Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63
My Soul Thirsts for You
Heading
A psalm by David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[a]
Thirsting for God
1 God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
in a dry and dreary land without water.
2 Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
to see your power and your glory.
Joy Even in Adversity
3 Because your mercy is better than life,
my lips will worship you.
4 Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied with rich food.[b]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
6 Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
7 Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
8 My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.
Destruction for the Defiant
9 But those who seek my life will go to destruction.
They will go into the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the power of the sword.
They will become food for foxes.[c]
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear by him will praise him,
but the mouths of those speaking lies will be shut.
Psalm 103
Bless the Lord, Who Forgives All Your Sins
Heading
By David.
Invitation to Praise
1 Bless the Lord,[a] O my soul.
All that is within me, bless his holy name.
Praise for Personal Blessings
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits—
3 who pardons all your guilt,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with mercy and compassion,
5 who satisfies your life[b] with goodness,
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
Praise for Blessings Through Moses
6 The Lord performs righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel.
God’s Great Mercy
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always accuse.
He will not keep his anger forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve.
He does not repay us according to our guilty deeds.
God’s Mercy Illustrated
11 Yes, as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so powerful is his mercy toward those who fear him.
12 As distant as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our rebellious acts from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed.
He remembers that we are dust.
Man’s Short Life
15 As for man, his days are like grass.
Like a wildflower he blossoms.
16 Then the wind blows over it, and it is gone,
and its place recognizes it no more.
The Covenant With Moses Proclaims God’s Eternal Mercy
17 But the Lord’s mercy is from eternity to eternity
over those who fear him,
and his righteousness is with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant,
with those who remember his precepts in order to obey them.
Closing Praise
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his royal power rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you his angels,
you strong warriors who obey his word
by listening to what he says.
21 Bless the Lord, all his armies,
you who minister to him,
you who do whatever pleases him.
22 Bless the Lord, everything he has made
in all places where he rules.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.
(2 Chronicles 11:1-4)
21 When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he assembled the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand specially chosen soldiers, to fight against the house of Israel and to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God: 23 “Say the following to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the rest of the people. 24 This is what the Lord says. Do not attack and do not fight against your brothers, the people of Israel. Go home, every one of you, for this turn of events is from me.”
So they listened to the word of the Lord, and they returned home, just as the Lord said. 25 But Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and he lived there. From there he also went out and fortified Penuel.[a]
The Sin of Jeroboam Son of Nebat
26 But Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingship will go back to the house of David. 27 If this people goes up to offer sacrifices at the House of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the hearts of the people will return to their master, Rehoboam king of Judah. Then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 After the king sought advice, he made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much trouble for you. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 He set up one in Bethel and the other one in Dan.
30 This sin took hold, and the people traveled as far as Dan to worship. 31 Jeroboam also made shrines[b] on the high places,[c] and he appointed priests from all kinds of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam instituted a festival in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival[d] that is held in Judah. He offered sacrifices on the altar. He did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. He appointed priests in Bethel for the high places he had made. 33 He instituted sacrifices on the altar which he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month which he chose on his own. He instituted a festival for the people of Israel. He went up to the altar to send offerings up in smoke.
18 Then they summoned them and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Decide whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God. 20 For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After they had threatened them further, they let them go. They found no way to punish them because all of the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this miraculous sign of healing was performed was over forty years old.
The Church Speaks God’s Word Boldly
23 After Peter and John were released, they went to their own friends and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said. 24 When they heard this, with one mind they raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you are the God who[a] made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 25 By the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, you said:
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth take their stand,
and the rulers are gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.[b] [c]
27 “For certainly, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did whatever your hand and your plan had decided beforehand should happen.
29 “Now Lord, look at their threats and give to your servants the ability to keep on speaking your word with all boldness 30 as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31 After they prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. Also, everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?”
33 “We are not going to stone you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because although you are a man, you make yourself out to be God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said you are gods’?[a] 35 If he called those people ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart and sent into the world? Do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me. 38 But if I am doing them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works so that you will know and understand[b] that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”
39 So they tried to arrest him again, but he eluded their grasp. 40 He went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he stayed there.
41 Many came to him and were saying, “John never did a miraculous sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.