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!
Chapter 7
The Oracle of Nathan. 1 (A)After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side,(B) 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!”(C) 3 Nathan answered the king, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you.”(D) 4 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the Lord: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in?(E) 6 I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. 7 As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?
8 Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts:[a] I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel.(F) 9 I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth.(G) 10 I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, 11 and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you:(H) 12 (I)when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He it is[b] who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments;(J) 15 but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you.(K) 16 Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever.[c](L) 17 In accordance with all these words and this whole vision Nathan spoke to David.
Transformation of Life. 11 [a]For the grace of God has appeared, saving all(A) 12 and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, 13 as we await the blessed hope, the appearance[b] of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ,(B) 14 who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.(C)
15 Say these things. Exhort and correct with all authority. Let no one look down on you.(D)
Chapter 3
1 [c]Remind them to be under the control of magistrates and authorities,[d] to be obedient, to be open to every good enterprise.(E) 2 They are to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, exercising all graciousness toward everyone. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.(F)
4 But when the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,(G)
5 not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
he saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the holy Spirit,(H)
6 whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,(I)
7 so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.(J)
8 This saying is trustworthy.
Advice to Titus.[e] I want you to insist on these points, that those who have believed in God be careful to devote themselves to good works; these are excellent and beneficial to others.(K)
Mary Visits Elizabeth. 39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,(A) 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(B) 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord[a] should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed[b] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”(C)
48 For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.(A)
49 The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.(B)
50 His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.(C)
51 He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.(D)
52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.(E)
53 The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.(F)
54 He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,(G)
55 according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(H)
56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Birth of John.[a]
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