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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 87

Psalm 87^[a]

Zion, Home of All Nations

¹A psalm of the sons of Korah.^[b] A song.

The Lord has founded a city^[c]
    on the holy mountains.
²He loves the gates of Zion
    more than^[d] any dwelling in Jacob.
³Glorious things are said of you,
    O city of God. Selah
⁴^[e]“I number Rahab and Babylon
    among those who acknowledge the Lord,
as well as Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia;
    concerning them it can be said,
    ‘This one was born there.’ ”^[f] Selah
⁵However, of Zion it will be said,
    “They were all born there,
    for the Most High himself establishes her.”^[g]
⁶The Lord records in the register^[h] of the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah
⁷And as they play, they all sing,^[i]
    “In you are all my fountains.”

Footnotes

Psalm 87:1 The psalmist here paints a picture of Jerusalem as the spiritual mother of all peoples and thus prefigures the Church of Christ (see Acts 2:5ff; Gal 4:26). No other canticle has given greater exaltation to the holy city, Zion, the chosen city of God. Not only is she at the heart of Israel, but in her, God lays the basis for the spiritual rebirth of all peoples, even the sworn enemies of Israel, such as Egypt and Chaldea, through their worship of the true God (see Ps 45:15f; Zec 2:15; 8:23). All will be admitted into her bosom, and God will declare her mother of all peoples.
After having encountered the conflicts of peoples and the persecution of Israel in so many psalms, here is a symphony with unforgettable melodies. We are enchanted by this universalist aspect and the perspective of a humanity reunited by God in his presence, in accord with the vision of the Prophets (see Isa 2:2-4; 19:19-25; 25:6; 45:14, 22-24; 56:6-8; 60:3; 66:23; Dan 7:14; Mic 4:1-3; Zec 8:23; 14:16). Such is also the vocation of the Church, the new Jerusalem, to be a leaven for the ingathering of all peoples.
Thus, in praying this psalm, Christians keep in mind not only the earthly Zion with its fulfillment, the Church, but also the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly Church, which is our true and definitive home, the source of eternal life and perfect blessedness. At the end of time, this new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride for her husband (see Rev 21:2, 24).
Psalm 87:1 Sons of Korah: see note on Ps 42:1.
Psalm 87:1 Lord has founded a city: it is the Lord himself who has made Zion his city (see Isa 14:32) and the temple his dwelling. Mountains: see note on Ps 2:6.
Psalm 87:2 Loves . . . more than: Zion is more cherished by the Lord than any other Israelite city or town (see Pss 9:12; 78:68; 132:12-14). The gates of Zion: a common Hebrew idiom for the city. Jacob: i.e., Israel (see Gen 32:28-29).
Psalm 87:4 These verses foresee a wholesale conversion to the Lord on the part of peoples who were longtime enemies of God and his kingdom (see Isa 19:21).
Psalm 87:4 The Gentiles will be incorporated into the People of God and adopted by Zion, their religious homeland. As the representatives of all the Gentile nations, the psalmist mentions the arrogant Egypt (Rahab—the name of an ocean monster used poetically for Egypt) and Babylon, the two world kingdoms on the Nile and Euphrates, both of which had fought for centuries for the possession of Palestine. We also hear of the Philistines, archenemy of Israel, wealthy Tyre proud of its independence, and the ambitious Ethiopians.
Psalm 87:5 The privileges of the holy city and her spiritual motherhood are divine in origin and hence indefectible. The eschatological community of the faithful is established by the Lord (see Ps 48:9; Isa 14:32; 28:16; 54:11f).
Psalm 87:6 Here it is a case simply of a list (register) of the citizens of Zion (see Isa 4:3; Ezek 13:9) rather than the apocalyptic book of destinies (see Ps 69:28). Each people will thus have two homelands—one material and one spiritual. The basis for the people’s security and inclusion in Zion lies in the promise of the Lord and the fact that he is its builder (see Heb 11:10, 16).
Psalm 87:7 Zion is associated with “the fountain of life” (Ps 36:10), of “salvation” (Isa 12:3), “a river whose streams bring joy to the city of God” (Ps 46:5; see Ezek 47; Rev 22:1-5). As they play, they all sing: an alternative translation is: “As they make music, they will sing.” Hence, the peoples will be admitted to the official liturgical worship (see Isa 66:21) and will at least be able to participate in the ritual dances (see Pss 149:3; 150:4; 2 Sam 6:5).

