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!
Haggai Begins Temple Building
1 In the (A)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet (B)Haggai to (C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (D)governor of Judah, and to (E)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of [a]hosts, ‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house (F)lies desolate?” 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “[b]Consider your ways! 6 You have (G)sown much, but [c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is [d]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “[e]Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the [f]mountains, bring wood and (H)rebuild the [g]temple, that I may be (I)pleased with it and be (J)glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “(K)You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (L)blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which (M)lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the (N)sky has withheld [h]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 I called for a (O)drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on (P)men, on cattle, and on (Q)all the labor of [i]your hands.”
12 Then (R)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (S)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, (T)obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [j](U)showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the (V)messenger of the Lord, spoke [k]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, “‘(W)I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (Y)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the (Z)remnant of the people; and they came and (AA)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
The Builders Encouraged
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by (AB)Haggai the prophet saying, 2 “Speak now to (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (AD)governor of Judah, and to (AE)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (AF)remnant of the people saying, 3 ‘Who is (AG)left among you who saw this [l]temple in its (AH)former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not [m]seem to you like nothing [n]in comparison? 4 But now [o](AI)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for (AJ)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘As for the [p](AK)promise which I [q]made you when you came out of Egypt, [r]My (AL)Spirit is abiding in your midst; (AM)do not fear!’ 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘(AN)Once more [s]in a (AO)little while, I am going to (AP)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake (AQ)all the nations; and [t]they will come with the (AR)wealth of all nations, and I will (AS)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The (AT)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘The latter (AU)glory of this house will be greater than the (AV)former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give (AW)peace,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”
24 Now a Jew named (A)Apollos, an (B)Alexandrian by birth, [a]an eloquent man, came to (C)Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man had been instructed in (D)the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with (E)the baptism of John; 26 and [b]he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when (F)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him (G)the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to (H)Achaia, (I)the brethren encouraged him and wrote to (J)the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly [c]helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating (K)by the Scriptures that (L)Jesus was the [d]Christ.
Paul at Ephesus
19 It happened that while (M)Apollos was at (N)Corinth, Paul passed through the (O)upper country and came to (P)Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “(Q)Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, (R)we have not even heard whether [e]there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “(S)Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “(T)John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people (U)to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were (V)baptized [f]in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had (W)laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began (X)speaking with tongues and (Y)prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.
25 (A)And a [a](B)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? [b]How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “(C)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; (D)do this and you will live.” 29 But wishing (E)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
The Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was (F)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and [c]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31 And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a (G)Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two [d]denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” 37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do [e]the same.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.