Book of Common Prayer
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And (C)do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your guilt,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord (J)performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (K)oppressed.
7 He (L)made known His ways to Moses,
His (M)deeds to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He (P)will not always contend with us,
Nor will He (Q)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just (U)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
14 For (V)He Himself knows [e]our form;
He (W)is mindful that we are nothing but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
Like a (Z)flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the (AA)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its (AB)place no longer knows about it.
17 But the [f](AC)mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [g]fear Him,
And His justice (AD)to the children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.
19 The Lord has established His (AF)throne in the heavens,
And His [h](AG)sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you (AH)His angels,
(AI)Mighty in strength, who (AJ)perform His word,
(AK)Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you (AL)His [j]angels,
You (AM)who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, (AN)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
Zion’s Glory and New Name
62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her (A)righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her (B)salvation like a torch that is burning.
2 The (C)nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new (D)name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
3 You will also be a (E)crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal headband in the hand of your God.
4 It will no longer be said to you, “[a](F)Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “[b]Desolate”;
But you will be called, “[c]My delight is in her,”
And your land, “[d](G)Married”;
For the (H)Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
5 For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the [e]groom rejoices over the bride,
So your (I)God will rejoice over you.
10 Go through, (A)go through the gates,
Clear a way [a]for the people!
(B)Build up, build up the (C)highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a (D)flag over the peoples.
11 Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the (E)end of the earth:
(F)Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your (G)salvation is coming;
(H)Behold His reward is with Him, and His compensation before Him.”
12 And they will call them, “(I)The holy people,
The (J)redeemed of the Lord”;
And you will be called, “Sought Out, A City (K)Not Abandoned.”
The Coming of Christ
11 And I saw (A)heaven opened, and behold, a (B)white horse, and He who sat on it is called (C)Faithful and True, and in (D)righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 His (E)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many (F)crowns; and He has a (G)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 He is clothed with a (H)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called (I)The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in (J)fine linen, (K)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 (L)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that (M)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will [a](N)rule them with a rod of iron; and (O)He treads the [b]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has (P)a name written: “(Q)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Conception and Birth of Jesus
18 Now the birth of Jesus the [a]Messiah was as follows: when His (A)mother Mary had been [b]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was (B)found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to [c](C)send her away secretly. 20 But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “(D)Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for [d]the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a Son; and (E)you shall name Him Jesus, for [e]He (F)will save His people from their sins.” 22 Now all this [f]took place so that what was (G)spoken by the Lord through [g]the prophet would be fulfilled: 23 “(H)Behold, the virgin will [h](I)conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him [i]Immanuel,” which translated means, “(J)God with us.” 24 And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 [j]but kept her a virgin until she (K)gave birth to a Son; and (L)he named Him Jesus.
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