Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Reigns
93 (A)The Lord reigns; he is (B)robed in majesty;
the Lord is (C)robed; he has (D)put on strength as his belt.
(E)Yes, the world is established; (F)it shall never be moved.
2 (G)Your throne is established from of old;
(H)you are from everlasting.
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
96 (A)Oh sing to the Lord (B)a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
(C)tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For (D)great is the Lord, and (E)greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above (F)all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord (G)made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
(H)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O (I)families of the peoples,
(J)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord (K)the glory due his name;
bring (L)an offering, and (M)come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in (N)the splendor of holiness;[a]
(O)tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, (P)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will (Q)judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let (R)the heavens be glad, and let (S)the earth rejoice;
let (T)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let (U)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all (V)the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes (W)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Praise the Name of the Lord
148 (A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord (B)from the heavens;
praise him (C)in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his (D)hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you (E)highest heavens,
and you (F)waters above the heavens!
5 (G)Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For (H)he commanded and they were created.
6 And he (I)established them forever and ever;
he gave (J)a decree, and it shall not (K)pass away.[a]
7 Praise the Lord (L)from the earth,
you (M)great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 (N)fire and hail, (O)snow and mist,
(P)stormy wind (Q)fulfilling his word!
9 (R)Mountains and all hills,
(S)fruit trees and all (T)cedars!
10 (U)Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and (V)flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and (W)all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
Let Everything Praise the Lord
150 (A)Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his (B)sanctuary;
praise him in (C)his mighty heavens![a]
2 Praise him for his (D)mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent (E)greatness!
3 Praise him with (F)trumpet sound;
praise him with (G)lute and (H)harp!
4 Praise him with (I)tambourine and (J)dance;
praise him with (K)strings and (L)pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding (M)cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let (N)everything that has breath praise the Lord!
(O)Praise the Lord!
17 (A)Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
(B)they will see a land that stretches afar.
18 (C)Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is (D)he who weighed the tribute?
Where is (E)he who counted the towers?”
19 (F)You will see no more the insolent people,
the people (G)of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
20 Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
(H)Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an (I)immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of (J)broad rivers and streams,
(K)where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
22 For the Lord is our (L)judge; the Lord is our (M)lawgiver;
the Lord is our (N)king; he will save us.
Jesus Is Coming
6 And he said to me, (A)“These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of (B)the spirits of the prophets, (C)has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, (D)I am coming soon. (E)Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, (F)John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, (G)I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 (H)but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those (I)who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, (J)“Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 (K)Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: (A)if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in (B)the tree of life and in (C)the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely (D)I am coming soon.” Amen. (E)Come, Lord Jesus!
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord (A)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And (B)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And (D)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for (E)a writing tablet and wrote, (F)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 (G)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue (H)loosed, and he spoke, (I)blessing God. 65 And (J)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all (K)the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them (L)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (M)the hand of the Lord was with him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.