Book of Common Prayer
A Davidic Psalm, while he was in the Judean wilderness.
Joyful Trust in God
63 God, you are my God!
I will fervently seek you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my flesh longs for you in a dry, weary, and parched land.
2 So I have looked for you in the sanctuary,
to behold your power and glory.
3 Because your gracious love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in your name.
5 Just as I am satisfied with the choicest of foods,[a]
so my lips will praise you joyfully.
6 When I think of you in bed,
I will meditate on you in the night watches.
7 For you have been my strength,
and in the shadow of your wings I will shout for joy.
8 My soul clings to you,
even as your right hand supports me.
9 But as for those who seek to destroy me,
they will go down to the depths of the earth;
10 May they be given over to the power of[b] the sword;
may they become carrion for jackals.
11 But as for the king,
he will rejoice in God.
Indeed, everyone who swears by God[c] will exult,
because the mouths of liars will be silenced.
A psalm
Sing Praise to the King
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done awesome deeds!
His right hand and powerful[a] arm[b]
have brought him victory.
2 The Lord has made his deliverance known;
he has disclosed his justice before the nations.
3 He has remembered his gracious love;
his faithfulness toward the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth saw our God’s deliverance.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Break forth into joyful songs of praise!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with a lyre—
with a lyre and a melodious song!
6 With trumpets and the sound of a ram’s horn
shout in the presence of the Lord, the king!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,[c]
along with the world and its inhabitants;
8 let the rivers clap their hands in unison;
and let the mountains sing for joy
9 in the Lord’s presence, who comes to judge the earth;
He’ll judge the world righteously;
and its people fairly.
Davidic
Praise God, who Forgives
103 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and all that is within me, bless[a] his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
and never forget any of his benefits:
3 He continues to forgive all your sins,
he continues to heal all your diseases,
4 he continues to redeem your life from the Pit,[b]
and he continuously surrounds you
with gracious love and compassion.
5 He keeps satisfying you with good things,
and he keeps renewing your youth like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord continuously does what is right,
executing justice for all who are being oppressed.
7 He revealed his plans[c] to Moses
and his deeds to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
patient,[d] and abundantly rich in gracious love.
9 He does not maintain a dispute[e] continuously
or remain angry for all time.
10 He neither deals with us according to our sins,
nor repays us equivalent to our iniquity.
11 As high as heaven rises above earth,
so his gracious love strengthens[f] those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
that is how far he has removed our sins from us.
13 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,
aware that we were made from dust.
15 A person’s life is like grass—
it blossoms like wild flowers,
16 but when the wind blows through it,
it withers away and no one remembers where it was.
17 Yet the Lord’s gracious love remains
throughout eternity for those who fear him
and his righteous acts extend to their children’s children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and to those who remember to observe his precepts.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you angels who belong to him,
you mighty warriors who carry out his commands,
who are obedient to the sound of his words.[g]
21 Bless the Lord, all his heavenly armies,
his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his creation,[h]
in all the places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
15 I am talking to sensible people. Apply what I am saying to yourselves. 16 The cup of blessing that we bless is our fellowship in the blood of the Messiah,[a] isn’t it? The bread that we break is our fellowship in the body of the Messiah,[b] isn’t it? 17 Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, because all of us eat from the same loaf.
18 Look at the Israelis from a human point of view.[c] Those who eat the sacrifices share in what is on the altar, don’t they? 19 Am I suggesting that an offering made to idols means anything, or that an idol itself means anything? 20 Hardly! What they offer, they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot dine with the Lord and dine with demons, 22 or you’ll provoke the Lord to jealousy, won’t you? Are we stronger than he is?
All to the Glory of God
23 Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up. 24 No one should seek his own welfare, but rather his neighbor’s.
Dealing with a Brother who Sins(A)
15 “If your brother sins against you,[a] go and confront him while the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. 16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two others with you so that ‘every word may be confirmed by the testimony[b] of two or three witnesses.’[c] 17 If, however, he ignores them, tell it to the congregation.[d] If he also ignores the congregation,[e] regard him as an unbeliever[f] and a tax collector.
18 “I tell all of you[g] with certainty, whatever you prohibit on earth will have been prohibited[h] in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will have been permitted[i] in heaven. 19 Furthermore, I tell all of you[j] with certainty that if two of you agree on earth about anything you request, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven, 20 because where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among them.”
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