Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 63
Praise God Who Satisfies
A psalm of David. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.(A)
1 God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you.
I thirst for you;
my body faints for you
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.(B)
2 So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.(C)
3 My lips will glorify you
because your faithful love is better than life.(D)
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
at your name, I will lift up my hands.(E)
5 You satisfy me as with rich food;[a](F)
my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.(G)
Psalm 98
Praise the King
A psalm.
1 Sing a new song to the Lord,(A)
for he has performed wonders;
his right hand and holy arm
have won him victory.(B)
2 The Lord has made his victory known;
he has revealed his righteousness
in the sight of the nations.(C)
3 He has remembered his love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen our God’s victory.(D)
Psalm 103
The Forgiving God
Of David.
1 My soul, bless the Lord,
and all that is within me, bless his holy name.(A)
2 My soul, bless the Lord,
and do not forget all his benefits.(B)
3 He forgives all your iniquity;(C)
he heals all your diseases.(D)
4 He redeems your life from the Pit;(E)
he crowns you with faithful love and compassion.(F)
5 He satisfies you[a] with good things;(G)
your youth is renewed like the eagle.(H)
6 The Lord executes acts of righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.(I)
7 He revealed his ways to Moses,(J)
his deeds to the people of Israel.(K)
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.(L)
9 He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever.(M)
10 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve
or repaid us according to our iniquities.(N)
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his faithful love
toward those who fear him.(O)
12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.(P)
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.(Q)
14 For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust.(R)
15 As for man, his days are like grass—
he blooms like a flower of the field;(S)
16 when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,
and its place is no longer known.[b](T)
17 But from eternity to eternity
the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him,
and his righteousness toward the grandchildren(U)
18 of those who keep his covenant,
who remember to observe his precepts.(V)
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.(W)
6 Wail! For the day of the Lord is near.(A)
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.(B)
7 Therefore everyone’s hands will become weak,
and every man will lose heart.
8 They will be horrified;
pain and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.(C)
They will look at each other,
their faces flushed with fear.
9 Look, the day(D) of the Lord is coming—
cruel, with fury and burning anger—
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy its sinners.(E)
10 Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations[a]
will not give their light.
The sun will be dark when it rises,
and the moon will not shine.(F)
11 I will punish the world for its evil,(G)
and wicked people for their iniquities.
I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant(H)
and humiliate the insolence of tyrants.
12 I will make a human more scarce than fine gold,
and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.(I)
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will shake from its foundations(J)
at the wrath of the Lord of Armies,
on the day of his burning anger.
18 For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, 19 to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, 20 for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.[a](A) 21 The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear.[b](B) 22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering,(C) 23 to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written[c] in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect,(D) 24 and to Jesus, the mediator(E) of a new covenant,(F) and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel.(G)
25 See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven.(H) 26 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.[d](I) 27 This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken(J)—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,(K) 29 for our God is a consuming fire.(L)
Jesus and John the Baptist
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent time with them and baptized.
23 John(A) also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water there. People were coming and being baptized, 24 since John had not yet been thrown into prison.(B)
25 Then a dispute arose between John’s disciples(C) and a Jew[a] about purification.(D) 26 So they came to John and told him, “Rabbi,(E) the one you testified about, and who was with you across the Jordan,(F) is baptizing—and everyone is going to him.”(G)
27 John responded, “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah,(H) but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’(I) 29 He who has the bride(J) is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly[b] at the groom’s voice. So this joy(K) of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
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