Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63[a]
Thirst for God
1 A psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[b]
2 O God, you are my God,
for whom I have been searching earnestly.[c]
My soul yearns for you
and my body thirsts for you,
like the earth when it is parched,
arid and without water.
3 I have gazed upon you in the sanctuary
so that I may behold your power[d] and your glory.
4 Your kindness[e] is a greater joy than life itself;
thus my lips will speak your praise.
5 I will bless you all my life;
with uplifted hands[f] I will call on your name.
6 My soul[g] will be satisfied as at a banquet
and with rejoicing lips my mouth will praise you.
7 I think of you while I lie upon my bed,[h]
and I meditate on you during the watches of the night.
8 For you are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.[i]
9 My soul clings tightly to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
10 [j]Those who seek my life will incur ruin;
they will sink down into the depths of the earth.
11 They will be slain by the sword
and their flesh will become food for jackals.[k]
12 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by him[l] will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Psalm 98[a]
Praise of the Lord, King and Judge
1 A psalm.
Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he has accomplished marvelous deeds.
His right hand and his holy arm
have made him victorious.
2 The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has manifested his righteousness for all the nations to see.[c]
3 He has remembered his kindness[d] and his fidelity
to the house of Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth have witnessed
the salvation of our God.
4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
raise your voices in songs of praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious singing.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully to the King, the Lord.[e]
7 [f]Let the sea resound and everything in it,
the world[g] and all its inhabitants.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands
and the mountains shout for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord, who is coming,
coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and the nations with fairness.[h]
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of God’s Providence
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;[b]
my entire being, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases.[c]
4 He redeems[d] your life from the pit
and crowns you with kindness and mercy.
5 He satisfies your years with good things
and renews your youth like an eagle’s.[e]
6 The Lord performs acts of righteousness
and administers justice for all who are oppressed.
7 [f]He made known his ways[g] to Moses,
his wondrous deeds to the people of Israel.
8 [h]The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
9 He will not always rebuke,
nor will he remain angry forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our offenses.
11 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.[i]
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.[j]
13 [k]As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed;
he remembers that we are only dust.[l]
15 The days of mortal man are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field.
16 The wind sweeps over him, and he is gone,
and his place never sees him again.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the kindness[m] of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant
and diligently observe his commandments.[n]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.[o]
20 [p]Bless the Lord, O you his angels,[q]
you mighty in strength who do his bidding,
who obey his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, O you his hosts,
his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[r]
15 On the seventh day they rose at daybreak and went around the city seven times just as they had before, but that day they went around the city seven times. 16 On the seventh time around when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout out, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it are devoted[a] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are in her household, for she hid the spies whom we sent there. 18 But avoid those things that are dedicated, lest you call a curse on yourself when you take something that is dedicated and you bring a curse and destruction upon the camp of Israel. 19 All the silver and gold and objects of bronze and iron are dedicated to the Lord. They must go into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 The people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpets and the people let out a great shout, the wall collapsed, and each man went up in a straight line and they took the city. 21 They wiped out everything that was in the city, men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, by the edge of the sword.
22 Rahab’s Family Spared. But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the countryside, “Go to the harlot’s house and bring her out to me, her and everyone who is with her, just as you promised her that you would do.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and everyone whom she had with her. They brought out the entire family and left them outside of the camp of Israel. 24 They then burned the entire city with everything that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the objects of bronze and iron were put into the treasury in the house of the Lord. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, along with her father’s household, and all that she owned because she had hid the spies whom Joshua had sent. She lives among the Israelites up to the present.
26 Joshua then said, “May the man who attempts to rebuild this city, Jericho, be cursed by the Lord. May he lose his firstborn[b] if he lays its foundation, may he lose his youngest if he sets up its gates.” 27 The Lord was with Joshua, and his reputation became known throughout the land.
30 Paul’s First Trial—before the Sanhedrin.[a] Since the commander wanted to learn with certitude what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, he released him on the following day and ordered the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin to meet. Then he brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
Chapter 23
1 Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brethren, to this very day, I have conducted myself before God with a perfectly clear conscience.” 2 At this, the high priest Ananias[b] ordered his attendants to strike him on the mouth.
3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there to judge me according to the Law and then in defiance of the Law order me to be struck?” 4 The attendants said, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” 5 Paul replied, “Brethren, I did not realize that he was the high priest. It is clearly written: ‘You shall not curse the ruler of your people.’ ”
6 Well aware that some of them were Sadducees and the others were Pharisees, Paul called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning our hope in the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute ensued between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees hold that there is no resurrection and that there are no angels or spirits, while the Pharisees believe in all three.
9 Then a great uproar arose, and some of the scribes belonging to the party of the Pharisees stood up and forcefully stated, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has really spoken to him?” 10 When a violent dissension arose, the commander was fearful that Paul would be torn to pieces. He ordered the soldiers to go down, seize him from their midst, and bring him into the barracks.
11 On the following night, the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Keep up your courage! For just as you have borne witness to me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
First Oppositions[a]
Chapter 2
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man. 1 When Jesus returned some days later to Capernaum, the word quickly spread that he was at home. 2 Such large multitudes gathered there that no longer was any space available, even in front of the door, and he was preaching the word to them.
3 Some people arrived, bringing to him a man who was paralyzed, carried by four men. 4 Since they were unable to bring him near Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above him and then lowered the bed on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5 On perceiving their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some scribes[b] were sitting there, thinking to themselves: 7 “How can this man say such things? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Jesus was able immediately to discern in his spirit what they were thinking, and he asked, “Why do you entertain such thoughts in your hearts? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say: ‘Stand up, take your mat, and walk’? 10 But that you may come to realize that the Son of Man[c] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man— 11 “I say to you, stand up, take your bed, and go to your home.” 12 The man stood up, immediately picked up his bed, and went off in full view of all of them. The onlookers were all astonished and they glorified God, saying, “We have never before witnessed anything like this.”
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