◀ All Reading Plans / Book of Common Prayer / Ps. 103; Ps. 111 114; Isa. 30:18–21; Acts 2:36–41 (42–47); John 14:15–31 (New Catholic Bible)

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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 103

Psalm 103^[a]

Praise of God’s Providence

¹Of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;^[b]
    my entire being, bless his holy name.
²Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and do not forget all his benefits.
³He forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases.^[c]
⁴He redeems^[d] your life from the pit
    and crowns you with kindness and mercy.
⁵He satisfies your years with good things
    and renews your youth like an eagle’s.^[e]
⁶The 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.
⁹He will not always rebuke,
    nor will he remain angry forever.
¹⁰He does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our offenses.
¹¹As high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.^[i]
¹²As 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.
¹⁴For he knows how we were formed;
    he remembers that we are only dust.^[l]
¹⁵The days of mortal man are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field.
¹⁶The wind sweeps over him, and he is gone,
    and his place never sees him again.
¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting
    the kindness^[m] of the Lord is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children,
¹⁸with those who keep his covenant
    and diligently observe his commandments.^[n]
¹⁹The 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.
²¹Bless the Lord, O you his hosts,
    his ministers who do his will.
²²Bless the Lord, all his works,
    everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.^[r]

Footnotes

Psalm 103:1 In its literary construction and sublime concepts, this psalm is one of the most pure and joyous of the Psalter. Healed of a grave sickness that he considers to have been caused by sin, the psalmist regards this cure doubled by God’s pardon as a privileged experience of the love of the Lord. By this favor, God has shown his love for the psalmist in concrete fashion, thus powerfully confirming for him the revelation he made of this love to Israel through the Exodus and to Moses in the meeting on Sinai.
God’s love is boundless for the righteous and magnanimous for sinners, disconcerting for the ephemeral creatures that we are and long-suffering to the point of extending to the far-off descendants of his faithful ones. Such is the love of the infinite God whose name is holy, whose throne is in heaven, and whose reign is eternal. He is the Father who will reveal Jesus and whose ineffable goodness Paul will proclaim (see 1 Cor 2:9). We can thus understand how right the psalmist is in calling upon heaven itself to celebrate such a God.
The signal corporal and spiritual cure obtained by the psalmist constitutes only a pale figure of the Resurrection that definitively snatches Jesus from corporal death and the sinful world and shows him his Father’s love with incomparable force. By sharing in the Resurrection of Christ through the sacraments, Christians discover that “God is love” in an experience derived from that of Christ and far superior to that of the psalmist. In all truth, every Christian can recite this psalm to praise the God who is love.
Psalm 103:1 Soul: see note on Ps 6:4. Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 103:3 Following the Old Testament understanding, the psalmist considers sufferings as the punishment for sin (see Ps 41:5; Ex 15:26).
Psalm 103:4 Redeems: i.e., “delivers.” Pit: i.e., the grave (see note on Ps 30:2).
Psalm 103:5 Like an eagle’s: because of its acknowledged long span of life, which at times reaches one hundred years, the eagle was regarded as a symbol of perennial youth and vigor (see Isa 40:31). It was thought that when an eagle became old and its eyes grew dim, it flew toward the sun, so that the film was burned away from its eyes and its plumage was renewed by the sun’s scorching rays.
Psalm 103:7 God made known his ways to Moses on Mount Sinai, telling him that his attitude toward human beings and his great works find their inspiration in his loving kindness. Passing mysteriously before Moses, God cried out: “The Lord, the Lord, a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and fidelity, who shows mercy to thousands. He forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, but will by no means forgive the iniquity of the fathers, visiting it upon their sons and their sons’ sons, to the third and fourth generation” (Ex 34:6f).
Psalm 103:7 His ways: see note on Ps 25:10.
Psalm 103:8 God pardons sinners who repent, a truth often affirmed (see Pss 86:15; 145:8; Ex 34:6; Neh 9:17; Isa 57:16; Jer 3:12; Joel 2:13; Jon 4:2). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
Psalm 103:11 Kindness: see note on 6:5. Those who fear him: see note on Ps 15:2-5.
Psalm 103:12 God places a huge gulf between his faithful and their sins, extending, as it were, from one end of the earth to the other (see Isa 1:18; 43:25; Jer 31:34; 50:20; Mic 7:18f).
Psalm 103:13 What an amazing condescension on the part of God’s love. Although he is well aware that we are fragile and ephemeral creatures who, like grass or flowers, are carried off by the slightest breeze, God keeps in his love the whole lives of his servants. He presents a just account of their merits and blesses their descendants who are faithful to his covenant.
Psalm 103:14 The Lord has compassion on those “who fear him” (v. 13) because he knows their frailty, that they are but dust (see Gen 2:7; 3:19; Job 4:19; Eccl 3:20; 12:7).
Psalm 103:17 Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
Psalm 103:18 Keeping the covenant entails obeying the Lord’s commandments (see Ex 20:6; Deut 7:9), i.e., doing the will of God (see Mt 6:9-15).
Psalm 103:19 His kingdom rules over all: see Pss 22:29; 145:11-13. The Book of Obadiah concludes with this cry of triumphant eschatology (v. 21: “and dominion will belong to the Lord”).
Psalm 103:20 The psalmist calls upon all creatures to join him in praising the heavenly King who rules all things with love (see note on Ps 9:2).
Psalm 103:20 The angels are God’s messengers (see Ps 91:11).
Psalm 103:22 Bless the Lord, O my soul: this last line was probably added by the redactors of the Psalter to show that God’s word is efficacious by itself and needs no intermediary.

