Book of Common Prayer
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David, [a]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, (A)You are my God; I shall seek You [b]earnestly;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh [c]yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 Thus I have (D)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your (E)lovingkindness 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 [d]marrow 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 [e]to You;
Your (O)right hand upholds me.
9 But those who (P)seek my [f]life to destroy it,
Will go into the [g](Q)depths of the earth.
10 [h]They will be [i](R)delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a [j](S)prey for foxes.
11 But the (T)king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who (U)swears by Him will glory,
For the (V)mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And (C)forget none of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your iniquities,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with lovingkindness 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)acts to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He (P)will not always strive 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 iniquities.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our transgressions 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 frame;
He (W)is mindful that we are but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
As 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 acknowledges it no longer.
17 But the (AC)lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [f]fear Him,
And His [g]righteousness (AD)to children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts 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 hosts,
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, O my soul!
21 (A)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to (B)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the (C)rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, “You must not go up and fight against your [a]relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, (D)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned and went their way according to the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam’s Idolatry
25 Then (E)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived [b]there. And he went out from there and built (F)Penuel. 26 Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 (G)If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king [c]consulted, and (H)made two golden (I)calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; (J)behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 He set (K)one in (L)Bethel, and the other he put in (M)Dan. 30 Now (N)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And (O)he made houses on high places, and (P)made priests from among [d]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam [e]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, (Q)like the feast which is in Judah, and he [f]went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel (R)the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 Then he [g]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had [h](S)devised [i]in his own heart; and he [j]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and [k]went up to the altar (T)to burn [l]incense.
18 And when they had summoned them, they (A)commanded them not to speak or teach at all [a]in the name of Jesus. 19 But (B)Peter and John answered and said to them, “(C)Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for (D)we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) (E)on account of the people, because they were all (F)glorifying God for what had happened; 22 for the man was more than forty years old on whom this [b]miracle of healing had been performed.
23 When they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O [c]Lord, it is You who (G)made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who (H)by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,
‘(I)Why did the [d]Gentiles rage,
And the peoples devise futile things?
26 ‘(J)The kings of the earth [e]took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His [f](K)Christ.’
27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy [g](L)servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both (M)Herod and (N)Pontius Pilate, along with (O)the [h]Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and (P)Your purpose predestined to occur. 29 And [i]now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may (Q)speak Your word with all (R)confidence, 30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and [j](S)signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy [k](T)servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the (U)place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all (V)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (W)speak the word of God with (X)boldness.
31 The Jews (A)picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for (B)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, (C)make Yourself out to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in (D)your (E)Law, ‘(F)I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him, whom the Father (G)sanctified and (H)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘(I)I am the Son of God’? 37 (J)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe (K)the works, so that you may [a]know and understand that (L)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” 39 Therefore (M)they were seeking again to seize Him, and (N)He eluded their grasp.
40 And He went away (O)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there. 41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no (P)sign, yet (Q)everything John said about this man was true.” 42 (R)Many believed in Him there.
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