Book of Common Prayer
God Loves Jerusalem
A song. A psalm of the sons of Korah [C descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].
87 ·The Lord built Jerusalem [L Its foundations are] on the holy mountain [C Zion, the location of the Temple].
2 ·He [L The Lord] loves ·its gates [L the gates of Zion] more than any other place in ·Israel [L Jacob].
3 City of God,
·wonderful [glorious] things are said about you [46; 48; Is. 2:2–4; 26:1–2; 60:15–22; 61:1–7]. ·
4 God says, “I will ·put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me [L mention Rahab and Babylonia as those who know me].
People from Philistia, Tyre, and Cush [C Ethiopia]
will be born there.”
5 They will say about ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple],
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will ·strengthen [establish] her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” ·
7 They will dance and sing,
“All ·good things come from Jerusalem [L my fountains are in you; 46:4; Jer. 2:13; Ezek. 47; Rev. 22:1–5].”
Book 4: Psalms 90–106
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our ·home [dwelling place; Deut. 33:27]
·since the beginning [L from all generations].
2 Before the mountains were born
and before you ·created [brought forth] the earth and the world,
you are God [Prov. 8:22–31].
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into ·dust [L what is crushed; Gen. 2:7; 3:19; Eccl. 12:7].
You say, “·Go back into dust [L Return; Turn back], human beings.”
4 ·To you [L In your eyes], a thousand years
is like the passing of a day [2 Pet. 3:8],
or ·like a few hours [L a watch; C the night was divided into four watches of three hours each] in the night.
5 While people sleep, you ·take [put an end to] their lives.
They are like grass that ·grows up [is new] in the morning.
6 In the morning they ·are fresh and new [blossom and are renewed],
but by evening they ·dry up [fade] and ·die [wither].
7 We are ·destroyed [annihilated] by your anger;
we are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have ·put [set] ·the evil we have done [our guilt/iniquity] right in front of you;
·you clearly see our secret sins [L our hidden/secret sins in the light of your face].
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a ·moan [sigh].
10 ·Our lifetime is [L The days of our years are] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
But ·the years are full of [L their pride are] ·hard work [toil] and ·pain [trouble; Eccl. 1:2].
They pass quickly, and then we ·are gone [L fly away].
11 Who knows the ·full power [strength] of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 ·Teach us [Make us know] ·how short our lives really are [L to count our days]
so that we ·may be wise [L gain a wise heart].
13 Lord, how long before you ·return [turn]
and show ·kindness [compassion] to your servants?
14 ·Fill [Satisfy] us with your ·love [loyalty] every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our ·lives [L days].
15 We have seen years of ·trouble [harm; hurt].
Now give us as ·much [L many days of] joy as you gave us ·sorrow [affliction].
16 Show your servants ·the wonderful things you do [your miracles];
·show your greatness [your splendor/beauty] to their children.
17 Lord our God, ·treat us well [favor us].
·Give us success in what we do [L Establish the work of our hands for us];
·yes, give us success in what we do [L establish the work of our hands].
God’s Love Continues Forever
136 ·Give thanks to [Praise] the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 ·Give thanks to [Praise] the God of gods.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
3 ·Give thanks to [Praise] the Lord of lords.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
4 Only he can do ·great miracles [great and wonderful acts].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
5 With his ·wisdom [L understanding; 104:24; Prov. 3:19; Jer. 10:12] he made the ·skies [heavens; Gen. 1:6–7].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
6 He spread out the earth on the ·seas [waters; Gen. 1:9–10].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
7 He made the ·sun and the moon [L great lights; Gen. 1:14–15].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day [Gen. 1:16–18].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night [Gen. 1:16–18].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
10 He ·killed [L struck] the firstborn sons of the Egyptians [Ex. 11].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
11 He brought the people of Israel out of ·Egypt [L their midst; Ex. 12:31–51].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
12 He did it with his ·great power [L strong hand] and ·strength [L outstretched arm].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
13 He parted the water of the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [78:13; Ex. 14–15].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
14 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
15 But ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh] and his army ·drowned in [were swept into] the ·Red [Reed] Sea [v. 13].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
16 He led his people through the ·desert [wilderness; Deut. 8:15; Jer. 2:6].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
17 He ·defeated [L struck] great kings.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
18 He killed ·powerful [mighty] kings.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites [Num. 21:21–32].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan [Num. 21:32–35].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
21 He gave their land as a ·gift [inheritance].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
22 It was a ·gift [inheritance] to his servants, the Israelites.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
23 He remembered us ·when we were in trouble [L in our low condition].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
24 He ·freed us from [pulled us away from] our ·enemies [foes].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
25 He gives ·food [bread] to ·every living creature [L all flesh].
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
26 ·Give thanks to [Praise] the God of heaven.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
God Judges the Nations
9 ·Announce [Proclaim] this among the nations:
Prepare for war!
·Wake up [Rouse; Call out] the ·soldiers [warriors; mighty men]!
Let all the men of war come near and attack.
10 ·Make swords from your plows [T Beat your plowshares into swords],
and make spears from your ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks; C the opposite of Is. 2:4].
Let even the weak person say,
“I am ·a soldier [a warrior; or strong].”
11 All of you nations, hurry,
and ·come together [assemble] in that place.
Lord, ·send your soldiers
to gather the nations [L bring down your warriors].
12 “·Wake up, nations [or Let the nations be roused],
and come ·to attack in [up to] the Valley ·Where the Lord Judges [L of Jehoshaphat; v. 2].
