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)

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III

Psalm 98^[a]

The Coming of God

¹ A psalm.

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Psalm 103^[a]

Praise of Divine Goodness

¹ Of David.

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IV

Chapter 11

Recalling the Wonders of the Lord. ¹ Love the Lord, your God, therefore, and keep his charge, statutes, ordinances, and commandments always.^{(A) 2} Recall today that it was not your children, who have neither known nor seen the discipline of the Lord, your God—his greatness, his strong hand and outstretched arm;^{(B) 3} the signs and deeds he wrought in the midst of Egypt, on Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and on all his land;^{(C) 4} what he did to the Egyptian army and to their horses and chariots, engulfing them in the waters of the Red Sea^[a] as they pursued you,^(D) so that the Lord destroyed them even to this day; ⁵ what he did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; ⁶ and what he did to the Reubenites Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up out of the midst of Israel, with their families and tents and every living thing that belonged to them—^{(E) 7} but it was you who saw with your own eyes all these great deeds that the Lord has done.

The Gift of Rain. ^8 (F)So keep all the commandments I give you today, that you may be strong enough to enter in and take possession of the land that you are crossing over to possess, ⁹ and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord swore to your ancestors he would give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ The land you are to enter and possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you would sow your seed and then water it by hand,^[b] as in a vegetable garden. ^11 (G)No, the land into which you are crossing to take possession is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in rain from the heavens, ¹² a land which the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of the Lord, your God, are upon it continually through the year, from beginning to end.

Chapter 10

The Angel with the Small Scroll. ^1 [a]Then I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven wrapped in a cloud, with a halo around his head; his face was like the sun and his feet were like pillars of fire. ² In his hand he held a small scroll that had been opened. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,^{[b] 3} and then he cried out in a loud voice as a lion roars. When he cried out, the seven thunders^[c] raised their voices, too.^{(A) 4} When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write it down; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have spoken, but do not write it down.” ⁵ Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven ⁶ and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and earth and sea^[d] and all that is in them, “There shall be no more delay.^{(B) 7} At the time when you hear the seventh angel blow his trumpet, the mysterious plan of God^[e] shall be fulfilled, as he promised to his servants the prophets.”^(C)

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” ⁹ So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet^[f] as honey.” ¹⁰ I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.^{(D) 11} Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”^[g]

^44 (A)“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,^[a] which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. ⁴⁷ Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. ⁴⁹ Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

Treasures New and Old. ⁵¹ “Do you understand^[b] all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” ^52 [c]And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” ⁵³ When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

V. Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church

The Rejection at Nazareth. ^54 [d]He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.^(B) They were astonished^[e] and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?^{(C) 55} Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?^{(D) 56} Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”^{(E) 58} And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.