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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 42-43

Book II—Psalms 42–72^[a]

Psalm 42^[b]

Prayer of Longing for God

¹For the director.^[c] A maskil of the sons of Korah.

²As a deer longs for running streams,
    so my soul longs for you, O God.^[d]
³My soul^[e] thirsts for God, the living God.
    When shall I come to behold the face of God?
⁴My tears have become my food
    day and night,
while people taunt me all day long, saying,
    “Where is your God?”
⁵As I pour out my soul,
    I recall those times
when I journeyed with the multitude
    and led them in procession to the house of God,
amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving
    on the part of the crowd keeping festival.
⁶Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God,
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.^[f]
⁷My soul is disheartened within me;
    therefore, I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.^[g]
⁸The depths of the sea resound
    in the roar of your waterfalls;^[h]
all your waves and your breakers
    sweep over me.
⁹During the day the Lord grants his kindness,
    and at night his praise is with me,
    a prayer to the living God.^[i]
¹⁰I say to God, my Rock,^[j]
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in mourning
    while my enemy oppresses me?”
¹¹It crushes my bones
    when my foes taunt me,
jeering at me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”^[k]
¹²Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.^[l]

Psalm 43^[m]

Prayer To Worship God Anew

¹Grant me your justice, O God,
    and plead my cause against a godless nation;
    rescue me from those who are deceitful and unjust.
²You, O God, are my refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in mourning,
    while my enemy oppresses me?
³Send forth your light and your truth;^[n]
    they will serve as my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place of your dwelling.
⁴Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to the God of my joy and delight,
and I will praise you^[o] with the harp,
    O God, my God.
⁵Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.^[p]

