Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63[a]
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1 You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,(A)
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.(B)
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary(C)
and beheld your power and your glory.(D)
3 Because your love is better than life,(E)
my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,(F)
and in your name I will lift up my hands.(G)
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;(H)
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.(I)
7 Because you are my help,(J)
I sing in the shadow of your wings.(K)
8 I cling to you;(L)
your right hand upholds me.(M)
Psalm 98
A psalm.
1 Sing to the Lord(A) a new song,(B)
for he has done marvelous things;(C)
his right hand(D) and his holy arm(E)
have worked salvation(F) for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known(G)
and revealed his righteousness(H) to the nations.(I)
3 He has remembered(J) his love
and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth(K) have seen
the salvation of our God.(L)
4 Shout for joy(M) to the Lord, all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,(N)
with the harp and the sound of singing,(O)
6 with trumpets(P) and the blast of the ram’s horn(Q)—
shout for joy(R) before the Lord, the King.(S)
7 Let the sea(T) resound, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.(U)
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,(V)
let the mountains(W) sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.(X)
Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the Lord,(A) my soul;(B)
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.(C)
2 Praise the Lord,(D) my soul,
and forget not(E) all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins(F)
and heals(G) all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life(H) from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,(I)
5 who satisfies(J) your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed(K) like the eagle’s.(L)
7 He made known(O) his ways(P) to Moses,
his deeds(Q) to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,(R)
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;(S)
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve(T)
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love(U) for those who fear him;(V)
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions(W) from us.
13 As a father has compassion(X) on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,(Y)
he remembers that we are dust.(Z)
15 The life of mortals is like grass,(AA)
they flourish like a flower(AB) of the field;
16 the wind blows(AC) over it and it is gone,
and its place(AD) remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children(AE)—
18 with those who keep his covenant(AF)
and remember(AG) to obey his precepts.(AH)
20 Praise the Lord,(AK) you his angels,(AL)
you mighty ones(AM) who do his bidding,(AN)
who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,(AO)
you his servants(AP) who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works(AQ)
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul.(AR)
Love and Obey the Lord
11 Love(A) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.(B) 2 Remember today that your children(C) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:(D) his majesty,(E) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;(F) 3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;(G) 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,(H) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea[a](I) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. 5 It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, 6 and what he did(J) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened(K) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.(L)
8 Observe therefore all the commands(M) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,(N) 9 and so that you may live long(O) in the land the Lord swore(P) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(Q) 10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,(R) from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys(S) that drinks rain from heaven.(T) 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes(U) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another mighty angel(A) coming down from heaven.(B) He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow(C) above his head; his face was like the sun,(D) and his legs were like fiery pillars.(E) 2 He was holding a little scroll,(F) which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,(G) 3 and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion.(H) When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders(I) spoke. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write;(J) but I heard a voice from heaven(K) say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”(L)
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land(M) raised his right hand to heaven.(N) 6 And he swore(O) by him who lives for ever and ever,(P) who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it,(Q) and said, “There will be no more delay!(R) 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet,(S) the mystery(T) of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”(U)
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven(V) spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll(W) that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’[a]”(X) 10 I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth,(Y) but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11 Then I was told, “You must prophesy(Z) again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”(AA)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like(A) treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.(B)
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like(C) a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like(D) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds(E) of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous(F) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(G)
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
A Prophet Without Honor(H)
53 When Jesus had finished these parables,(I) he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,(J) and they were amazed.(K) “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?(L) Isn’t his mother’s(M) name Mary, and aren’t his brothers(N) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense(O) at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”(P)
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
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