Psalm 111

Psalm 111^[a]

Praise of God for His Wondrous Works

¹Alleluia.

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart^[b]
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
²Great are the works of the Lord;^[c]
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
³His deeds^[d] show forth majesty and splendor,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
⁴He has won renown for his wonders;^[e]
    gracious and compassionate is the Lord.
⁵He provides food for those who fear him,^[f]
    and is forever mindful of his covenant.
⁶He has manifested the power of his works to his people
    by giving them the lands^[g] of the nations.
⁷The works of his hands^[h] are faithful and right,
    and all his commandments are trustworthy.
⁸They are established forever and ever
    to be observed in fidelity and truthfulness.
⁹He has granted deliverance to his people
    and established his covenant forever;
    holy and awe-inspiring is his name.^[i]
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;^[j]
    those who are guided by it will grow in understanding.
    His praise will last forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 111:1 A sage sets forth the essence of the religion of Israel: the Lord has delivered his people in order to conclude a covenant with them and to reveal his will to them. The author contemplates the divine “righteousness” (v. 3), i.e., everything the Lord has done in favor of his chosen ones, the wonders that in some way are renewed when they are recalled in the liturgy (v. 4): the miracle of the manna and the quail (v. 5), the gift of the Promised Land (v. 6), and the stability of the laws of the world and the moral order (v. 7). The sages who pursue this meditation and observe the law will be enabled to understand who God is: holy and redoubtable, compassionate and tender, so that they may render thanks to him.
In praying this psalm, we should keep in mind that the wonders to which it alludes are only a pale figure of the wonders that the Father has accomplished through, and in, his Incarnate Son on behalf of his new people, the Church (see Jn 5:20). After various physical cures and raisings from the dead, God works the glorious Resurrection of his Son and our own spiritual resurrection in him (see Eph 2:5f).
Psalm 111:1 Heart: see note on Ps 4:8. Council of the upright: probably a circle of friends and advisors, as in Ps 107:32. In the assembly: in the temple (see Ps 149:1).
Psalm 111:2 Works of the Lord: sometimes his deeds, as in verse 6, but more often the things he has made (the heavens, Pss 8:4; 19:2; 102:26; and the earth, Ps 104:24). Made “by . . . wisdom” (Ps 104:24), these lend themselves to meditation and lead to delight.
Psalm 111:3 Deeds: probably his providential acts as in Deut 32:4. We should keep in mind that, as Isa 45:9-13 indicates, God’s creation and providence are of one piece. Righteousness: as embodied in his deeds.
Psalm 111:4 Won renown for his wonders: by the celebration of annual feasts (see Ex 23:14), notably the Passover (for Christians, see 1 Cor 11:23-26). See also note on Ps 9:2. Gracious and compassionate: classic description of the meaning of God’s name (see Ps 103:8; Ex 34:6f).
Psalm 111:5 Food for those who fear him: probably a reference to the manna in the desert (see Ex 16:1ff), which in the New Testament is seen as a type of the Eucharist (see Jn 6:31-33, 49-51). The entire verse may also refer to God’s giving of our daily bread (see Mt 6:11) and his daily forbearance. His covenant: see Ps 105:8-11.
Psalm 111:6 Lands: literally, “inheritance, heritage.”
Psalm 111:7 There is complete harmony between what God does and what he says, between the works of his hands and his commandments.
Psalm 111:9 This verse recalls the miracles of the Exodus and the theophany at Sinai. Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: the motto of the Wisdom writings (see Job 28:28; Prov 1:7; 9:10; Eccl 12:13; Sir 1:18, 24; 19:17). Here it refers to God especially as Creator, Redeemer, and Provider.