Psalm 90

Book IV—Psalms 90–106^[a]

Psalm 90^[b]

Prayer To Use Time Wisely

¹A prayer of Moses, the man of God.^[c]

Lord, you have been our refuge
    from generation to generation.
²Before the mountains were brought forth
    or the earth and the world came into existence,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³You turn men back to dust,
    saying, “Return,^[d] you children of men.”
⁴For to you a thousand years
    are like a yesterday that has passed
    or one of the watches of the night.^[e]
⁵You snatch them away like a dream;
    they are like the grass of the field,^[f]
⁶which at dawn flourishes and is green
    but by nightfall is withered and dry.
⁷^[g]We have been brought low by your anger
    and overwhelmed with terror by your wrath.
⁸You have not forgotten our iniquities;
    our secret sins are clearly visible in your sight.
⁹All our days pass away under your wrath;
    our years are consumed like a sigh.
¹⁰The span of our life numbers seventy years,
    or perhaps eighty, if we have enough strength.
Most of them are marked by toil and emptiness;^[h]
    they pass swiftly, and then we fly away.
¹¹^[i]Who understands the might of your anger
    and rightly fears the power of your wrath?
¹²Teach us to comprehend how few our days are
    so that our hearts may be filled with wisdom.
¹³Return,^[j] O Lord. How long must we wait?
    Show compassion to your servants.
¹⁴Fill us with your kindness in the morning^[k]
    so that we may exult and be glad all our days.
¹⁵Grant us joy for as many days as you have afflicted us
    and for as many years as we have known misfortune.
¹⁶Manifest your works to your servants
    and your glory to their children.
¹⁷May the favor^[l] of the Lord, our God, rest upon us.
    And may the work of our hands prosper—
    indeed, may the work of our hands prosper.

Footnotes

Psalm 90:1 Joined to a series of very diverse psalms, many of which lack superscription or indication of origin, is a well-defined group: the psalms of the kingdom of God (Pss 93; 96–99). In this part of the Psalter, praise comes to the fore. The psalmists acclaim the Creator who brought the world into being as well as the Lord who intervenes in history. They await the God who comes to make all things new.
Psalm 90:1 The psalmist (who is well versed in the Scriptures) herein depicts the dismal human condition as contrasted with the majesty and eternity of God. The Lord alone remains. Man passes away, a derisory creature undermined by sin; even if his life is lengthy, it remains precarious. The ancient account of the fall and the malediction of Adam (see Gen 3:19) illustrates the origin of our human condition: the ancients accept it with some distress and resignation (see the Book of Ecclesiastes). Man’s days are numbered, and it is wisdom to reflect on this fact.
However, such lucidity does not exclude the joy that comes when God’s presence illumines the days that he accords to each one and the times that he prepares for his people. This meditation of wisdom becomes a prayer of conversion.
Praying with the expressive formulas of the psalmist will teach us to contemplate the eternity of God and aid us to be detached from the present life, sin, and death, which can prevent us from entering into eternal life.
Psalm 90:1 Man of God: a phrase usually applied to prophets (see 1 Sam 2:27), including Moses (see Deut 33:1; Jos 14:6).
Psalm 90:3 Return: by a word of the Lord, human beings return to the dust from which they were made (see Gen 2:7; 3:19).
Psalm 90:4 A thousand years are for God like one day or, even less, like a fraction of one night—like one of the three watches into which the night was divided (see Jdg 7:19). This verse is cited in 2 Pet 3:8.
Psalm 90:5 The life of people is like that of the new grass that appears at dawn and disappears by nightfall under the burning rays of the sun (see Pss 103:16f; 129:6; Job 14:1f; Isa 40:6f). They have no longevity.
Psalm 90:7 Short though it is, human life is filled with trouble because of sin and God’s righteous wrath.
Psalm 90:10 Most of them are marked by toil and emptiness: an alternative translation is: “Yet their span is but emptiness and sorrow” (see Gen 6:3; Job 20:8; Prov 10:27; Eccl 12:1ff; Sir 18:8f).
Psalm 90:11 The psalmist prays that God may teach his people to appreciate the number of years given them and to use them in doing God’s will. He asks that they may acquire a correct view of life so as not to challenge God’s wrath but rather work out their salvation throughout their life. All this is given us in wisdom, which discerns the true values and gives the righteous a realistic attitude in accord with the divine will and adapted to circumstances (see Deut 4:6; 32:29). Hearts: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 90:13 The psalmist now extends to Israel the meditation and prayer that concerned all humanity. Return: i.e., “relent.” How long . . . ?: see note on Ps 6:4.
Psalm 90:14 The psalmist prays that in the morning (the typical time for deliverance and salvation: see note on Ps 49:15) God’s love will put an end to the long night of their trial. The fulfillment of this prayer is found in the resurrection (see Rom 5:2-5; 8:18; 2 Cor 4:16-18). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.
Psalm 90:17 Favor: another translation is “beauty,” which constitutes the Lord’s “goodness” (see Ps 27:4 and note). Thus, the psalmist asks for God’s loving help to his people, so that their work may be effective and enduring, even though the workers are apt to disappear quickly. Indeed, may the work of our hands prosper: this second occurrence of these words may be an accidental repetition.