There I will sit to judge
all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the ·cutting tool [sickle],
because the harvest is ripe.
Come, ·walk on them as you would walk on grapes to get their juice [L trample the grapes],
because the winepress is full
and the ·barrels [vats] are ·spilling over [overflowing],
because ·these people are so evil [their wickedness/evil is great]!”
14 ·There are huge numbers of people [L Multitudes, multitudes]
in the Valley of Decision [C the place of the Lord’s verdict against the nations; vv. 2, 12],
because the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord; 1:15] is near
in the Valley of Decision.
15 The sun and the moon will become dark,
and the stars will ·stop shining [L withhold their brightness; 2:10].
16 The Lord ·will roar like a lion from Jerusalem [L roars from Zion];
his loud voice will thunder from ·that city [L Jerusalem],
and the ·sky [heavens] and the earth will shake.
But the Lord will be a ·safe place [refuge] for his people,
a ·strong place of safety [stronghold] for the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel.
17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
live on my holy Mount Zion.
Jerusalem will be a holy place,
and ·strangers [foreigners] will never even go through it again [C as invaders].
Love All People
2 My dear brothers and sisters [C fellow believers], as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never ·think some people are more important than others [show favoritism/partiality; Lev. 19:15; Deut. 10:17–18]. 2 Suppose someone comes into your ·church meeting [gathering; assembly; C the word can mean “synagogue,” but here refers to a house church gathering] wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing ·old, dirty [shabby; filthy] clothes. 3 You ·show special attention to [take notice of; look favorably on] the one wearing nice clothes and say, “Please, sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor person, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit on the floor ·by my feet [or beside my footstool].” 4 ·What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others [L Are you not discriminating among yourselves…?], and ·with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better [or you are judging with evil thoughts; or you are acting like judges with evil motives].
5 Listen, my ·dear [L beloved] brothers and sisters [C fellow believers]! ·God chose [L Did not God choose…?] the poor in the world [1 Cor. 1:26–29] to be rich with faith and to ·receive [L be heirs of] the kingdom God promised to those who love him [Luke 6:20]. 6 But you ·show no respect to [dishonor; have insulted] the poor. ·The rich are always trying to control your lives. They are the ones who take you to court [L Don’t the rich exploit/oppress you and drag you into court?]. 7 ·And they are the ones who speak against Jesus, who owns you [or Don’t they slander the noble/good name by which you were called? L Don’t they blaspheme the noble/good name that was invoked over you? C The “name” may be the person’s name or the name of Jesus, to whom they belong].
8 This royal law [C because God the king decreed it, or because it is the supreme law] is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself [Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:37–40].” ·If you [or If you really; or If you, however,] ·obey [fulfill; carry out] this law, you are doing ·right [well]. 9 But if you ·treat one person as being more important than another [show favoritism/partiality; 2:1], you are sinning. You are ·guilty of breaking God’s law [L convicted by the law as lawbreakers/ transgressors]. 10 [L For] A person who ·follows [keeps; obeys] all of God’s law but ·fails to obey even one command [L stumbles/falls in one point] is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law. 11 [L For] The same God who said, “You must not ·be guilty of [commit] adultery [Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18],” also said, “You must not murder anyone [Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17].” So if you do not ·take part in [commit] adultery but you murder someone, ·you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law [L you have become a breaker/transgressor of the law; Matt. 5:18–19; Gal. 5:3]. 12 ·In everything you say and do, remember that you [L So speak and so act as those who] will be judged by the law ·that makes people free [L of freedom/liberty]. 13 ·So you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you [L For judgment is without mercy to the one who does not act mercifully]. ·But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear at the judgment [L But mercy triumphs over judgment].
10 Whoever ·can be trusted [is faithful] with a little ·can also be trusted [is also faithful] with a lot, and whoever is ·dishonest [unjust] with a little is ·dishonest [unjust] with a lot. 11 If [L therefore] you ·cannot be trusted [have not been faithful] with ·worldly riches [L unrighteous mammon], then who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you ·cannot be trusted [have not been faithful] with things that belong to someone else, who will give you things of your own?
13 “No servant can serve two ·masters [lords]. [L For] The servant will hate one master and love the other, or will ·follow [be devoted/loyal to] one master and ·refuse to follow [despise] the other. You cannot serve both God and ·worldly riches [money; L mammon].”
God’s Law Cannot Be Changed
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, were listening to all these things and ·made fun of [derided; ridiculed] Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You ·make yourselves look good [justify yourselves] in front of people, but God knows what is really in your hearts. What is ·important to [exalted/esteemed by] people is ·hateful [detestable; an abomination] in God’s sight.
16 “The law of Moses and the writings of the prophets [C the Old Testament] ·were preached [or were in force; L were] until John [C the Baptist] came [3:1–20; C John is the transitional figure between the age of promise and the age of salvation]. Since then the ·Good News [Gospel] about the kingdom of God is being ·told [preached; proclaimed], and everyone ·tries to enter it by force [or is eager to get into it; or is strongly urged to enter it]. 17 It would be easier for heaven and earth to ·pass away [disappear] than for ·the smallest part [L one stroke] of a letter in the law to ·be changed [drop out; Matt. 5:18; 11:12–13].
Divorce and Remarriage(A)
18 “If a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he ·is guilty of [commits] adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman ·is also guilty of [commits] adultery.”
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