Book of Common Prayer
A song of praise from the Korah family.
87 The Lord built his city on the holy hills.
2 He loves the gates of Zion more than any other place in Israel.
3 Wonderful things are said about you, City of God. Selah
4 God says, “Some of my people live in Egypt[a] and Babylon.
Some of them were born in Philistia, Tyre, and even Ethiopia.”
5 But about Zion he says,
“I know each and every person born there.”
It is the city built by God Most High.
6 The Lord keeps a list of all his people,
and he knows where each of them was born. Selah
7 At the festivals, people will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Zion.”
Book 4
(Psalms 90-106)
The prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 My Lord, you have been our home forever and ever.
2 You were God before the mountains were born,
before the earth and the world were made.
You have always been and will always be God!
3 You bring people into this world,
and you change them into dust again.
4 To you, a thousand years is like yesterday,
like a few hours in the night.
5 Our life is like a dream that ends when morning comes.
We are like grass
6 that grows and looks so fresh in the morning,
but in the evening it is dry and dying.
7 Your anger could destroy us.
Your anger frightens us!
8 You know about all our sins.
You see every one of our secret sins.
9 Your anger can end our life.
Our lives fade away like a whisper.
10 We live about 70 years
or, if we are strong, 80 years.
But most of them are filled with hard work and pain.
Then, suddenly, the years are gone, and we fly away.
11 No one really knows the full power of your anger,
but our fear and respect for you is as great as your anger.
12 Teach us how short our lives are
so that we can become wise.
13 Lord, come back to us.
Be kind to your servants.
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Let us be happy and enjoy our lives.
15 For years you have made life hard for us and have given us many troubles.
Now make us happy for just as long.
16 Let your servants see the wonderful things you can do for them.
And let their children see your glory.
17 Lord, our God, be kind to us.
Make everything we do successful.
Yes, make it all successful.
136 Praise the Lord because he is good.
His faithful love will last forever.
2 Praise the God of gods!
His faithful love will last forever.
3 Praise the Lord of lords!
His faithful love will last forever.
4 Praise him who alone does wonderful miracles!
His faithful love will last forever.
5 Praise the one who used wisdom to make the skies!
His faithful love will last forever.
6 He spread the land over the sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
7 He made the great lights.
His faithful love will last forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His faithful love will last forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His faithful love will last forever.
10 He killed the firstborn males in Egypt, both men and animals.
His faithful love will last forever.
11 He took Israel out of Egypt.
His faithful love will last forever.
12 He used his powerful arms and strong hands.
His faithful love will last forever.
13 He split the Red Sea into two parts.
His faithful love will last forever.
14 He led Israel through the sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
15 He drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.
His faithful love will last forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His faithful love will last forever.
17 He defeated powerful kings.
His faithful love will last forever.
18 He defeated strong kings.
His faithful love will last forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His faithful love will last forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His faithful love will last forever.
21 He gave their land to Israel.
His faithful love will last forever.
22 He gave it as a gift to Israel, his servant.
His faithful love will last forever.
23 He remembered us when we were defeated.
His faithful love will last forever.
24 He saved us from our enemies.
His faithful love will last forever.
25 He provides food for all living things.
His faithful love will last forever.
26 Praise the God of heaven!
His faithful love will last forever.
4 Then God said to me, “Son of man, go to the family of Israel. Speak my words to them. 5 I am not sending you to some foreigners you cannot understand. You don’t have to learn another language. I am sending you to the family of Israel. 6 I am not sending you to many different countries where people speak languages you cannot understand. If you went to those people and spoke to them, they would listen to you. But you will not have to learn those hard languages. 7 No, I am sending you to the family of Israel. Only, these people have hard heads—they are very stubborn! And the people of Israel will refuse to listen to you. They don’t want to listen to me. 8 But I will make you just as stubborn as they are, and your head just as hard. 9 A diamond is harder than flint rock. In the same way you will be more stubborn than they are, and your head will be harder. Then you will not be afraid of them or those who always turn against me.”
10 Then God said to me, “Son of man, listen to every word I say to you and remember them. 11 Then go to all of your people in exile and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says ….’ They will not listen, and they will not stop sinning, but you must still tell them my message.”
12 Then the Spirit[a] lifted me up, and I heard a voice behind me. It was very loud, like thunder. It said, “Blessed is the Glory of the Lord!” 13 Then the wings of the living beings began moving. The wings made a very loud noise as they touched each other, and the wheels in front of them began making a noise as loud as thunder. 14 The Spirit lifted me and took me away. I was very sad and upset in my spirit, but I felt the Lord’s power in me. 15 I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv[b] by the Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.
The Watchman of Israel
16 After seven days, the word of the Lord came to me. He said, 17 “Son of man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel.
7 While Jesus lived on earth he prayed to God, asking for help from the one who could save him from death. He prayed to God with loud cries and tears. And his prayers were answered because of his great respect for God. 8 Jesus was the Son of God, but he still suffered, and through his sufferings he learned to obey whatever God says. 9 This made him the perfect high priest, who provides the way for everyone who obeys him to be saved forever. 10 God made him high priest, just like Melchizedek.
Warning Against Falling Away
11 We have many things to tell you about this. But it is hard to explain because you have stopped trying to understand. 12 You have had enough time that by now you should be teachers. But you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s teaching. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food. 13 Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby and is not able to understand much about living right. 14 But solid food is for people who have grown up. From their experience they have learned to see the difference between good and evil.
Jesus Frees a Boy From an Evil Spirit(A)
37 The next day, Jesus, Peter, John, and James came down from the mountain. A large group of people met Jesus. 38 A man in the group shouted to him, “Teacher, please come and look at my son. He is the only child I have. 39 An evil spirit comes into him, and then he shouts. He loses control of himself and foams at the mouth. The evil spirit continues to hurt him and almost never leaves him. 40 I begged your followers to make the evil spirit leave my son, but they could not do it.”
41 Jesus answered, “You people today have no faith. Your lives are all wrong. How long must I be with you and be patient with you?” Then Jesus said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 While the boy was coming, the demon threw the boy to the ground. The boy lost control of himself. But Jesus gave a strong command to the evil spirit. Then the boy was healed, and Jesus gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were amazed at the great power of God.
Jesus Talks About His Death(B)
The people were still amazed about all the things Jesus did. He said to his followers, 44 “Don’t forget what I will tell you now: The Son of Man will soon be handed over to the control of other men.” 45 But the followers did not understand what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them so that they could not understand it. But they were afraid to ask Jesus about what he said.
Who Is the Greatest?(C)
46 Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a little child and stood the child beside him. 48 Then he said to the followers, “Whoever accepts a little child like this in my name is accepting me. And anyone who accepts me is also accepting the one who sent me. The one among you who is the most humble—this is the one who is great.”
Whoever Is Not Against You Is for You(D)
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone using your name to force demons out of people. We told him to stop because he does not belong to our group.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t stop him. Whoever is not against you is for you.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International