Book of Common Prayer
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David, [a]when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 God, (A)You are my God; I shall be watching for You;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and exhausted land where there is no water.
2 So have I (D)seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and glory.
3 Because Your [b](E)favor 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 fat 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 [c]to You;
Your (O)right hand takes hold of me.
9 But those who (P)seek my [d]life to destroy it,
Will go into the [e](Q)depths of the earth.
10 [f]They will be [g](R)turned over to the power of the sword;
They will be a [h](S)prey for foxes.
11 But the (T)king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who (U)swears by Him will boast,
For the (V)mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 Sing a (A)new song to the Lord,
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 His salvation known;
He has (F)revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His graciousness 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, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And (C)do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your guilt,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with favor 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)deeds to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He (P)will not always contend 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 guilty deeds.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who [c]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our wrongdoings 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 form;
He (W)is mindful that we are nothing but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
Like 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 no longer knows about it.
17 But the [f](AC)mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who [g]fear Him,
And His justice (AD)to the children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as 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 [j]angels,
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, my soul!
Mourning for Babylon
47 “(A)Come down and sit in the dust,
(B)Virgin (C)daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you will no longer be called (D)tender and delicate.
2 Take the (E)millstones and (F)grind flour.
Remove your (G)veil, (H)strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 Your (I)nakedness will be uncovered,
Your shame will also be exposed;
I will (J)take vengeance and will not spare anyone.”
4 Our (K)Redeemer, the Lord of armies is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “(L)Sit silently, and go into (M)darkness,
Daughter of the Chaldeans;
For you will no longer be called
The (N)queen of (O)kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people,
I profaned My heritage
And handed them over to you.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the (P)aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 Yet you said, ‘I will be a (Q)queen forever.’
These things you did not (R)consider
Nor remember the (S)outcome of [a]them.
8 “Now, then, hear this, you (T)luxuriant one,
Who (U)lives securely,
Who says in her heart,
‘(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will (W)not sit as a widow,
Nor know the loss of children.’
9 But these (X)two things will come on you (Y)suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many (Z)sorceries,
In spite of the great power of your spells.
10 You felt (AA)secure in your wickedness and said,
‘(AB)No one sees me,’
Your (AC)wisdom and your knowledge, [b]they have led you astray;
For you have said in your heart,
‘(AD)I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11 But (AE)evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And (AF)destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you (AG)suddenly.
12 “Persist now in your (AH)spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to benefit,
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 You are (AI)wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the (AJ)astrologers,
Those who prophesy by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and (AK)save you from what will come upon you.
14 Behold, they have become (AL)like stubble,
(AM)Fire burns them;
They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be (AN)no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 So have those become to you with whom you have labored,
Those who have (AO)done business with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own [c]way;
There is (AP)no one to save you.
A New and Living Way
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we (A)have confidence to (B)enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by (C)a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through (D)the veil, that is, through His flesh, 21 and since we have (E)a great priest (F)over the house of God, 22 let’s (G)approach God with a [a]sincere heart in (H)full assurance of faith, having our hearts (I)sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies (J)washed with pure water. 23 Let’s hold firmly to the (K)confession of our (L)hope without wavering, for (M)He who promised is faithful; 24 and let’s consider how (N)to [b]encourage one another in love and (O)good deeds, 25 not abandoning our own (P)meeting together, as is the habit of some people, but (Q)encouraging one another; and all the more as you see (R)the day drawing near.
Christ or Judgment
26 For if we go on (S)sinning willfully after receiving (T)the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of (U)judgment and (V)the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 (W)Anyone who has ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 (X)How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve (Y)who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean (Z)the blood of the covenant (AA)by which he was sanctified, and has (AB)insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “(AC)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “(AD)The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a (AE)terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the (AF)living God.
2 Now in Jerusalem, by (A)the Sheep Gate, there is a pool which (B)in [a]Hebrew is called [b]Bethesda, having five [c]porticoes. 3 In these porticoes lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, limping, or [d]paralyzed.[e] 5 Now a man was there who had been [f]ill for thirty-eight years. 6 Jesus, upon seeing this man lying there and knowing that he had already been in that condition for a long time, *said to him, “Do you want to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus *said to him, “(C)Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
(D)Now it was a Sabbath on that day. 10 So (E)the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is a Sabbath, and (F)it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Pick it up and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward, Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not (G)sin anymore, (H)so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and informed (I)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason (J)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on a Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father [g]is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus’ Equality with God
18 For this reason therefore (K)the Jews (L)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, (M)making Himself equal with God.
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