Book of Common Prayer
By Korah’s descendants; a psalm; a song.
87 ⌞The city⌟ the Lord has founded ⌞stands⌟ on holy mountains.
2 The Lord loves the city of Zion
more than any other place in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said about you, O city of God! Selah
4 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “I will add Egypt and Babylon
as well as Philistia, Tyre, and Sudan
to the list of those who acknowledge me.
Each nation ⌞will claim that it⌟ was born there.”
5 But it will be said of Zion,
“Every race is born in it.
The Most High will make it secure.”
6 The Lord will record this in the Book of Nations:
“Every race ⌞claims that it⌟ was born there.” Selah
7 Singers and dancers will sing,
“Zion is the source of all our blessings.”
BOOK FOUR
(Psalms 90–106)
A prayer by Moses, the man of God.
90 O Lord, you have been our refuge throughout every generation.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world, you were God.
You are God from everlasting to everlasting.
3 You turn mortals back into dust
and say, “Return, descendants of Adam.”
4 Indeed, in your sight a thousand years are like a single day,
like yesterday—already past—
like an hour in the night.
5 You sweep mortals away.
They are a dream.
They sprout again in the morning like cut grass.
6 In the morning they blossom and sprout.
In the evening they wither and dry up.
7 Indeed, your anger consumes us.
Your rage terrifies us.
8 You have set our sins in front of you.
You have put our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 Indeed, all our days slip away because of your fury.
We live out our years like one ⌞long⌟ sigh.
10 Each of us lives for 70 years—
or even 80 if we are in good health.
But the best of them ⌞bring⌟ trouble and misery.
Indeed, they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who fully understands the power of your anger?
A person fears you more when he better understands your fury.
12 Teach us to number each of our days
so that we may grow in wisdom.
13 Return, Lord! How long … ?
Change your plans about ⌞us,⌟ your servants.
14 Satisfy us every morning with your mercy
so that we may sing joyfully and rejoice all our days.
15 Make us rejoice for as many days as you have made us suffer,
for as many years as we have experienced evil.
16 Let ⌞us,⌟ your servants, see what you can do.
Let our children see your glorious power.
17 Let the kindness of the Lord our God be with us.
Make us successful in everything we do.
Yes, make us successful in everything we do.
136 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods
because his mercy endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords
because his mercy endures forever.
4 Give thanks to the only one who does miraculous things—
because his mercy endures forever.
5 to the one who made the heavens by his understanding—
because his mercy endures forever.
6 to the one who spread out the earth on the water—
because his mercy endures forever.
7 to the one who made the great lights—
because his mercy endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day—
because his mercy endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to rule the night—
because his mercy endures forever.
10 Give thanks to the one who killed the firstborn males in Egypt—
because his mercy endures forever.
11 He brought Israel out from among them—
because his mercy endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and a powerful arm—
because his mercy endures forever.
13 Give thanks to one who divided the Red Sea—
because his mercy endures forever.
14 He led Israel through the middle of it—
because his mercy endures forever.
15 He swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea—
because his mercy endures forever.
16 Give thanks to the one who led his people through the desert—
because his mercy endures forever.
17 Give thanks to the one who defeated powerful kings—
because his mercy endures forever.
18 He killed mighty kings—
because his mercy endures forever.
19 King Sihon of the Amorites—
because his mercy endures forever.
20 and King Og of Bashan—
because his mercy endures forever.
21 He gave their land as an inheritance—
because his mercy endures forever.
22 as an inheritance for his servant Israel—
because his mercy endures forever.
23 He remembered us when we were humiliated—
because his mercy endures forever.
24 He snatched us from the grasp of our enemies—
because his mercy endures forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature—
because his mercy endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven
because his mercy endures forever.
The Prophet Hosea
1 The Lord spoke his word to Hosea, son of Beeri, when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and when Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel.
Hosea Marries a Prostitute
2 When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, the Lord told him, “Marry a prostitute and have children with that prostitute. The people in this land have acted like prostitutes and abandoned the Lord.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and had a son.
4 The Lord told Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will punish Jehu’s family for the people they slaughtered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 On that day I will break Israel’s bows and arrows in the valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer became pregnant again and had a daughter. The Lord told Hosea, “Name her Lo Ruhamah [Unloved]. I will no longer love the nation of Israel. I will no longer forgive them. 7 Yet, I will love the descendants of Judah. I will rescue them because I am the Lord their God. I won’t use bows, swords, wars, horses, or horsemen to rescue them.”
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and had a son. 9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi [Not My People]. You are no longer my people, and I am no longer your God.[a][b]
10 “Yet, the Israelites will become as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to measure them or count them. Wherever they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be told, ‘You are the children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one leader for themselves, and they will grow in the land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.
Israel Is the Lord’s Unfaithful Wife
2 [c]“So call your brothers Ammi [My People],
and call your sisters Ruhamah [Loved].
20 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, said goodbye, and left for Macedonia. 2 He went through that region and spoke many words of encouragement to the people. Then he went to Greece 3 and stayed there for three months.
Paul in Troas
When Paul was going to board a ship for Syria, he found out that the Jews were plotting to kill him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 Sopater (son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia accompanied Paul. 5 All these men went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 6 After the Festival of Unleavened Bread, we boarded a ship at Philippi. Five days later we joined them in Troas and stayed there for seven days.
7 On Sunday we met to break bread. Paul was discussing ⌞Scripture⌟ with the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight. 8 (Many lamps were lit in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)
9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window. As Paul was talking on and on, Eutychus was gradually falling asleep. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was dead when they picked him up. 10 Paul went to him, took him into his arms, and said, “Don’t worry! He’s alive!” 11 Then Eutychus went upstairs again, broke the bread, and ate. Paul talked with the people for a long time, until sunrise, and then left.
12 The people took the boy home. They were greatly relieved that he was alive.
Paul’s Trip to Miletus
13 We went ahead to the ship and sailed for the city of Assos. At Assos, we were going to pick up Paul. He had made these arrangements, since he had planned to walk overland to Assos. 14 When Paul met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to the city of Mitylene. 15 We sailed from there. On the following day we approached the island of Chios. The next day we went by the island of Samos, and on the next day we arrived at the city of Miletus. 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others(A)
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to help her. 39 He bent over her, ordered the fever to leave, and it went away. She got up immediately and prepared a meal for them.
40 When the sun was setting, everyone who had friends suffering from various diseases brought them to him. He placed his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 Demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus ordered them not to speak. After all, they knew he was the Messiah.
Spreading the Good News(B)
42 In the morning he went to a place where he could be alone. The crowds searched for him. When they came to him, they tried to keep him from leaving. 43 But he said to them, “I have to tell the Good News about God’s kingdom in other cities also. That’s what I was sent to do.”
44 So he spread his message in the synagogues of Judea.[a]
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