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, (A)You are my God; I shall seek You [b]earnestly;
My soul (B)thirsts for You, my flesh [c]yearns for You,
In a (C)dry and weary land without water.
2 Thus I have (D)beheld You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
3 Because Your (E)lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips will laud You.
4 Thus I will bless You (F)as long as I live;
I will (G)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul is (H)satisfied as with fatness and richness,
And my mouth offers (I)praises with lips of joyful songs.
6 When I remember You (J)on my bed,
I meditate on You in the (K)night watches,
7 For (L)You have been my help,
And in the (M)shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul (N)clings [d]to You;
Your (O)right hand upholds me.
9 But those who (P)seek my [e]life to destroy it,
Will go into the [f](Q)depths of the earth.
10 [g]They will be (R)delivered over to the power of the sword;
They will be a (S)portion for foxes.
11 But the (T)king will be glad in God;
Everyone who (U)swears by Him will boast,
For the (V)mouths of those who speak lies will be closed.
Sing to Yahweh a New Song
A Psalm.
98 Sing to Yahweh a (A)new song,
For He has done (B)wondrous deeds,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]worked out His salvation.
2 (E)Yahweh has made known His salvation;
He has (F)revealed His righteousness in the eyes of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Bless Yahweh, O My Soul
Of David.
103 (A)Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His (B)holy name.
2 Bless Yahweh, O my soul,
And (C)forget none of His benefits;
3 Who (D)pardons all your iniquities,
Who (E)heals all your diseases;
4 Who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
Who (G)crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who (H)satisfies your [a]years with good things,
So that your youth is (I)renewed like the eagle.
6 Yahweh (J)performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are (K)oppressed.
7 He (L)made known His ways to Moses,
His (M)acts to the sons of Israel.
8 Yahweh is (N)compassionate and gracious,
(O)Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He (P)will not always contend with us,
And He will not (Q)keep His anger forever.
10 He has (R)not dealt with us according to our sins,
And He has not rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high (S)as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who [b]fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (T)removed our transgressions from us.
13 (U)As a father has compassion on his children,
So Yahweh has compassion on those who [c]fear Him.
14 For (V)He Himself knows [d]our form;
He (W)remembers that we are but (X)dust.
15 As for man, his days are (Y)like grass;
As a (Z)flower of the field, so he flowers.
16 When the (AA)wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its (AB)place acknowledges it no longer.
17 But the (AC)lovingkindness of Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting on those who [e]fear Him,
And His [f]righteousness (AD)to children’s children,
18 To (AE)those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.
19 Yahweh has established His (AF)throne in the heavens,
And His (AG)kingdom rules over [g]all.
20 Bless Yahweh, you (AH)His angels,
(AI)Mighty in strength, who (AJ)perform His word,
(AK)Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless Yahweh, all you (AL)His hosts,
You (AM)who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless Yahweh, (AN)all you works of His,
In all places of His rule;
Bless Yahweh, O my soul!
Lament for Babylon
47 “(A)Come down and sit in the dust,
O (B)virgin (C)daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called (D)tender and delicate.
2 Take the (E)millstones and (F)grind flour.
Uncover your (G)veil, (H)strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 Your (I)nakedness will be uncovered;
Your reproach also will be seen;
I will (J)take vengeance and will not [a]spare a man.”
4 Our (K)Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “(L)Sit silently, and go into (M)darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The (N)queen of (O)kingdoms.
6 I was furious with My people;
I profaned My inheritance
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show compassion to them,
On the (P)aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 Yet you said, ‘I will be a (Q)queen forever.’
These things you did not (R)put on your heart
Nor remember the (S)outcome of [b]them.
8 “So now, hear this, you (T)sensual one,
Who (U)sits securely,
Who says in [c]your heart,
‘(V)I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will (W)not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9 But these (X)two things will come on you (Y)suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many (Z)sorceries,
In spite of the great might of your spells.
10 You felt (AA)secure in your evil and said,
‘(AB)No one sees me,’
Your (AC)wisdom and your knowledge [d]have turned you astray;
So you have said in your heart,
‘(AD)I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11 But (AE)evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And (AF)destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you (AG)suddenly.
12 “Stand fast now in your (AH)spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit;
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 You are (AI)wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the (AJ)astrologers,
Those who behold visions by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and (AK)save you from what will come upon you.
14 Behold, they have become (AL)like stubble,
(AM)Fire burns them;
They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be (AN)no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus they have become for you, those among whom you have labored,
Who have (AO)traded with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own [e]way;
There is (AP)none to save you.
A New and Living Way
19 Therefore, brothers, since we (A)have confidence to (B)enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by (C)a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through (D)the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have (E)a great priest (F)over the house of God, 22 let us (G)draw near with a [a]sincere heart in (H)full assurance of faith, having our hearts (I)sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies (J)washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the (K)confession of our (L)hope without wavering, for (M)He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how (N)to stimulate one another to love and (O)good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own (P)assembling together, as is the habit of some, but (Q)encouraging one another, and all the more as you see (R)the day drawing near.
Warning Against Willful Sin
26 For if we go on (S)sinning willfully after receiving (T)the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of (U)judgment and (V)the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 (W)Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses. 29 (X)How much worse punishment do you think he will deserve (Y)who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as defiled (Z)the blood of the covenant (AA)by which he was sanctified, and has (AB)insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “(AC)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “(AD)The [b]Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a (AE)terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the (AF)living God.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by (A)the sheep gate a pool, which is called (B)in [a]Hebrew [b]Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [c][waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever sickness with which he was afflicted.] 5 And a man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been sick a long time, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when (C)the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus *said to him, “(D)Get up, pick up your mat and walk.” 9 And immediately the man became well, and picked up his mat and began to walk.
(E)Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So (F)the Jews were saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and (G)it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not (H)sin anymore, (I)so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and disclosed to (J)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 And for this reason (K)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus’ Equality with the Father
18 For this reason therefore (L)the Jews (M)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, (N)making Himself equal with God.
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