Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David when he was in the Desert of Judah.
63 God, you are my God.
I seek you with all my heart.
With all my strength I thirst for you
in this dry desert
where there isn’t any water.
2 I have seen you in the sacred tent.
There I have seen your power and your glory.
3 Your love is better than life.
So I will bring glory to you with my lips.
4 I will praise you as long as I live.
I will call on your name when I lift up my hands in prayer.
5 I will be as satisfied as if I had eaten the best food there is.
I will sing praise to you with my mouth.
6 As I lie on my bed I remember you.
I think of you all night long.
7 Because you have helped me,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I hold on to you tightly.
Your powerful right hand takes good care of me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed.
They will go down into the grave.
10 They will be killed by swords.
They will become food for wild dogs.
11 But the king will be filled with joy because of what God has done.
All those who make promises in God’s name will be able to brag.
But the mouths of liars will be shut.
A psalm.
98 Sing a new song to the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
By the power of his right hand and his holy arm
he has saved his people.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save.
He has shown the nations that he does what is right.
3 He has shown his faithful love
to the people of Israel.
People from one end of the earth to the other
have seen that our God has saved us.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
Burst into joyful songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with the harp.
Sing and make music with the harp.
6 Blow the trumpets. Give a blast on the ram’s horn.
Shout for joy to the Lord. He is the King.
7 Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
Let the world and all who live in it shout.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing together with joy.
9 Let them sing to the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the nations of the world
in keeping with what is right and fair.
A psalm of David.
103 I will praise the Lord.
Deep down inside me, I will praise him.
I will praise him, because his name is holy.
2 I will praise the Lord.
I won’t forget anything he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins.
He heals all my sicknesses.
4 He saves my life from going down into the grave.
His faithful and tender love makes me feel like a king.
5 He satisfies me with the good things I desire.
Then I feel young and strong again, just like an eagle.
6 The Lord does what is right and fair
for all who are treated badly.
7 He told Moses all about his plans.
He let the people of Israel see his mighty acts.
8 The Lord is tender and kind. He is gracious.
He is slow to get angry. He is full of love.
9 He won’t keep bringing charges against us.
He won’t stay angry with us forever.
10 He doesn’t punish us for our sins as much as we should be punished.
He doesn’t pay us back in keeping with the evil things we’ve done.
11 He loves those who have respect for him.
His love is as high as the heavens are above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins from us.
He has removed them as far as the east is from the west.
13 A father is tender and kind to his children.
In the same way, the Lord is tender and kind
to those who have respect for him.
14 He knows what we are made of.
He remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of human beings is like grass.
People grow like the flowers in the field.
16 When the wind blows on them, they are gone.
No one can tell that they had ever been there.
17 But the Lord’s love
for those who have respect for him
lasts for ever and ever.
Their children’s children will know
that he always does what is right.
18 He always loves those who keep his covenant.
He always does what is right for those who remember to obey his commands.
19 The Lord has set up his throne in heaven.
His kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his.
Praise him, you mighty ones
who carry out his orders and obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all you angels in heaven.
Praise him, all you who serve him and do what he wants.
22 Let everything the Lord has made praise him
everywhere in his kingdom.
I will praise the Lord.
3 So I prayed to the Lord God. I begged him. I made many appeals to him. I didn’t eat anything. I put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. And I sat down in ashes.
4 I prayed to the Lord my God. I admitted that we had sinned. I said,
“Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. 5 We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.
7 “Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you. 8 Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you. 9 You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you. 10 You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets.
10 God has made everything. He is now bringing his many sons and daughters to share in his glory. It is only right that Jesus is the one to lead them into their salvation. That’s because God made him perfect by his sufferings. 11 And Jesus, who makes people holy, and the people he makes holy belong to the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He says,
“I will announce your name to my brothers and sisters.
I will sing your praises among those who worship you.” (Psalm 22:22)
13 Again he says,
“I will put my trust in him.” (Isaiah 8:17)
And again he says,
“Here I am. Here are the children God has given me.” (Isaiah 8:18)
14 Those children have bodies made out of flesh and blood. So Jesus became human like them in order to die for them. By doing this, he could break the power of the devil. The devil is the one who rules over the kingdom of death. 15 Jesus could set people free who were afraid of death. All their lives they were held as slaves by that fear. 16 It is certainly Abraham’s children that he helps. He doesn’t help angels. 17 So he had to be made like people, fully human in every way. Then he could serve God as a kind and faithful high priest. And then he could pay for the sins of the people by dying for them. 18 He himself suffered when he was tempted. Now he is able to help others who are being tempted.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only. They also believe in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world to be its light. So no one who believes in me will stay in darkness.
47 “I don’t judge a person who hears my words but does not obey them. I didn’t come to judge the world. I came to save the world. 48 But there is a judge for anyone who does not accept me and my words. These words I have spoken will judge them on the last day. 49 I did not speak on my own. The Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have said. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So everything I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”
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