Book of Common Prayer
The Thirsting Soul Satisfied in God.
A Psalm of David; when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You;
My [a]soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2
So I have gazed upon You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.(A)
3
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4
So will I bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
5
My [b]soul [my life, my very self] is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth offers praises [to You] with joyful lips.
6
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,
7
For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings [where I am always protected] I sing for joy.
8
My [c]soul [my life, my very self] clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek my life to destroy it
Will [be destroyed and] go into the depths of the earth [into the underworld].
10
They will be given over to the power of the sword;
They will be a prey for foxes.
11
But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him [honoring the true God, acknowledging His authority and majesty] will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A [a]Psalm.
98 O sing to the Lord a new song,
For He has done marvelous and wonderful things;
His right hand and His holy arm have [b]gained the victory for Him.
2
The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has [openly] revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.(A)
3
He has [graciously] remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have witnessed the salvation of our God.(B)
4
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Shout [in jubilation] and sing for joy and sing praises.
5
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
With the lyre and the sound of melody.
6
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
Shout with joy before the King, the Lord.
7
Let the sea thunder and roar, and all the things it contains,
The world and those who dwell in it.
8
Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the mountains sing together for joy and delight
9
Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;
He will judge the world with righteousness
And the peoples with fairness.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies.
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is [deep] within me, bless His holy name.
2
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3
Who forgives all your sins,
Who heals all your diseases;
4
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;
5
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the [soaring] eagle.(A)
6
The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all the oppressed.
7
He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness.(B)
9
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve],
Nor rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].
12
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13
Just as a father loves his children,
So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].
14
For He knows our [mortal] frame;
He remembers that we are [merely] dust.
15
As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16
For the wind passes over it and it is no more,
And its place knows it no longer.
17
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [reverently] fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,(C)
18
To those who honor and keep His covenant,
And remember to do His commandments [imprinting His word on their hearts].
19
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all [the universe].
20
Bless the Lord, you His angels,
You mighty ones who do His commandments,
Obeying the voice of His word!
21
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You who serve Him and do His will.
22
Bless the Lord, all you works of His, in all places of His dominion;
Bless and affectionately praise the Lord, O my soul!
The Futility of All Endeavors
1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
2
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
“Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].”(A)
3
What advantage does man have from all his work
Which he does [a]under the sun (while earthbound)?
4
One generation goes and another generation comes,
But the earth remains forever.(B)
5
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;
And hurries to the place where it rises again.
6
The wind blows toward the south,
Then circles toward the north;
The wind circles and swirls endlessly,
And on its circular course the wind returns.(C)
7
All the rivers flow into the sea,
Yet the sea is not full.
To the place where the rivers flow,
There they flow again.
8
All things are wearisome and all words are frail;
Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing,
Nor is the ear filled with hearing.(D)
9
That which has been is that which will be [again],
And that which has been done is that which will be done again.
So there is nothing new under the sun.
10
Is there anything of which it can be said,
“See this, it is new”?
It has already existed for [the vast] ages [of time recorded or unrecorded]
Which were before us.
11
There is no remembrance of earlier things,
Nor also of the later things that are to come;
There will be for them no remembrance
By generations who will come after them.
26 But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” (This is a desert road). 27 So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch [a man of great authority], a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading [the scroll of] the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” 30 Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “Well, how could I [understand] unless someone guides me [correctly]?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now this was the passage of Scripture which he was reading:
“Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
33
“In humiliation His judgment was taken away [justice was denied Him].
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”(A)
34 The eunuch replied to Philip, “Please tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke and beginning with this Scripture he preached Jesus to him [explaining that He is the promised Messiah and the source of salvation]. 36 As they continued along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch exclaimed, “Look! Water! What forbids me from being baptized?” 37 [a][Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] took Philip [and carried him] away [to a different place]; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at [b]Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the good news [of salvation] to all the cities, until he came to [c]Caesarea [Maritima].
Instruction about Prayer
11 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them,
“When you pray, [a]say:
‘[b]Father, [c]hallowed be Your name.
[d]Your kingdom come.
3
‘Give us each day our [e]daily bread.
4
‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us [who has offended or wronged us].
And [f]lead us not into temptation [[g]but rescue us from evil].’”
Parable of Persistence
5 Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves [of bread]; 6 for a friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to visit me, and I have nothing to serve him’; 7 and from inside he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence and boldness he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.(A) 10 For everyone who [h]keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.