Book of Common Prayer
My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David, (A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, you are my God; (B)earnestly I seek you;
(C)my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in (D)a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding (E)your power and glory.
3 Because your (F)steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you (G)as long as I live;
in your (H)name I will (I)lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be (J)satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you (K)upon my bed,
and meditate on you in (L)the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in (M)the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul (N)clings to you;
your right hand (O)upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
(P)shall go down into (Q)the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But (R)the king shall rejoice in God;
all who (S)swear by him shall exult,
(T)for the mouths of (U)liars will be stopped.
Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord
A Psalm.
98 Oh sing to the Lord (A)a new song,
for he has done (B)marvelous things!
His (C)right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has (D)made known his salvation;
he has (E)revealed his righteousness in (F)the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered his (H)steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All (I)the ends of the earth have seen
(J)the salvation of our God.
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 (B)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and (C)forget not all his benefits,
3 who (D)forgives all your iniquity,
who (E)heals all your diseases,
4 who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
who (G)crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who (H)satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like (I)the eagle's.
6 The Lord works (J)righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his (K)ways to Moses,
his (L)acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is (M)merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 (N)He will not always chide,
nor will he (O)keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us (P)according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For (Q)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his (R)steadfast love toward (S)those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he (T)remove our transgressions from us.
13 As (U)a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion (V)to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
he (W)remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like (X)grass;
he flourishes like (Y)a flower of the field;
16 for (Z)the wind passes over it, and (AA)it is gone,
and (AB)its place knows it no more.
17 But (AC)the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on (AD)those who fear him,
and his righteousness to (AE)children's children,
18 to those who (AF)keep his covenant
and (AG)remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has (AH)established his throne in the heavens,
and his (AI)kingdom rules over all.
6 (A)Wail, for (B)the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty[a] it will come!
7 Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart (C)will melt.
8 They will be dismayed:
(D)pangs and agony will seize them;
(E)they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
They will look aghast at one another;
their faces will be aflame.
9 Behold, (F)the day of the Lord comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and (G)to destroy its sinners from it.
10 (H)For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
(I)the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish (J)the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will (K)put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
(L)and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make (M)people more rare than fine gold,
and mankind than the (N)gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore (O)I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
18 For you have not come to (A)what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and (B)the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words (C)made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, (D)“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, (E)so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to (F)Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, (G)the heavenly Jerusalem, and to (H)innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to (I)the assembly[a] of the firstborn who are (J)enrolled in heaven, and to (K)God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, (L)the mediator of a new covenant, and to (M)the sprinkled blood (N)that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For (O)if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time (P)his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, (Q)“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates (R)the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving (S)a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus (T)let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our (U)God is a consuming fire.
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and (A)was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for (B)John had not yet been put in prison).
25 Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over (C)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, (D)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, (E)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and (F)all are going to him.” 27 John answered, (G)“A person cannot receive even one thing (H)unless it is given him (I)from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, (J)‘I am not the Christ, but (K)I have been sent before him.’ 29 (L)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. (M)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, (N)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 (O)He must increase, but I must decrease.”[a]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.