Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(A)
2 Sing the glory of his name;(B)
make his praise glorious.(C)
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(D)
So great is your power
that your enemies cringe(E) before you.
4 All the earth bows down(F) to you;
they sing praise(G) to you,
they sing the praises of your name.”[a]
5 Come and see what God has done,
his awesome deeds(H) for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,(I)
they passed through(J) the waters on foot—
come, let us rejoice(K) in him.
7 He rules forever(L) by his power,
his eyes watch(M) the nations—
let not the rebellious(N) rise up against him.
8 Praise(O) our God, all peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives(P)
and kept our feet from slipping.(Q)
10 For you, God, tested(R) us;
you refined us like silver.(S)
11 You brought us into prison(T)
and laid burdens(U) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(V)
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.(W)
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(X)
and fulfill my vows(Y) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
and an offering of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats.(Z)
16 Come and hear,(AA) all you who fear God;
let me tell(AB) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;(AC)
19 but God has surely listened
and has heard(AD) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected(AE) my prayer
or withheld his love from me!
Psalm 67[b]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—[c](AF)
2 so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation(AG) among all nations.(AH)
Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord,(A) for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry(B) for mercy.(C)
2 Because he turned his ear(D) to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death(E) entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name(F) of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!(G)”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;(H)
our God is full of compassion.(I)
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low,(J) he saved me.(K)
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me(N) from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord(O)
in the land of the living.(P)
10 I trusted(Q) in the Lord when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;(R)
11 in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”(S)
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness(T) to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name(U) of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows(V) to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight(W) of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.(X)
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;(Y)
I serve you just as my mother did;(Z)
you have freed me from my chains.(AA)
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering(AB) to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows(AC) to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts(AD) of the house of the Lord—
in your midst, Jerusalem.(AE)
Praise the Lord.[a]
Psalm 117
1 Praise the Lord,(AF) all you nations;(AG)
extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love(AH) toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord(AI) endures forever.
Praise the Lord.[b]
Hannah’s Prayer
2 Then Hannah prayed and said:(A)
“My heart rejoices(B) in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn[a](C) is lifted high.
My mouth boasts(D) over my enemies,(E)
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy(F) like(G) the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock(H) like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,(I)
for the Lord is a God who knows,(J)
and by him deeds(K) are weighed.(L)
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,(M)
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.(N)
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry(O) are hungry no more.
She who was barren(P) has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;(Q)
he brings down to the grave and raises up.(R)
7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;(S)
he humbles and he exalts.(T)
8 He raises(U) the poor(V) from the dust(W)
and lifts the needy(X) from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.(Y)
“For the foundations(Z) of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet(AA) of his faithful servants,(AB)
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.(AC)
Doing Good for the Sake of the Gospel
2 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine.(A) 2 Teach the older men(B) to be temperate,(C) worthy of respect, self-controlled,(D) and sound in faith,(E) in love and in endurance.
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers(F) or addicted to much wine,(G) but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women(H) to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled(I) and pure, to be busy at home,(J) to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands,(K) so that no one will malign the word of God.(L)
6 Similarly, encourage the young men(M) to be self-controlled.(N) 7 In everything set them an example(O) by doing what is good.(P) In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.(Q)
9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything,(R) to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior(S) attractive.(T)
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel(A) to Nazareth,(B) a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph,(C) a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,(D) Mary; you have found favor with God.(E) 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.(F) 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.(G) The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,(H) 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom(I) will never end.”(J)
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you,(K) and the power of the Most High(L) will overshadow you. So the holy one(M) to be born will be called[a] the Son of God.(N) 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child(O) in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”(P)
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
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