Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63[a]
Ardent Longing for God
1 A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.(A)
I
2 O God, you are my God—
it is you I seek!
For you my body yearns;
for you my soul thirsts,
In a land parched, lifeless,
and without water.(B)
3 I look to you in the sanctuary
to see your power and glory.
4 For your love is better than life;[b]
my lips shall ever praise you!
II
5 I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands, calling on your name.
6 My soul shall be sated as with choice food,
with joyous lips my mouth shall praise you!
7 I think of you upon my bed,
I remember you through the watches of the night
8 You indeed are my savior,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.(C)
9 My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
III
10 But those who seek my life will come to ruin;
they shall go down to the depths of the netherworld!
11 Those who would hand over my life to the sword shall
become the prey of jackals!
12 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by the Lord[c] shall exult,
but the mouths of liars will be shut!(D)
Psalm 98[a]
The Coming of God
1 A psalm.
I
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for he has done marvelous deeds.(A)
His right hand and holy arm
have won the victory.[b](B)
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations,
3 He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
II
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
break into song; sing praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
shout with joy to the King, the Lord.(C)
III
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of Divine Goodness
1 Of David.
I
Bless the Lord, my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, my soul;
and do not forget all his gifts,
3 Who pardons all your sins,
and heals all your ills,
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,(A)
and crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 Who fills your days with good things,
so your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.[b]
II
6 The Lord does righteous deeds,
brings justice to all the oppressed.(B)
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
to the Israelites his deeds.
8 Merciful and gracious is the Lord,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.(C)
9 He will not always accuse,
and nurses no lasting anger;
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins merit,
nor requited us as our wrongs deserve.
III
11 For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.(D)
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we are formed,
remembers that we are dust.(E)
15 As for man, his days are like the grass;
he blossoms like a flower in the field.(F)
16 A wind sweeps over it and it is gone;
its place knows it no more.
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from age to age,
toward those who fear him.
His salvation is for the children’s children
18 of those who keep his covenant,
and remember to carry out his precepts.
IV
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven;
his dominion extends over all.
20 Bless the Lord, all you his angels,(G)
mighty in strength, acting at his behest,
obedient to his command.
21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts,
his ministers who carry out his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creatures,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Chapter 28
The Priestly Vestments. 1 (A)Have your brother Aaron, and with him his sons, brought to you, from among the Israelites, that they may be my priests: Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. 2 For the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron you shall have sacred vestments made. 3 Therefore, tell the various artisans whom I have endowed with skill[a] to make vestments for Aaron to consecrate him as my priest. 4 These are the vestments they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a brocade tunic, a turban, and a sash. In making these sacred vestments which your brother Aaron and his sons are to wear in serving as my priests,
30 In this breastpiece of decision(A) you shall put the Urim and Thummim,[a] that they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus he shall always bear the decisions for the Israelites over his heart in the presence of the Lord.
Other Vestments. 31 The robe of the ephod(B) you shall make entirely of violet material. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the center, and around this opening there shall be a selvage, woven as at the opening of a shirt, to keep it from being torn. 33 At the hem at the bottom you shall make pomegranates, woven of violet, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen twined, with gold bells between them; 34 a gold bell, a pomegranate, a gold bell, a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron shall wear it when ministering, that its sound may be heard as he enters and leaves the Lord’s presence in the sanctuary; else he will die.
36 You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, as on a seal engraving, “Sacred to the Lord.” 37 This plate is to be tied over the turban with a violet ribbon in such a way that it rests on the front of the turban,(C) 38 over Aaron’s forehead. Since Aaron bears whatever guilt the Israelites may incur in consecrating any of their sacred gifts, this plate must always be over his forehead, so that they may find favor with the Lord.
Antichrists. 18 Children, it is the last hour;[a] and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. Thus we know this is the last hour.(A) 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;[b] if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number. 20 But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one,[c] and you all have knowledge.(B) 21 I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.(C) 22 [d]Who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.(D) 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.(E)
Life from God’s Anointing. 24 (F)Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.[e] 25 And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life.(G) 26 I write you these things about those who would deceive you. 27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him.
Children of God. 28 [f]And now, children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be put to shame by him at his coming. 29 If you consider that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him.
The Return of the Twelve. 30 The apostles[a] gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.(A) 31 [b]He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.(B) 32 So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.(C) 33 People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 34 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 [c]By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36 Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” 39 So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 [d]The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. 41 Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.[e] 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. 44 Those who ate [of the loaves] were five thousand men.
The Walking on the Water.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.