Psalm 136

Psalm 136^[a]

Thanksgiving for the Creation and Redemption

¹^[b]Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his love endures forever.
²Give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his love endures forever.
³Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his love endures forever.
⁴He alone works great wonders,
    for his love endures forever.
⁵^[c]In his wisdom he made the heavens,
    for his love endures forever.
⁶He spread out the earth upon the waters,^[d]
    for his love endures forever.
⁷He made the great lights,
    for his love endures forever.
⁸He made the sun to rule over the day,
    for his love endures forever.
⁹He made the moon and stars to rule the night,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁰^[e]He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
    for his love endures forever.
¹¹He led forth Israel from among them,
    for his love endures forever.
¹²He did so with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
    for his love endures forever.
¹³^[f]He divided the Red Sea in two,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁴Then he led Israel through its midst,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁵But he swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁶^[g]Then he led his people through the wilderness,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁷He struck down great kings,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁸He slew powerful kings,
    for his love endures forever.
¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites,
    for his love endures forever.
²⁰Og, king of Bashan,
    for his love endures forever.
²¹^[h]He gave their land as a heritage,
    for his love endures forever.
²²The heritage was for his servant Israel,
    for his love endures forever.
²³The Lord remembered us in our wretched state,
    for his love endures forever.
²⁴He rescued us from our enemies,
    for his love endures forever.
²⁵^[i]He provides food to every creature,
    for his love endures forever.
²⁶Give thanks to the God of heaven,
    for his love endures forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 136:1 This psalm was for Israel the last of the “Great Hallel” psalms or, according to some Jewish authorities, the only Hallel psalm, the supreme song of praise. Associated with the great annual feasts, especially with the Feast of Passover, it is made up of exclamations of gratitude to God (accompanying a list of his wonders) and of enthusiastic assents from the crowd. In this list there are three great wonders that are never separated in Israel. First, the creation and life of the world (vv. 5-9). Next, the deliverances worked by God for Israel: the Exodus from Egypt (vv. 10-12), the passage through the Red Sea (vv. 13-15), the sojourn and victories in the wilderness (vv. 16-20), and the Conquest of the Promised Land (vv. 21-24). Finally, God’s solicitude for every living being, the grace of the bread for each day (v. 25). As it goes through this list of favors, Israel sings of God’s merciful love.
Such a psalm could not fail to become a favorite of the Church for the Easter Vigil. By his Passion and Resurrection, Christ has given life to a new world; human beings are snatched from slavery to sin and advance in their earthly pilgrimage to become the people reunited around God in the new Promised Land, the kingdom of heaven. In the accents of the Great Hallel, Christians thus sing of the Passover of the world.
Psalm 136:1 The words give thanks here mean “confess” or “acknowledge” (see Lev 5:5; Prov 28:13) and therefore, call us to grateful worship indicating what we know of God’s glory and his deeds. Since he is the God of gods and the Lord of lords (see Deut 10:17), he alone is to be thanked for all the acts in creation and redemption (see Ps 72:18; Ex 15:11).
Psalm 136:5 The psalmist here brings together two Old Testament treatments of the creation theme: that of Proverbs, which speaks of the understanding and wisdom (v. 5) presupposed by creation (see Prov 3:19f; 8:1, 22-31; see also Ps 104:24; Jer 10:12), and that of Genesis, which gives the account of it (Ps 136:6-9: see Gen 1:9f, 16-18).
Psalm 136:6 Upon the waters: see Ps 24:2.
Psalm 136:10 Of the many wonders during the Exodus from Egypt, the psalmist mentions the tenth plague (see Pss 78:51; 105:36; 135:8) and the Lord’s strong hand and outstretched arm, a metaphor for God’s great and personal strength in favor of his people (see Ex 6:1, 6; Deut 4:34).
Psalm 136:13 At the Red Sea, the Lord discredited Pharaoh and his forces by judging them (see Ex 14:27), while he rescued his people (see Ps 106:7ff; Ex 4:23).
Psalm 136:16 The Lord guided his people through the wilderness (see Deut 8:15; Jer 2:6; Am 2:10) and won victories for them. He struck down the great and mighty kings like Sihon and Og (see Ps 135:11; Deut 2:30ff; 3:1), who are representative of a long number of Canaanite kings. Verses 17-22 are practically identical with Ps 135:10-12.
Psalm 136:21 God was with his servant Israel during the Conquest of the Promised Land, which became their heritage (see Ps 135:12), as well as from that time till the present. The Lord’s remembrance is based on the covenant and is intended to effectively bring out the complete redemption of his afflicted people (see Ex 6:5).
Psalm 136:25 Finally, it is the Lord who provides daily bread for all his creatures; therefore, all should praise him. God of heaven: an expression current during the Persian epoch (see Ezr 1:2; 5:11; 6:9; Neh 1:5; 2:4) that became classic (see Jud 5:8; Dan 2:18).

