Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord of Love
Of David.
103 ·All that I am [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord;
·everything in me [L all my inward parts], ·praise [bless] his holy name.
2 ·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord
and do not forget all his ·kindnesses [gifts; benefits].
3 He forgives all ·my [or your] ·sins [iniquity]
and heals all ·my [or your] ·diseases [ills].
4 He ·saves [redeems] ·my [or your] life from the ·grave [L pit]
and ·loads [or crowns] ·me [or you] with ·love [loyalty] and ·mercy [compassion].
5 He satisfies ·me [or you] with good things [L as long as you live; or according to your desires]
and ·makes me young again [L renews your youth], like the eagle [Is. 40:31].
6 The Lord does what is ·right [righteous] and ·fair [just]
for all who are ·wronged by others [oppressed; exploited].
7 He ·showed [revealed] his ways to Moses [Ex. 34:5–7]
and his deeds to the ·people [sons] of Israel.
8 The Lord shows ·mercy [compassion] and ·is kind [grace].
He ·does not become angry quickly [is slow to anger], and he has great ·love [loyalty; 86:15; 145:8–9; Ex. 34:6–7; Neh. 9:17. 31; Joel 2:13; Jon. 4:2].
9 He will not always ·accuse [charge; contend with] us,
and he will not ·be angry forever [L keep watch forever].
10 He ·has not punished us as our sins should be punished [L does not act toward us according to our sins];
he has not repaid us ·for the evil we have done [L according to our iniquity].
11 As high as the ·sky [heaven] is above the earth,
so great is his ·love [loyalty] for those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7].
12 He has taken our ·sins [transgressions] away from us
as far as the east is from west.
13 The Lord has ·mercy [compassion] on those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7],
as a father has ·mercy [compassion] on his children.
14 He knows how we were ·made [formed];
he remembers that we are dust [Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Job 4:19; 10:9; 34:15; Eccl. 3:20; 12:7].
15 Human ·life [L days] is like grass [90:5–6; Is. 51:12];
we ·grow [sprout; flourish] like a flower in the field [Job 14:2; Is. 40:6–7].
16 After the wind ·blows [passes by], ·the flower [L it] is gone,
and ·there is no sign of where it was [L no one can recognize its place].
17 But the Lord’s ·love [loyalty] for those who ·respect [fear] him [Prov. 1:7]
continues forever and ever,
and his ·goodness [righteousness] continues to their ·grandchildren [L children’s children]
18 and to those who ·keep [observe; guard] his ·agreement [covenant; treaty; Ex. 19–24]
and who remember to ·obey [L do] his ·orders [precepts].
19 The Lord has ·set [established] his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything [93:1; 96:10; 99:1].
20 You who are his ·angels [or messengers], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
You are the mighty warriors who do what he says
and who ·obey [listen to] his voice.
21 You, his ·armies [hosts; C perhaps the angelic army], ·praise [bless] the Lord;
you are his ·servants [ministers] who do what he ·wants [desires].
22 Everything the Lord has made
should ·praise [bless] him in all the places he rules.
·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
New Jerusalem
62 ·Because I love Jerusalem [L For Zion’s sake], I will ·continue to speak for her [not be silent];
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not ·stop speaking [be silent]
until her ·goodness [vindication; righteousness] shines like ·a bright light [brightness],
until her salvation burns bright like a ·flame [torch].
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see your ·goodness [righteousness; vindication],
and all kings will see your glory.
Then you will ·have [L be called by] a new name,
which the [L mouth of the] Lord himself will ·give you [name].
3 You will be like a ·beautiful crown [crown of majesty/glory] in the Lord’s hand,
like a ·king’s crown [royal diadem] in your God’s hand.
4 You will never again be called ·the People that God Left [L Abandoned; Deserted],
nor your land ·the Land that God Destroyed [Desolate].
You will be called ·the People God Loves [L My Delight Is In Her; T Hephzibah; C a proper name],
and your land will be called ·the Bride of God [L Married; T Beulah; C a proper name],
because the Lord ·loves you [takes delight in you].
And your land will ·belong to him as a bride belongs to her husband [be married].
5 As a young man marries a ·woman [young woman; virgin],
so your ·children [or builder] will marry ·your land [L you].
As a ·man [L bridegroom] rejoices over ·his new wife [the bride],
so your God will rejoice over you.
10 Go through, go through the gates!
Make the way ready for the people.
Build up, build up the ·road [highway]!
Move all the stones off the road.
Raise ·the banner as a sign [a standard/signal flag] for the ·people [nations].
11 The Lord ·is speaking [announces]
to ·all the faraway lands [L the end of the earth]:
“·Tell the people of Jerusalem [L Say to the daughter of Zion; Zech. 9:9],
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
He is bringing ·your reward to you [L his reward with him];
·he is bringing his payment [his recompense/reward is] with him.’”
12 ·His people [L They] will be called the Holy People,
the ·Saved People [Redeemed] of the Lord,
and Jerusalem will be called ·the City God Wants [L Sought After],
the City ·God Has Not Rejected [or Not Abandoned; Deserted].
The Rider on the White Horse
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. The rider [C Jesus] on the horse is called Faithful and True, and ·he is right when [with justice/righteousness] he judges and makes war [Ps. 96:13; 98:9]. 12 His eyes are like ·burning [blazing; flames of] fire [Dan. 10:6], and on his head are many ·crowns [diadems; royal crowns; C contrast 12:3; 13:1]. He has a name written on him, which no one but himself knows. 13 He is dressed in a ·robe [garment] dipped in blood [C indicating judgment; Is. 63:1–3], and his name is the Word of God [John 1:1]. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in fine linen, white and ·clean [pure], were following him on white horses. 15 Out of the rider’s mouth comes a sharp sword [1:16] that he will use to ·defeat [strike down] the nations [Is. 11:4], and he will ·rule [or shepherd] them with a ·rod [staff; scepter] of iron [Ps. 2:9]. He will ·crush out [tread; stomp] the wine in the winepress of the ·terrible anger [furious wrath] of God the ·Almighty [All-powerful; 19:13; Is. 63:1–6]. 16 On his robe and on his upper leg was written this name: king of kings and lord of lords [17:14; Deut. 10:17; Dan. 2:47].
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18 This is how the birth of Jesus ·Christ [the Messiah] came about. His mother Mary was ·engaged [pledged; T betrothed; C a formal agreement between families that required a “divorce” to annul] to marry Joseph, but before they ·married [came to live together], she ·learned she was [or was found/discovered to be] ·pregnant [T with child] ·by the power of [through] the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a ·good [righteous] man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to ·divorce her [end the engagement] ·secretly [privately; quietly].
20 While Joseph ·thought about [considered; decided; resolved to do] these things, [L look; T behold] an angel of the Lord ·came [appeared] to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, ·descendant [son] of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because ·the baby [L what is conceived] in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins [C the name Jesus means “the Lord saves”].”
22 All this happened to ·bring about [fulfill] what the Lord had ·said [spoken] through the prophet: 23 “[L Look; T Behold] The virgin will ·be pregnant [L conceive in her womb; Is. 7:14]. She will ·have [give birth to] a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which [C in Hebrew] means “God is with us.”
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had ·told [commanded] him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, 25 but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And ·Joseph [L he] named him Jesus.
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