Book of Common Prayer
The Love of God[a]
103 Praise the Lord, my soul!
All my being, praise his holy name!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and do not forget how kind he is.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He keeps me from the grave
and blesses me with love and mercy.
5 He fills my life[b] with good things,
so that I stay young and strong like an eagle.
6 The Lord judges in favor of the oppressed
and gives them their rights.
7 He revealed his plans to Moses
and let the people of Israel see his mighty deeds.
8 (A)The Lord is merciful and loving,
slow to become angry and full of constant love.
9 He does not keep on rebuking;
he is not angry forever.
10 He does not punish us as we deserve
or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.
11 As high as the sky is above the earth,
so great is his love for those who honor him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our sins from us.
13 As a father is kind to his children,
so the Lord is kind to those who honor him.
14 He knows what we are made of;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for us, our life is like grass.
We grow and flourish like a wild flower;
16 then the wind blows on it, and it is gone—
no one sees it again.
17 But for those who honor the Lord, his love lasts forever,
and his goodness endures for all generations
18 of those who are true to his covenant
and who faithfully obey his commands.
19 The Lord placed his throne in heaven;
he is king over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you strong and mighty angels,
who obey his commands,
who listen to what he says.
21 Praise the Lord, all you heavenly powers,
you servants of his, who do his will!
22 Praise the Lord, all his creatures
in all the places he rules.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
A Call for the Universe to Praise God
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from heaven,
you that live in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels,
all his heavenly armies.
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, shining stars.
4 Praise him, highest heavens,
and the waters above the sky.[a]
5 Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
He commanded, and they were created;
6 by his command they were fixed in their places forever,
and they cannot disobey.[b]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
sea monsters and all ocean depths;
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
strong winds that obey his command.
9 Praise him, hills and mountains,
fruit trees and forests;
10 all animals, tame and wild,
reptiles and birds.
11 Praise him, kings and all peoples,
princes and all other rulers;
12 young women and young men,
old people and children too.
13 Let them all praise the name of the Lord!
His name is greater than all others;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He made his nation strong,
so that all his people praise him—
the people of Israel, so dear to him.
Praise the Lord!
62 I will speak out to encourage Jerusalem;
I will not be silent until she is saved,
And her victory shines like a torch in the night.
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see you victorious!
All their kings will see your glory.
You will be called by a new name,
A name given by the Lord himself.
3 You will be like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
4 No longer will you be called “Forsaken,”
Or your land be called “The Deserted Wife.”
Your new name will be “God Is Pleased with Her.”
Your land will be called “Happily Married,”
Because the Lord is pleased with you
And will be like a husband to your land.
5 Like a young man taking a virgin as his bride,
He who formed you will marry you.
As a groom is delighted with his bride,
So your God will delight in you.
10 People of Jerusalem, go out of the city
And build a road for your returning people!
Prepare a highway; clear it of stones!
Put up a signal so that the nations can know
11 (A)That the Lord is announcing to all the earth:
“Tell the people of Jerusalem
That the Lord is coming to save you,
Bringing with him the people he has rescued.”
12 You will be called “God's Holy People,”
“The People the Lord Has Saved.”
Jerusalem will be called “The City That God Loves,”
“The City That God Did Not Forsake.”
The Rider on the White Horse
11 (A)Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. 12 (B)His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is. 13 (C)The robe he wore was covered with blood. His name is “The Word of God.” 14 The armies of heaven followed him, riding on white horses and dressed in clean white linen. 15 (D)Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God. 16 On his robe and on his thigh was written the name: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
The Birth of Jesus Christ(A)
18 (B)This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. 20 While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. 21 (C)She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, 23 (D)“A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”).
24 So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to. 25 (E)But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.