Psalm 114

Psalm 114^[a]

The Lord’s Wonders at the Exodus

¹^[b]When Israel came out of Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of alien tongue,
²Judah became God’s sanctuary
    and Israel his domain.
³^[c]The sea fled at the sight;
    the Jordan turned back.
⁴The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs of the flock.
⁵^[d]What causes you to flee, O sea?
    Why, O Jordan, do you turn back?
⁶Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
    and like lambs of the flock, O hills?
⁷^[e]Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    and flint into a flowing spring.

Footnotes

Psalm 114:1 By reason of its literary composition and poetic inspiration, this poem constitutes a little masterpiece. Felicitously, the poet personifies, herein, the elements of nature led in a dance by God during the Exodus, to make them keen-eyed witnesses of the Lord’s triumphal march at the head of his people. Israel belongs so strongly to God that it is like his sanctuary and his domain (v. 2). On an epic and triumphal tone, the people underline the time beyond compare when God established this destiny for them: it is the great adventure of their deliverance.
When the Lord passes by with his people, the sea and waters flee (see Ex 14:15-31; Jos 3:7-17), Sinai thunders and smokes (see Ex 19:16-18), the source springs forth in the desert rocks (see Ex 17:1-7; Num 20:1-13). These remembrances of the Exodus are like the prelude to the upheaval of the universe announcing the coming of God at the end of the earthly ages.
We can pray this psalm in union with the Church ceaselessly meditating on and celebrating the privileged hour of her beginnings: the Passover of Christ that opens up for humankind a destiny of salvation in a new Exodus. Nature bows down before the divine Pioneer of this Exodus. The waters become calm and peaceful in the Sea of Galilee at a word from him: “Be still!” (Mk 4:39), while the mountains tremble at the moment of his Death and Resurrection (Mt 27:51; 28:2), as well as at the moment of his great interventions in history (see Rev 11:19; 16:18).
Psalm 114:1 The deliverance from a foreign country was only a preamble to the greater deeds: the election of the chosen people and the making of the covenant on Sinai. Judah, the province of the tribe of that name, became the sanctuary of God and all Israel his kingdom; it was a theocracy, a priestly kingdom (see Ex 19:3-6; Jer 2:3). This was a grand event prefiguring the redemption to come and the birth of the Church.
Psalm 114:3 The wonder of Israel’s election as the People of God has its effect on the world of nature. The Red Sea and the Jordan River scurry around to make way for their Creator, and the mountains and hills are all animated and agog at his majestic coming (see Pss 18:8-16; 68:8ff; 77:17-20; Jdg 5:4f; Hab 3:3-10).
Psalm 114:5 The psalmist calls upon the Red Sea, the Jordan, and the mountains to bear witness to the great event when God established his kingdom on earth.
Psalm 114:7 The God of Israel (Jacob) is none other than the Lord of the universe (see Ps 97:4-6; Rev 20:11). He is still providing streams of blessings for his people as he did at Kadesh, at the waters of Meribah (see Ps 107:35; Ex 17:6; Num 20:8; Deut 8:15; 1 Cor 10:4) and also at the return from the Exile, prefigured by the Exodus and Conquest (see Isa 41:15ff; 42:15; 43:20). On the symbolism of the waters, see Pss 46:2-7; 110:7.