Footnotes

Psalm 42:1 The drama of the righteous confronted with the rise of evil terminated Book I of the Psalter. This conflict remains, but other themes come to the fore with greater insistence. Now the prayer often evinces a desire for God and to be far from human beings, oftentimes with a more mystical note added. At other times, crucial moments of history will appear to provoke alternatively both praise and supplication: the drama of the righteous remains—as that of the people. In short, in the psalms that follow, the collective aspect will be readily underlined.
Psalm 42:1 This psalm, which really forms one with the next psalm, has a fascinating literary beauty but also expresses feeling of a rare kind. It is the lament of the exiled Levite combining nostalgia, distress, and fervent desire. Living in a foreign land, far from the temple of Jerusalem, the sole place where it was believed one would encounter God, the sacred ministers feel the Exile more deeply; the sanctuary is the only place where they find their happiness. They are the first to suffer the mockings of the pagans, who do not recognize the God to whom they have dedicated their lives. Three times the lament is voiced, and three times the chant that gives hope is also uttered, as the psalm vibrantly expresses the fervor for the temple, where the people flocked to celebrate the love and presence of God.
At the heart of this fervor we glimpse the deepest human yearning: the desire for God. It is this that here on earth inspires the candidates who seek to enter the Church, the “house of God,” and we also place it on the lips of the dead who are waiting to be admitted into the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city of God. Consecrated men and women also recognize herein the movement of their souls. Is not this the sublime desire at the root of all human restlessness? Down the centuries Augustine has proclaimed: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Psalm 42:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. Maskil: see note on Ps 32:1a. Sons of Korah: Levites (see 1 Chr 26:19). In Book II, seven psalms bear this inscription (Pss 42; 44–49) and four in Book III (Pss 84–85; 87–88).
Psalm 42:2 God: from Pss 42 to 89, the ineffable tetragrammaton (“Yahweh”) is generally replaced by “God” (“Elohim”), marking this as the “Elohist Psalter.”
Psalm 42:3 Soul: see note on Ps 6:4. Living God: see Deut 5:26. Behold the face of God: here the phrase is taken to mean God’s personal presence (see Gen 33:10; Ex 10:28f). In other places the expression “see God” (or “see the face of God”) indicates the presence of God in the temple (see Pss 11:7; 17:15; 63:3; Ex 24:10; 33:7-11; Job 33:26).
Psalm 42:6 Why . . . my God: this refrain appears three times in this double psalm (vv. 6, 12; 43:5) and indicates that the two parts were originally one psalm (see note on v. 12).
Psalm 42:7 Mount Mizar: not identified. The translation from the land . . . supposes a Levite exiled to the springs of the Jordan, at the foot of Mount Hermon. If we think of him as exiled in Babylon, the translation would be: “I will remember you / more than the land of the Jordan and Hermon, / than the lowly mountain [Zion].”
Psalm 42:8 The depths of the sea resound . . . your waterfalls: the psalmist alludes to the “waterfalls” that carry God’s waters from the “depths” above to the “depths” below (see note on Ps 36:9), bringing God’s breakers sweeping over him (see Pss 69:2f; 88:8; Jon 2:3, 5). And God is involved in this danger of water toward the psalmist (see note on Ps 32:6)—he lets it happen.
