Book of Common Prayer
Joy in the Fellowship of God
A Psalm of David (A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
(B)My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see (C)Your power and Your glory.
3 (D)Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will (E)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with [a]marrow and [b]fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When (F)I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall [c]fall by the sword;
They shall be [d]a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
(G)Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment
A Psalm.
98 Oh, (A)sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has (B)done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
2 (C)The Lord has made known His salvation;
(D)His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the [a]nations.
3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(E)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
5 Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless (A)the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 (B)Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who (C)heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
(D)Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that (E)your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 (F)He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 (G)The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 (H)He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 (I)He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (J)removed our transgressions from us.
13 (K)As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He [a]knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, (L)his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 (M)For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,
And (N)its place remembers it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 (O)To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And (P)His kingdom rules over all.
20 (Q)Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who (R)do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
(S)You [c]ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Israel Will Be Restored
11 “On(A) that day I will raise up
The [a]tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And [b]repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 (B)That they may possess the remnant of (C)Edom,[c]
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this thing.
13 “Behold, (D)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
(E)The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 (F)I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
(G)They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land,
(H)And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.
The Great Apostasy
2 Now, brethren, (A)concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (B)and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 (C)not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of [a]Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come (D)unless the falling away comes first, and (E)the man of [b]sin is revealed, (F)the son of perdition,
Stand Fast
13 But we are [a]bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God (A)from the beginning (B)chose you for salvation (C)through [b]sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for (D)the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, (E)stand fast and hold (F)the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our [c]epistle.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, (G)who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and (H)good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts (I)and [d]establish you in every good word and work.
30 (A)I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because (B)I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
The Fourfold Witness
31 (C)“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not [a]true. 32 (D)There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, (E)and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and (F)shining lamp, and (G)you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But (H)I have a greater witness than John’s; for (I)the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very (J)works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, (K)has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, (L)nor seen His form. 38 But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 (M)You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and (N)these are they which testify of Me. 40 (O)But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
41 (P)“I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 (Q)How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek (R)the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; (S)there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; (T)for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you (U)do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.