Isaiah 30:18-21

¹⁸But even so the Lord is waiting to be gracious to you,
    and he will rise up to grant you his compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
    blessed are all those who wait for him.
¹⁹O people of Zion who dwell in Jerusalem,
    you will weep no more.
The Lord will be gracious to you
    when you cry out to him for help;
when he hears your call,
    he will answer you.
²⁰Although the Lord may give you the bread of adversity
    and the water of affliction,
he who is your Teacher will no longer hide himself,
    but with your own eyes you will see your Teacher.
²¹And when you stray from your path,
    whether to the right or to the left,
you will hear his voice behind you,
    sounding in your ears and saying,
    “This is the way; continue to follow it.”

Acts 2:36-47

³⁶“Therefore, let the whole house of Israel know with complete certitude that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “What are we to do, brethren?” ³⁸Peter answered, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise that was made is for you, for your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰Life of the First Community—I.^[a] He offered further testimony with many other arguments as he exhorted them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand people were added to their number. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers.

⁴³A sense of awe was felt by all for many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and owned everything in common. ⁴⁵They would sell their property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to all according to what each one needed. ⁴⁶Every day, united in spirit, they would assemble together in the temple. They would break bread in their homes and share their food with joyful and generous hearts ⁴⁷as they praised God, and they were regarded with favor by all the people. And day by day the Lord added to those who were being saved.

John 14:15-31

¹⁵“If you love me,
you will keep my commandments.
¹⁶And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you forever,
¹⁷the Spirit of Truth
whom the world cannot accept
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him,
because he dwells with you
and will be in you.
¹⁸“I will not leave you orphans;
I will come to you.
¹⁹In a little while,
the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me.
Because I live,
you also will live.
²⁰On that day, you will know
that I am in my Father,
and you in me, and I in you.
²¹“Anyone who has received my commandments
and observes them
is the one who loves me.
And whoever loves me
will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him
and reveal myself to him.”

²²Judas (not Judas Iscariot)^[a] asked him, “Lord, why is it that you are revealing yourself to us and not to the world?” ²³Jesus answered him,

“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him
and make our abode with him.
²⁴Whoever does not love me
does not keep my words.
And the word that you hear
is not my own,
but that of the Father who sent me.
²⁵“I have told you these things
while I am still with you.
²⁶However, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all
that I have said to you.

The Peace of Jesus^[b]

²⁷“Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives
do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled;
be not afraid.
²⁸“You have heard me say to you,
‘I am going away,
and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice
that I am going to the Father,
for the Father is greater than I.^[c]
²⁹And now I have told you this
before it happens,
so that when it does happen
you may believe.
³⁰“I will no longer talk at length with you
because the prince of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
³¹but the world must come to understand
that I love the Father
and that I do
just as the Father has commanded me.
Get up! Let us be on our way.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 103[a]

Praise of God’s Providence

Footnotes

Psalm 111[a]

Praise of God for His Wondrous Works

Footnotes

Psalm 114[a]

The Lord’s Wonders at the Exodus

Footnotes

Footnotes

The Peace of Jesus[b]

Footnotes

Psalm 103^[a]

Psalm 111^[a]

Psalm 114^[a]

The Peace of Jesus^[b]