Psalm 42:9 Nonetheless, the psalmist is confident of God’s kindness, and this sustains him (see note on Ps 6:5). The living God: some propose the translation: “the God of my life” and understand it as the “God who gives me life.”
Psalm 42:10 Rock: see note on Ps 18:3. Why . . . ? Why . . . ?: see note on Ps 6:4.
Psalm 42:11 The psalmist has been abandoned by God to his godless enemies, who taunt him with the words “Where is your God?” He resembles a dying man, and his whole being (bones; see note on Ps 34:20-21) is distressed by his foes and by God’s silence.
Psalm 42:12 The refrain is voiced for the second time in this double-psalm (see v. 6, above) and will be repeated once more in Ps 43:5. This threefold refrain reflects the attitude of many of God’s people during the Exile or any crisis situation. In such loneliness and alienation, faith is tried and leads to salvation. For hope is mindful of the Lord’s glorious works of salvation and victory recounted in the sacred writings. See Mt 26:38 for the application of these words to Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Psalm 43:1 The psalmist asks God for vindication so that he may be able to return to the temple and render him praise once again.
We can pray this psalm to augment our tranquil hope. We place our cause in God, who has sworn that he will obtain redress for us from our enemies (see Rom 12:19; Heb 10:30). He will enable us to journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem in the vast mobile column of his Church, the true liturgical procession and uninterrupted processional march that takes the elect to him (see Heb 10:19-22).
Psalm 43:3 Your light and your truth: the psalmist personifies the divine attributes of light (see note on Ps 27:1) and truth (see Pss 25:5; 26:3; 40:11) and asks that they bring him safely to the temple. Holy mountain: see note on Ps 2:6.
Psalm 43:4 Altar of God . . . I will praise you: see notes on Pss 7:18; 26:6.
Psalm 43:5 See note on Ps 42:12.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Chapter 2

¹^[a]Then Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart rejoices in the Lord,
    my horn is lifted high in the Lord.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
    for I rejoice in my salvation.
²There is no holy one like the Lord,
    there is none beside you,
nor is there a rock like our God.
³^[b]Do not talk so proudly
    nor let arrogance come forth from your mouth,
for the Lord is a knowing God,
    and by him actions are weighed.
⁴The bows of the mighty are broken,
    the feeble are clothed in strength.
⁵The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
    and the hungry cease to hunger.
The barren has borne seven times,
    while she who has many children grows faint.
⁶The Lord kills and brings to life.
    He brings down to Sheol, and lifts up.
⁷The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
    he humbles and he also exalts.
⁸He raises the poor from the dust,
    and from the refuse he lifts up the beggar,
To seat them among princes,
    that they might inherit a throne of glory.
For the Lord’s are the pillars of the earth,
    and he has set the world upon them.
⁹He will guard the feet of his saints,
    but the wicked will be cut off in the darkness,
    for by strength none shall prevail.
¹⁰Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered,
    he will thunder against them from the heavens,
    the Lord will judge the ends of the earth,
He will give strength to his king,
    and exalt the horn of his anointed one.”

