](AD)stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will 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 at their proper time.”
21 And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly [p](AE)made signs to them, and remained speechless. 23 When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.
24 Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself [q]in seclusion for five months, saying, 25 “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to (AF)take away my disgrace among people.”
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