Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 146[a]
146 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver.[b]
4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans die.[c]
5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful,[d]
7 vindicates the oppressed,[e]
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over.[f]
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the resident foreigner.
He lifts up the fatherless and the widow,[g]
but he opposes the wicked.[h]
10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come.[i]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147[j]
147 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God.
Yes,[k] praise is pleasant and appropriate.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals[l] the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;[m]
there is no limit to his wisdom.[n]
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks[o] the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks.[p]
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp.
8 He covers[q] the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.[r]
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.[s]
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.[t]
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,[u]
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children[v] within you.
14 He[w] brings peace to your territory.[x]
He abundantly provides for you[y] the best grain.
15 He[z] sends his command through the earth;[aa]
swiftly his order reaches its destination.[ab]
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.[ac]
17 He throws his hailstones[ad] like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?[ae]
18 He then orders it all to melt;[af]
he breathes on it,[ag] and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
David Offers a Prayer to God
18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family,[a] that you should have brought me to this point? 19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family.[b] Is this your usual way of dealing with men,[c] O Sovereign Lord? 20 What more can David say to you? You have given your servant special recognition,[d] O Sovereign Lord! 21 For the sake of your promise and according to your purpose[e] you have done this great thing in order to reveal it to your servant.[f] 22 Therefore you are great, O Sovereign Lord, for there is none like you. There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true.[g] 23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation[h] on the earth? Their God[i] went[j] to claim[k] a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land,[l] before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods.[m] 24 You made Israel your very own people for all time.[n] You, O Lord, became their God. 25 So now, O Lord God, make this promise you have made about your servant and his family a permanent reality.[o] Do as you promised,[p] 26 so you may gain lasting fame,[q] as people say,[r] ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over Israel!’ The dynasty[s] of your servant David will be established before you, 27 for you, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, have told[t] your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’[u] That is why your servant has had the courage[v] to pray this prayer to you. 28 Now, O Sovereign Lord, you are the true God.[w] May your words prove to be true![x] You have made this good promise to your servant.[y] 29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty[z] so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O Sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed from now on into the future!”[aa]
Justification by Law or by Faith?
3 You[a] foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell[b] on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed[c] as crucified! 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law[d] or by believing what you heard?[e] 3 Are you so foolish? Although you began[f] with[g] the Spirit, are you now trying to finish[h] by human effort?[i] 4 Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. 5 Does God then give[j] you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law[k] or by your believing what you heard?[l]
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,[m] 7 so then, understand[n] that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.[o] 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel to Abraham ahead of time,[p] saying, “All the nations[q] will be blessed in you.”[r] 9 So then those who believe[s] are blessed along with Abraham the believer. 10 For all who[t] rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.”[u] 11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith.[v] 12 But the law is not based on faith,[w] but the one who does the works of the law[x] will live by them.[y] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming[z] a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)[aa] 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles,[ab] so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.
The Birth of John
57 Now the time came[a] for Elizabeth to have her baby,[b] and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her[c] neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown[d] great mercy to her, and they rejoiced[e] with her.
59 On[f] the eighth day[g] they came to circumcise the child, and they wanted to name[h] him Zechariah after his father. 60 But[i] his mother replied,[j] “No! He must be named[k] John.”[l] 61 They[m] said to her, “But[n] none of your relatives bears this name.”[o] 62 So[p] they made signs to the baby’s[q] father,[r] inquiring what he wanted to name his son.[s] 63 He[t] asked for a writing tablet[u] and wrote,[v] “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.[w] 64 Immediately[x] Zechariah’s[y] mouth was opened and his tongue[z] released,[aa] and he spoke, blessing God. 65 All[ab] their neighbors were filled with fear, and throughout the entire hill country of Judea all these things were talked about. 66 All[ac] who heard these things[ad] kept them in their hearts,[ae] saying, “What then will this child be?”[af] For the Lord’s hand[ag] was indeed with him.
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