John 8:31-36

³¹Jesus and Abraham.^[a] Then Jesus said to those Jews who did believe in him,

“If you remain faithful to my word,
you will truly be my disciples.
³²You will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.”

³³They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be set free’?” ³⁴Jesus replied,

“Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who sins
is a slave of sin.
³⁵A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son remains in it forever.
³⁶Therefore, if the Son sets you free,
you then will truly be free.

Psalm 48

Psalm 48^[a]

Thanksgiving for the Deliverance of God’s People

¹A psalm of the sons of Korah.^[b] A song.

²Great is the Lord and worthy of high praise
    in the city of our God.
His holy mountain,^[c] ³towering in its beauty,
    is the joy of the entire earth.
Mount Zion, the true heights of the north,^[d]
    is the city of the great King.
⁴God is in her citadels
    and has revealed himself as her fortress.^[e]
⁵^[f]For the kings conspired together
    and came onward in unison.
⁶As soon as they beheld her, they were astounded;
    filled with panic, they fled.
⁷They were seized with trembling,
    with pains like those of a woman in labor,
⁸as though a wind from the east^[g]
    were breaking up the ships of Tarshish.
⁹What we had heard,
    we have now beheld for ourselves^[h]
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God
    that he established to endure forever. Selah
¹⁰O God, as we stand in the midst of your temple,
    we will meditate on your kindness.^[i]
¹¹Like your name,^[j] O God,
    your praise extends to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness;
¹²    let Mount Zion rejoice.
Let the towns of Judah exult
    in your saving judgments.^[k]
¹³^[l]Walk around Zion; pass throughout her;
    count the number of her towers.
¹⁴Take careful note of her ramparts,
    walk through her citadels,
so that you may recount for future generations
¹⁵    that such is God;
our God forever and ever,
    he will be our guide eternally.^[m]

Footnotes

Psalm 48:1 With overflowing joy, this psalm sings of God and the holy city. All the glory of Jerusalem stems from the Lord who dwells, enveloped in mystery, in the temple on the hill in the heart of the city. From there he protects his people; he has even delivered this city from the assaults of the enemy. It is secure from the north (v. 3), east (v. 8), south (v. 11), and west (v. 14). There Israel encounters its God and gives him thanks. And from this dwelling of God, salvation, joy, and praise extend to all peoples and the whole universe. It is a grandiose vision; how can one not love this land of God in the midst of human beings!
To Christians, Zion stands for the Church of Jesus, soul of the world and sign of salvation for humankind, until all are gathered together into the kingdom of God, the heavenly Jerusalem (see Heb 12:22; Rev 14:1; 21:10-26).
Psalm 48:1 Sons of Korah: see note on Ps 42:1.
Psalm 48:2 Holy mountain: see note on Ps 2:6.
Psalm 48:3 The true heights of the north: Zaphon. Mount Zaphon was in the far north, the home of the Canaanite storm-god Baal. The psalmist declares that, although Zion is only a small hill, it is higher than any other mountain because it is the home of the only true God (see Ps 68:16f).
Psalm 48:4 The psalmist shows that Zion is impregnable not because of her walls but because of the fact that the Lord is present there as the strength of his people (see Pss 18:3; 122:7).
Psalm 48:5 In recalling past defeats of Israel’s enemies who attacked Zion, the psalmist may have in mind the victory over the Moab-Ammon coalition at the time of Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chr 20:22-28) or over the Assyrians at the time of Hezekiah (see 2 Ki 19:35f).
Psalm 48:8 East: geographical allusion mentioned in the introduction. Ships of Tarshish: i.e., the most powerful ships, built for long voyages—like those that went as far as Tarshish, perhaps Tartessus in southern Spain (see 1 Ki 10:22).
Psalm 48:9 Heard . . . beheld for ourselves: the psalmist may be referring to the glorious things that new pilgrims had heard about the beauty and awesomeness of the holy city and now beheld with their own eyes. He may also be referring to the things the pilgrims had heard from their ancestors about the security of the temple at Jerusalem (see Pss 44:2; 78:3) and now beheld for themselves. They became even more convinced of God’s presence in Jerusalem ordering the world’s events and working out the redemption of his people. The Lord of hosts: see note on Ps 24:10.
Psalm 48:10 The godly meditate on God’s mighty acts, taking comfort in, rejoicing in, and gratefully making offerings to the revelation of the perfections of the Lord. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
Psalm 48:11 Name: see note on Ps 5:12. Right hand: the reaction of praise is a positive response by the godly in contrast to the dread that befell the nations. The godly praise God from one end of the earth to another, declaring his righteousness, i.e., the Lord’s victories and glorious work whose benefits his people share. That work is symbolized by his “right hand,” which includes power, justice, righteousness, and love. As alluded to in the introduction to this psalm, “right hand” also has a connotation of “south” in Hebrew.
Psalm 48:12 Judgments: God’s actions in human affairs (see Ps 105:7; Isa 26:9), especially his victories over Israel’s enemies (see Pss 98:8; 105:5; Deut 33:21).
Psalm 48:13 The psalmist calls upon the people to walk around Jerusalem and see its great defenses (towers, ramparts, citadels). The physical defense system of Jerusalem may have been a symbol of a far greater strength—the protection of the Lord himself. Furthermore, inasmuch as the Lord was present in the temple at Jerusalem, defense of the city was an expression of loyalty to him.
Psalm 48:15 After seeing the well-nigh impregnable fortifications of Jerusalem, the people will feel more secure and better understand the greatness of the Lord, who protects his city and his people in accord with his promises; they will then recount it to their children and grandchildren. The Lord is their God forever, the great Shepherd-King (see note on Ps 23), who will continue to guide them eternally (literally, “till death”).

