Book of Common Prayer
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David, [a]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 God, (A)You are my God; I shall be watching for You;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and exhausted land where there is no water.
2 So have I (D)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and glory.
3 Because Your [b](E)favor is better than life,
My lips will praise You.
4 So I will bless You (F)as long as I live;
I will (G)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is (H)satisfied as with fat and fatness,
And my mouth offers (I)praises with joyful lips.
6 When I remember You (J)on my bed,
I meditate on You in the (K)night watches,
7 For (L)You have been my help,
And in the (M)shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul (N)clings [c]to You;
Your (O)right hand takes hold of me.
9 But those who (P)seek my [d]life to destroy it,
Will go into the [e](Q)depths of the earth.
10 [f]They will be [g](R)turned over to the power of the sword;
They will be a [h](S)prey for foxes.
11 But the (T)king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who (U)swears by Him will boast,
For the (V)mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 Sing a (A)new song to the Lord,
For He has done (B)wonderful things,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]gained the victory for Him.
2 (E)The Lord has made His salvation known;
He has (F)revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His graciousness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And (C)do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your guilt,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord (J)performs [b]righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (K)oppressed.
7 He (L)made known His ways to Moses,
His (M)deeds to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He (P)will not always contend with us,
Nor will He (Q)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just (U)as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who [d]fear Him.
14 For (V)He Himself knows [e]our form;
He (W)is mindful that we are nothing but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
Like a (Z)flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the (AA)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its (AB)place no longer knows about it.
17 But the [f](AC)mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [g]fear Him,
And His justice (AD)to the children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.
19 The Lord has established His (AF)throne in the heavens,
And His [h](AG)sovereignty rules over [i]all.
20 Bless the Lord, you (AH)His angels,
(AI)Mighty in strength, who (AJ)perform His word,
(AK)Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you (AL)His [j]angels,
You (AM)who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, (AN)all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Rewards of Obedience
11 “You shall therefore (A)love the Lord your God, and always (B)keep His directive, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments. 2 Know this day (C)that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the [a]discipline of the Lord your God—His greatness, His mighty hand, His outstretched arm, 3 and (D)His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; 4 and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, (E)when He made the water of the [b]Red Sea [c]engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the Lord [d]completely eliminated them; 5 and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 6 and (F)what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and (G)every living thing that [e]followed them, among all Israel— 7 but your own eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which He did.
8 “You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, (H)so that you may be strong and go in and take possession of the land into which you are about to cross to possess it; 9 and (I)so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their [f]descendants, (J)a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it [g]by your foot like a vegetable garden. 11 But (K)the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; (L)the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it, from the [h]beginning even to the end of the year.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 I saw another (A)strong angel (B)coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and the (C)rainbow was on his head, and (D)his face was like the sun, and his (E)feet like pillars of fire; 2 and he had in his hand a (F)little scroll, which was open. He placed (G)his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; 3 and he cried out with a loud voice, (H)as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the (I)seven peals of thunder [a]uttered their voices. 4 When the seven peals of thunder had spoken, (J)I was about to write; and I (K)heard a voice from heaven, saying, “(L)Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them.” 5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land (M)raised his right hand to heaven, 6 (N)and swore by (O)Him who lives forever and ever, (P)who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that (Q)there will no longer be a delay, 7 but in the days of the voice of the (R)seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then (S)the mystery of God is finished, as He announced to His servants the prophets.
8 Then (T)the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take (U)the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who (V)stands on the sea and on the land.” 9 And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little scroll. And he *said to me, “(W)Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. 11 And (X)they *said to me, “You must (Y)prophesy again concerning (Z)many peoples, nations, languages, and (AA)kings.”
Hidden Treasure
44 “(A)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from [a]joy over it he goes and (B)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, (C)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, (D)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So it will be at (E)the [b]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and they (F)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (G)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And [c]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth
53 (H)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And (I)He came to [d]His hometown and (J)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that (K)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these [e]miraculous powers? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is (L)His mother not called Mary, and His (M)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And (N)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man acquire all these things?” 57 And they took (O)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “(P)A prophet is not dishonored except in his [f]hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many [g]miracles there because of their unbelief.
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