Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 103[a]
By David.
103 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
With all that is within me, praise[b] his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Do not forget all his kind deeds.[c]
3 He is the one who forgives all your sins,
who heals all your diseases,[d]
4 who delivers[e] your life from the Pit,[f]
who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life with good things,[g]
so your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.[h]
6 The Lord does what is fair,
and executes justice for all the oppressed.[i]
7 The Lord revealed his faithful acts[j] to Moses,
his deeds to the Israelites.
8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful;
he is patient[k] and demonstrates great loyal love.[l]
9 He does not always accuse,
and does not stay angry.[m]
10 He does not deal with us as our sins deserve;[n]
he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserve.[o]
11 For as the skies are high above the earth,
so his loyal love towers[p] over his faithful followers.[q]
12 As far as the eastern horizon[r] is from the west,[s]
so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions[t] from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,[u]
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.[v]
14 For he knows what we are made of;[w]
he realizes[x] we are made of clay.[y]
15 A person’s life is like grass.[z]
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind[aa] blows, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers,[ab]
and is faithful to their descendants,[ac]
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.[ad]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.[ae]
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders.[af]
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,[ag]
you servants of his who carry out his desires.[ah]
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,[ai]
in all the regions[aj] of his kingdom.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
The Lord Takes Delight in Zion
62 For the sake of Zion I will not be silent;
for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines brightly[a]
and her deliverance burns like a torch.
2 Nations will see your vindication,
and all kings your splendor.
You will be called by a new name
that the Lord himself will give you.[b]
3 You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,
a royal turban in the hand of your God.
4 You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”
and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.”
Indeed,[c] you will be called “My Delight is in Her,”[d]
and your land “Married.”[e]
For the Lord will take delight in you,
and your land will be married to him.[f]
5 As a young man marries a young woman,
so your sons[g] will marry you.
As a bridegroom rejoices over a bride,
so your God will rejoice over you.
10 Come through! Come through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people!
Build it—Build the roadway!
Remove the stones.
Lift a signal flag for the nations.
11 Look, the Lord announces to the entire earth:[a]
“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘Look, your deliverer comes!
Look, his reward is with him,
and his reward goes before him!’”[b]
12 They will be called, “The Holy People,
the Ones Protected[c] by the Lord.”
You will be called, “Sought After,
City Not Abandoned.”
The Son of God Goes to War
11 Then[a] I saw heaven opened and here came[b] a white horse! The[c] one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice[d] he judges and goes to war. 12 His eyes are like a fiery[e] flame and there are many diadem crowns[f] on his head. He has[g] a name written[h] that no one knows except himself. 13 He is dressed in clothing dipped[i] in blood, and he is called[j] the Word of God. 14 The[k] armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen,[l] were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations.[m] He[n] will rule[o] them with an iron rod,[p] and he stomps the winepress[q] of the furious[r] wrath of God, the All-Powerful.[s] 16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together,[a] she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph, her husband to be,[b] was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her[c] privately. 20 When he had contemplated this, an[d] angel of the Lord[e] appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him[f] Jesus,[g] because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him[h] Emmanuel,”[i] which means[j] “God with us.”[k] 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep he did what the angel of the Lord[l] told him. He took his wife, 25 but did not have marital relations[m] with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named[n] Jesus.
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