Book of Common Prayer
Joy in the Fellowship of God
A Psalm of David (A)when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
(B)My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see (C)Your power and Your glory.
3 (D)Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
4 Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will (E)lift up my hands in Your name.
5 My soul shall be satisfied as with [a]marrow and [b]fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.
6 When (F)I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
7 Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
8 My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall [c]fall by the sword;
They shall be [d]a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
(G)Everyone who swears by Him shall glory;
But the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless (A)the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 (B)Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who (C)heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
(D)Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that (E)your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 (F)He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 (G)The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 (H)He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 (I)He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He (J)removed our transgressions from us.
13 (K)As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He [a]knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, (L)his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 (M)For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,
And (N)its place remembers it no more.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
18 (O)To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in heaven,
And (P)His kingdom rules over all.
20 (Q)Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Who excel in strength, who (R)do His word,
Heeding the voice of His word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
(S)You [c]ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
22 Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
21 And when (A)Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of (B)Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But (C)the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, (D)for this thing is from Me.” ’ ” Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam’s Gold Calves
25 Then Jeroboam (E)built[a] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built (F)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: 27 If these people (G)go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 Therefore the king asked advice, (H)made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. (I)Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 29 And he set up one in (J)Bethel, and the other he put in (K)Dan. 30 Now this thing became (L)a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 He made [b]shrines on the high places, (M)and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 Jeroboam [c]ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like (N)the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. (O)And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had (P)devised in his own heart. And he [d]ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and (Q)burned incense.
18 (A)So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, (B)“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 (C)For we cannot but speak the things which (D)we have seen and heard.” 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, (E)because of the people, since they all (F)glorified God for (G)what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.
Prayer for Boldness(H)
23 And being let go, (I)they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, (J)You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who [a]by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
(K)‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
27 “For (L)truly against (M)Your holy Servant Jesus, (N)whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 (O)to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants (P)that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, (Q)and that signs and wonders may be done (R)through the name of (S)Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, (T)the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, (U)and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus
31 Then (A)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”
33 The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for (B)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, (C)make Yourself God.”
34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, (D)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? 35 If He called them gods, (E)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture (F)cannot be broken), 36 do you say of Him (G)whom the Father sanctified and (H)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ (I)because I said, ‘I am (J)the Son of God’? 37 (K)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, (L)believe the works, that you may know and [a]believe (M)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” 39 (N)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
The Believers Beyond Jordan
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place (O)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, (P)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.