Book of Common Prayer

103 I bless the holy name of God with all my heart. ² Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.

³ He forgives all my sins. He heals me. ⁴ He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies. ⁵ He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! ⁶ He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. ⁷ He revealed his will and nature to Moses and the people of Israel.

⁸ He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. ⁹ He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. ¹⁰ He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, ¹¹ for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. ¹² He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. ¹³ He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him. ¹⁴ For he knows we are but dust ¹⁵ and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, ¹⁶ blown by the wind and gone forever.

^17-18 But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who reverence him; his salvation is to children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant and remember to obey him!

¹⁹ The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything there is. ²⁰ Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands. ²¹ Yes, bless the Lord, you armies of his angels who serve him constantly.

²² Let everything everywhere bless the Lord. And how I bless him too!

148 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! ² Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. ³ Praise him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars. ⁴ Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds.

⁵ Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; ⁶ he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.

⁷ And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. ⁸ Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind, and weather all obey. ⁹ Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, ¹⁰ the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, ¹¹ the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, ¹² young men and maidens, old men and children— ¹³ all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. ¹⁴ He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.

Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!

62 Because I love Zion, because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I will not cease to pray for her or to cry out to God on her behalf until she shines forth in his righteousness and is glorious in his salvation. ² The nations shall see your righteousness. Kings shall be blinded by your glory; and God will confer on you a new name. ³ He will hold you aloft in his hands for all to see—a splendid crown for the King of kings. ⁴ Never again shall you be called “The God-forsaken Land” or the “Land That God Forgot.” Your new name will be “The Land of God’s Delight” and “The Bride,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his own. ⁵ Your children will care for you, O Jerusalem, with joy like that of a young man who marries a virgin; and God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom with his bride.

¹⁰ Go out! Go out! Prepare the roadway for my people to return! Build the roads, pull out the boulders, raise the flag of Israel.

¹¹ See, the Lord has sent his messengers to every land and said, “Tell my people, I, the Lord your God, am coming to save you and will bring you many gifts.” ¹² And they shall be called “The Holy People” and “The Lord’s Redeemed,” and Jerusalem shall be called “The Land of Desire” and “The City God Has Blessed.”

¹¹ Then I saw heaven opened and a white horse standing there; and the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True—the one who justly punishes and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like flames, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on his forehead,^[a] and only he knew its meaning. ¹³ He was clothed with garments dipped in blood, and his title was “The Word of God.”^{[b] 14} The armies of heaven, dressed in finest linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses.

¹⁵ In his mouth he held a sharp sword to strike down the nations; he ruled them with an iron grip; and he trod the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ On his robe and thigh was written this title: “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

¹⁸ These are the facts concerning the birth of Jesus Christ: His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph, her fiancé,^[a] being a man of stern principle, decided to break the engagement but to do it quietly, as he didn’t want to publicly disgrace her.

²⁰ As he lay awake^[b] considering this, he fell into a dream, and saw an angel standing beside him. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “don’t hesitate to take Mary as your wife! For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will have a Son, and you shall name him Jesus (meaning ‘Savior’), for he will save his people from their sins. ²² This will fulfill God’s message through his prophets—

²³ ‘Listen! The virgin shall conceive a child! She shall give birth to a Son, and he shall be called “Emmanuel” (meaning “God is with us”).’”

²⁴ When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel commanded and brought Mary home to be his wife, ²⁵ but she remained a virgin until her Son was born; and Joseph named him “Jesus.”