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.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 O sing to the Lord a (A)new song,
For He has done (B)wonderful things,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]gained the victory for Him.
2 (E)The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has (F)revealed His [b]righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
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!
Judgment on the Day of the Lord
6 Wail, for the (A)day of the Lord is near!
It will come as (B)destruction from [a]the Almighty.
7 Therefore (C)all hands will fall limp,
And every man’s (D)heart will melt.
8 They will be (E)terrified,
Pains and anguish will take hold of them;
They will (F)writhe like a woman in labor,
They will look at one another in astonishment,
Their faces aflame.
9 Behold, (G)the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the (H)stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The (I)sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will (J)punish the world for its evil
And the (K)wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the (L)arrogance of the proud
And abase the (M)haughtiness of the [b](N)ruthless.
12 I will make mortal man [c](O)scarcer than pure gold
And mankind than the (P)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the (Q)heavens tremble,
And (R)the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the Lord of hosts
In (S)the day of His burning anger.
Contrast of Sinai and Zion
18 (A)For you have not come to (B)a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 19 and to the (C)blast of a trumpet and the (D)sound of words which sound was such that those who heard (E)begged that no further word be spoken to them. 20 For they could not bear the command, “(F)If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” 21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “(G)I am full of fear and trembling.” 22 But (H)you have come to Mount Zion and to (I)the city of (J)the living God, (K)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to (L)myriads of [a]angels, 23 to the general assembly and (M)church of the firstborn who (N)are enrolled in heaven, and to God, (O)the Judge of all, and to the (P)spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the (Q)mediator of a new covenant, and to the (R)sprinkled blood, which speaks better than (S)the blood of Abel.
The Unshaken Kingdom
25 (T)See to it that you do not refuse Him who is (U)speaking. For (V)if those did not escape when they (W)refused him who (X)warned them on earth, [b]much less will we escape who turn away from Him who (Y)warns from heaven. 26 And (Z)His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “(AA)Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes (AB)the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we receive a (AC)kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us [c]show gratitude, by which we may (AD)offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; 29 for (AE)our God is a consuming fire.
John’s Last Testimony
22 After these things Jesus and His (A)disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and (B)baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for (C)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about (D)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “(E)Rabbi, He who was with you (F)beyond the Jordan, to whom you (G)have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27 John answered and said, “(H)A man can receive nothing unless it (I)has been given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [a]are my witnesses that I said, ‘(J)I am not the [b]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is (K)the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this (L)joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
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