Psalm 87

Psalm 87^[a]

Zion, Home of All Nations

¹A psalm of the sons of Korah.^[b] A song.

The Lord has founded a city^[c]
    on the holy mountains.
²He loves the gates of Zion
    more than^[d] any dwelling in Jacob.
³Glorious things are said of you,
    O city of God. Selah
⁴^[e]“I number Rahab and Babylon
    among those who acknowledge the Lord,
as well as Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia;
    concerning them it can be said,
    ‘This one was born there.’ ”^[f] Selah
⁵However, of Zion it will be said,
    “They were all born there,
    for the Most High himself establishes her.”^[g]
⁶The Lord records in the register^[h] of the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah
⁷And as they play, they all sing,^[i]
    “In you are all my fountains.”

Footnotes

Psalm 87:1 The psalmist here paints a picture of Jerusalem as the spiritual mother of all peoples and thus prefigures the Church of Christ (see Acts 2:5ff; Gal 4:26). No other canticle has given greater exaltation to the holy city, Zion, the chosen city of God. Not only is she at the heart of Israel, but in her, God lays the basis for the spiritual rebirth of all peoples, even the sworn enemies of Israel, such as Egypt and Chaldea, through their worship of the true God (see Ps 45:15f; Zec 2:15; 8:23). All will be admitted into her bosom, and God will declare her mother of all peoples.
After having encountered the conflicts of peoples and the persecution of Israel in so many psalms, here is a symphony with unforgettable melodies. We are enchanted by this universalist aspect and the perspective of a humanity reunited by God in his presence, in accord with the vision of the Prophets (see Isa 2:2-4; 19:19-25; 25:6; 45:14, 22-24; 56:6-8; 60:3; 66:23; Dan 7:14; Mic 4:1-3; Zec 8:23; 14:16). Such is also the vocation of the Church, the new Jerusalem, to be a leaven for the ingathering of all peoples.
Thus, in praying this psalm, Christians keep in mind not only the earthly Zion with its fulfillment, the Church, but also the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly Church, which is our true and definitive home, the source of eternal life and perfect blessedness. At the end of time, this new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride for her husband (see Rev 21:2, 24).
Psalm 87:1 Sons of Korah: see note on Ps 42:1.
Psalm 87:1 Lord has founded a city: it is the Lord himself who has made Zion his city (see Isa 14:32) and the temple his dwelling. Mountains: see note on Ps 2:6.
Psalm 87:2 Loves . . . more than: Zion is more cherished by the Lord than any other Israelite city or town (see Pss 9:12; 78:68; 132:12-14). The gates of Zion: a common Hebrew idiom for the city. Jacob: i.e., Israel (see Gen 32:28-29).
Psalm 87:4 These verses foresee a wholesale conversion to the Lord on the part of peoples who were longtime enemies of God and his kingdom (see Isa 19:21).
Psalm 87:4 The Gentiles will be incorporated into the People of God and adopted by Zion, their religious homeland. As the representatives of all the Gentile nations, the psalmist mentions the arrogant Egypt (Rahab—the name of an ocean monster used poetically for Egypt) and Babylon, the two world kingdoms on the Nile and Euphrates, both of which had fought for centuries for the possession of Palestine. We also hear of the Philistines, archenemy of Israel, wealthy Tyre proud of its independence, and the ambitious Ethiopians.
Psalm 87:5 The privileges of the holy city and her spiritual motherhood are divine in origin and hence indefectible. The eschatological community of the faithful is established by the Lord (see Ps 48:9; Isa 14:32; 28:16; 54:11f).
Psalm 87:6 Here it is a case simply of a list (register) of the citizens of Zion (see Isa 4:3; Ezek 13:9) rather than the apocalyptic book of destinies (see Ps 69:28). Each people will thus have two homelands—one material and one spiritual. The basis for the people’s security and inclusion in Zion lies in the promise of the Lord and the fact that he is its builder (see Heb 11:10, 16).
Psalm 87:7 Zion is associated with “the fountain of life” (Ps 36:10), of “salvation” (Isa 12:3), “a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God” (Ps 46:5; see Ezek 47; Rev 22:1-5). As they play, they all sing: an alternative translation is: “As they make music, they will sing.” Hence, the peoples will be admitted to the official liturgical worship (see Isa 66:21) and will at least be able to participate in the ritual dances (see Pss 149:3; 150:4; 2 Sam 6:5).

1 John 3:1-8

Chapter 3

¹See what love
the Father has bestowed on us,
enabling us to be called the children of God,
and that is what we are.
If the world does not recognize us,
that is because it did not know him.
²Beloved,
we are God’s children now.
What we shall be
has not yet been revealed.
However, we do know that when he appears
we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he really is.
³Everyone who has this hope in him
keeps himself pure,
just as he is pure.

The Rupture with Sin^[a]

⁴Everyone who sins breaks the law,
for sin is lawlessness.
⁵You know that he appeared
in order to take away sins,
and that there is no sin in him.
⁶Whoever remains in him does not sin,^[b]
and whoever sins has not seen him
nor known him.
⁷Dear children,
do not let anyone deceive you.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
⁸Everyone who sins comes from the devil,
for the devil has been a sinner
from the very beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this very purpose:
to destroy the work of the devil.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Book of Common Prayer

Book II—Psalms 42–72[a]

Psalm 42[b]

Prayer of Longing for God

Psalm 43[m]

Prayer To Worship God Anew

Footnotes

Chapter 2

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 48[a]

Thanksgiving for the Deliverance of God’s People

Footnotes

Psalm 87[a]

Zion, Home of All Nations

Footnotes

Chapter 3

The Rupture with Sin[a]

Footnotes

Book II—Psalms 42–72^[a]

Psalm 42^[b]

Psalm 43^[m]

Psalm 48^[a]

Psalm 87^[a]

The Rupture with Sin^[a]