Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63[a]
Thirst for God
1 A psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah.[b]
2 O God, you are my God,
for whom I have been searching earnestly.[c]
My soul yearns for you
and my body thirsts for you,
like the earth when it is parched,
arid and without water.
3 I have gazed upon you in the sanctuary
so that I may behold your power[d] and your glory.
4 Your kindness[e] is a greater joy than life itself;
thus my lips will speak your praise.
5 I will bless you all my life;
with uplifted hands[f] I will call on your name.
6 My soul[g] will be satisfied as at a banquet
and with rejoicing lips my mouth will praise you.
7 I think of you while I lie upon my bed,[h]
and I meditate on you during the watches of the night.
8 For you are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.[i]
9 My soul clings tightly to you;
your right hand holds me fast.
10 [j]Those who seek my life will incur ruin;
they will sink down into the depths of the earth.
11 They will be slain by the sword
and their flesh will become food for jackals.[k]
12 But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by him[l] will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
Psalm 98[a]
Praise of the Lord, King and Judge
1 A psalm.
Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he has accomplished marvelous deeds.
His right hand and his holy arm
have made him victorious.
2 The Lord has made known his salvation;
he has manifested his righteousness for all the nations to see.[c]
3 He has remembered his kindness[d] and his fidelity
to the house of Israel.
The farthest ends of the earth have witnessed
the salvation of our God.
4 Sing joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
raise your voices in songs of praise.
5 Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious singing.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully to the King, the Lord.[e]
7 [f]Let the sea resound and everything in it,
the world[g] and all its inhabitants.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands
and the mountains shout for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord, who is coming,
coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with justice
and the nations with fairness.[h]
Psalm 103[a]
Praise of God’s Providence
1 Of David.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;[b]
my entire being, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases.[c]
4 He redeems[d] your life from the pit
and crowns you with kindness and mercy.
5 He satisfies your years with good things
and renews your youth like an eagle’s.[e]
6 The Lord performs acts of righteousness
and administers justice for all who are oppressed.
7 [f]He made known his ways[g] to Moses,
his wondrous deeds to the people of Israel.
8 [h]The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
9 He will not always rebuke,
nor will he remain angry forever.
10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our offenses.
11 As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his kindness toward those who fear him.[i]
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.[j]
13 [k]As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
14 For he knows how we were formed;
he remembers that we are only dust.[l]
15 The days of mortal man are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field.
16 The wind sweeps over him, and he is gone,
and his place never sees him again.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the kindness[m] of the Lord is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children,
18 with those who keep his covenant
and diligently observe his commandments.[n]
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.[o]
20 [p]Bless the Lord, O you his angels,[q]
you mighty in strength who do his bidding,
who obey his spoken word.
21 Bless the Lord, O you his hosts,
his ministers who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
everywhere in his domain.
Bless the Lord, O my soul.[r]
11 On that day I shall raise up
the fallen hut of David.
I will repair the gaps in its walls,
restore its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 so that Israel may possess the remnant of Edom
and of all the nations that bear my name;
I, the Lord, will accomplish this.
I Will Reestablish My People Israel
13 The days are surely coming,
says the Lord,
when the plowman shall overtake
the one who reaps,
and the treader of grapes will overtake
the one who sows the seed.
New wine will drip from the mountains,
and every hill will flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine,
cultivate gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them in their own soil,
and they shall never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.
This is the word of the Lord, your God.
The Day of the Lord[a]
Chapter 2
Has the Day of the Lord Already Come?[b] 1 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we beg you, brethren: 2 do not become too easily thrown into confusion or alarmed, either by something spiritual or by a statement or by a letter claiming to come from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord is already here.[c] 3 Let no one deceive you in any way.
The Adversary and the Obstacle.[d] That Day cannot come[e] before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction.
Never Weary of Doing Good[a]
Call To Remain Steadfast.[b]However, we must always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.[c] 14 It was for this purpose that he called you through our gospel so that you might come to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.15 Therefore, stand firm, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions[d] that you have been taught, whether by word of mouth or by a letter of ours. 16 And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through his grace gave us unending encouragement and a sure hope,[e] 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
30 “I can do nothing on my own.
As I hear, I judge,
and my judgment is just,
because I seek to do
not my own will
but the will of him who sent me.
A Witness to Jesus
31 [a]“If I were to testify about myself,
my testimony would not be true.
32 However, there is another who testifies about me,
and I know that his testimony is true,
the testimony he bore concerning me.
33 You sent messengers to John,
and he has testified to the truth.
34 Not that I accept such human testimony,
but I say these things
so that you may be saved.
35 “John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a time you were willing
to exult in his light.
36 But I have testimony that is greater than John’s.
The works that my Father
has given me to accomplish,
the very works that I am doing,
testify about me,
that the Father has sent me.
37 “And the Father who sent me
has himself testified about me.
You have not heard his voice
or seen his form,
38 and you do not have his word
abiding in you,
because you do not believe
him whom he has sent.
39 “Search the Scriptures carefully
because you believe that through them
you will gain eternal life.
Even they testify on my behalf.
40 Yet you refuse to come to me
to receive that life.
Unbelief of Jesus’ Hearers
41 “I do not accept the praise of men.
42 Moreover, I know that you do not have
the love of God in your hearts.
43 I have come in the name of my Father,
yet you do not accept me.
But if another should come in his own name,
you will accept him.
44 How can you believe
when you accept praise from one another,
yet you do not seek
the praise that comes from
the only God?
45 “Do not think that I will accuse you
before the Father.
You have placed your hope in Moses,
and he is the one who will accuse you.
46 If you truly believed Moses,
you would have believed in me,
for it is about me that he wrote.
47 But since you do not believe what he wrote,
how will you believe what I say?”
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