Book of Common Prayer
Wishing to Be Near God
A psalm of David when he was in the ·desert [wilderness] of Judah [C fleeing from a jealous Saul; 1 Sam. 21–31].
63 God, you are my God.
I ·search for [am intent on] you.
I thirst for you [42:1–2]
·like someone [or my flesh yearns for you] in a dry, ·empty [exhausted; weary] land
where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in ·the Temple [L the Holy Place; or holiness]
and have seen your strength and glory.
3 Because your ·love [loyalty] is better than life,
·I [L My lips] will praise you.
4 I will ·praise [bless] you ·as long as I live [L with my life].
I will lift up my hands in your name [C in prayer].
5 I will be ·content as if I had eaten the best foods [L satisfied as with fat and fatness].
My lips will sing, and my mouth will praise you.
6 I remember you while I’m lying in bed;
I ·think about [meditate on] you through the watches of the night [C the night was divided into four watches of three hours each].
7 You are my help.
·Because of your protection [L In the shadow of your wings; C an image of compassion or perhaps a reference to the cherubim whose wings covered the Ark of the Covenant; Ex. 25:20], I sing.
8 I ·stay close [cling] to you;
·you support me with your right hand [L your right hand sustains me].
9 ·Some people are trying to kill me [L They seek my life for ruin],
but they will go down to the ·grave [L underbelly of the earth].
10 They will be ·killed with swords [L handed over to the sword]
and ·eaten by wild dogs [L be the prey of jackals].
11 But the king will rejoice in his God.
All who ·make promises in his name [L swear by him] will praise him,
but the mouths of liars will be shut.
The Lord of Power and Justice
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song [C celebrating victory; 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 144:9; 149:1; Is. 42:10; Rev. 5:9; 14:3],
because he has done ·miracles [wonderful acts].
By his right hand and holy arm
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has made known his ·power to save [salvation; victory];
he has ·shown [revealed to] ·the other [L before the eyes of the] nations his ·victory for his people [righteousness].
3 He has remembered his ·love [loyalty]
and his ·loyalty [faithfulness] to the ·people [L house] of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
God’s ·power to save [salvation; victory].
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
·burst into songs [L break forth and sing for joy] and make ·music [a psalm].
5 Make music to the Lord with harps,
with harps and the sound of singing.
6 Blow the trumpets and the ·sheep’s [ram’s] horns;
shout for joy to the Lord the King [47:2; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; Rev. 19:6].
7 Let the sea and ·everything in it [its fullness] ·shout [thunder];
let the world and everyone in it sing.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world ·fairly [with righteousness];
he will judge the peoples with fairness [96:13].
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.
Great Things Israel Saw
11 Love the Lord your God and always obey his orders, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], laws, and commands. 2 ·Remember [L You know] today it was not your children who saw and ·felt [experienced; knew] the ·correction [discipline] of the Lord your God. They did not see his ·majesty [greatness], his ·power [L strong hand], his ·strength [L outstretched arm], 3 or his signs and the things he did in Egypt to Pharaoh, the king, and his whole country. 4 They did not see what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots, when he drowned them in the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [Ex. 10:19] as they were chasing you. The Lord ·ruined [destroyed] them forever. 5 They did not see what he did for you in the ·desert [wilderness] until you arrived here. 6 They did not see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the ground opened ·up [L its mouth] and swallowed them, their ·families [L houses], their tents, and everyone who stood ·with them in Israel [L on their feet in all Israel; Num. 16]. 7 It was ·you who [L your eyes that] saw all these great things the Lord has done.
8 So ·obey [keep] all the commands I am ·giving [commanding] you today so that you will be strong and can go in and ·take [possess] the land you are ·going to take as your own [L crossing over to possess]. 9 Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord ·promised [swore] to give to your ·ancestors [fathers] and their ·descendants [L seed], a ·fertile land [L land flowing with milk and honey; Ex. 3:8]. 10 The land you are going to take is not like Egypt, where you were. There you had to plant your seed and water it, like a vegetable garden, by using your feet. 11 But the land that you will soon cross ·the Jordan River [L there] to ·take [possess] is a land of hills and valleys, ·a land that drinks [watered by] rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the Lord your God ·cares for [looks after]. His eyes are on it continually, and he watches it from the beginning of the year to the end.
The Angel and the Small Scroll
10 Then I saw another ·powerful [mighty; strong] ·angel [messenger; 5:2] coming down from heaven ·dressed [wrapped; robed] in a cloud with a ·rainbow [or halo] over his head. His face was like the sun, and his ·legs [or feet] were like pillars of fire. 2 The angel was holding a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. 3 Then he ·shouted [cried out] loudly like the roaring of a lion [Hos. 11:10; Amos 3:8]. And when he ·shouted [cried out], the voices of seven thunders [Ps. 29] spoke. 4 When the seven thunders spoke, I ·started [was about] to write. But I heard a voice from heaven say, “·Keep hidden [L Seal up; Dan. 12:4] what the seven thunders said, and do not write them down.”
5 Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven [C as when taking an oath; Ex. 6:8; Deut. 32:40], 6 and he ·made a promise [swore an oath] ·by the power of the One [L by the One] who lives forever and ever [Dan. 12:7]. He is the One who ·made [created] the ·skies [or heavens] and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it [Gen. 1]. The angel ·promised [swore an oath], “There will be no ·more waiting [delay; L time]! 7 [L But] In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s ·secret [mystery; hidden plan] will be ·finished [completed]. This ·secret [mystery; hidden plan] is ·the Good News God told [or just as he announced] to his servants, the prophets [Amos 3:7; 1 Pet. 1:10–12].”
8 Then I heard the same voice from heaven again, saying to me: “Go and take the open scroll that is in the hand of the angel that is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. And he said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it [C a symbol of internalizing the word]. It will be ·sour [bitter] in your stomach [C because it is a message of judgment], but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey [C because it is God’s word and because it brings salvation and vindication to his people; Ps. 119:103; Jer. 15:16; Ezek. 2:8—3:3].” 10 So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet as honey, but after I ate it, it was ·sour [bitter] in my stomach. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages, and kings [C he must share the word he just received].”
Stories of a Treasure and a Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so ·happy [joyful; excited] that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field.
45 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.
A Story of a Fishing Net
47 “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a ·net [dragnet; C a net dragged between two boats, or between a boat and the shore] that was put into the ·lake [sea] and caught many different kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the ·bad [worthless] fish. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the ·good [righteous] people. 50 The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace [Dan. 3:11, 19–30], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [L there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; v. 42].”
51 Jesus asked his ·followers [disciples], “Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
52 Then Jesus said to them, “So every ·teacher of the law [scribe] who has ·been taught about [become a disciple of] the kingdom of heaven is like the ·owner [head] of a house. He brings out both new things and old things ·he has saved [L from his treasure/storeroom; C knowledge of the Old Testament provides insight into Jesus’ “new” message of the kingdom of God].”
Jesus Goes to His Hometown(A)
53 When Jesus finished teaching [see 7:28] with these ·stories [parables], he left there. 54 He went to his hometown [C Nazareth; 2:23; Luke 2:39] and taught the people in their synagogue, and they were ·amazed [astonished]. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and this power to do miracles? 55 ·He is just [Isn’t this…?] the son of ·a [L the] carpenter. ·His mother is Mary [L Isn’t his mother called Mary…?], and his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 And all his sisters are here with us. Where then does this man get all these things?” 57 So the people were ·upset with [offended by] Jesus.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is ·honored everywhere [not dishonored] except in his hometown and in his own ·home [family; household].”
58 So he did not do many miracles there because ·they had no faith [of their unbelief].
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