Ezekiel 3:4-17

⁴He then said to me: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and deliver my message to them. ⁵For you are not being sent to a people that speaks a difficult and barbaric language, but to the house of Israel. ⁶I am not sending you to great nations, whose speech you would not be able to comprehend, although they would listen to what you had to say.

⁷However, the house of Israel will not listen to you because it would not listen to me. The whole house of Israel is defiant and obstinate in heart. ⁸But I will make you as defiant and obstinate as they are. ⁹I will make your resolve as hard as a diamond. I have made your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not fear them, or be concerned about their appearance, for they are a rebellious house.

¹⁰He went on: Listen carefully, son of man, to all my words. Receive them into your heart and hear them with your ears. ¹¹Then go to your countrymen in exile and say to them, “Thus says the Lord,” whether they listen or refuse to listen.

¹²Then a Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of loud rumbling as the glory of the Lord rose from its place: ¹³the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, a fierce rumbling sound. ¹⁴The Spirit lifted me up and carried me away, and I departed in bitterness and anger, as the hand of the Lord rested heavily upon me. ¹⁵I came to the exiles at Tel-abib^[a] who lived by the River Chebar, and for seven days I sat among them in a state of consternation.

¹⁶The Prophet as Sentry. At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them my warning.

Hebrews 5:7-14

⁷During the course of his earthly life, Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who had the power to save him from death, and he was heard because of his godly fear. ⁸Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings, ⁹and when he had been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, ¹⁰and he was designated a high priest by God according to the order of Melchizedek.

Christ, the One True Priest^[a]

Deepen the Christian Life.^[b] We have much to say about this subject, but it is difficult to explain because you have been slow in learning. ¹²By this time you should have been teachers, yet you still need to have someone explain to you the basic elements of God’s words.

You need milk, not solid food. ¹³Anyone who lives on milk is still an infant and is ignorant of the word of righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for adults whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish between good and evil.

Luke 9:37-50

End of the Galilean Ministry

³⁷Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon.^[a] On the following day, when they descended from the mountain, a large crowd came forth to meet him. ³⁸Then, suddenly, a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I implore you to look at my son. He is my only child. ³⁹A spirit seizes him and with a shriek suddenly throws him into convulsions until he begins to foam at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him, continuously torturing him. ⁴⁰I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.”

⁴¹Jesus said in reply, “O unbelieving and perverse generation! How much longer shall I remain with you and have to endure you? Bring your son here!” ⁴²As the boy was approaching him, the demon threw him into convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, cured the boy, and gave him back to his father. ⁴³And all those present were awestruck at the greatness of God.

Jesus Predicts His Passion a Second Time.^[b] Amid the astonishment of the crowds at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁴“Listen carefully to these words. The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.” ⁴⁵But they did not understand what he was saying. Its meaning was hidden from them so that they could not comprehend his message, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

⁴⁶True Greatness.^[c] The disciples then began to argue about which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a child, placed him by his side, ⁴⁸and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”

⁴⁹Whoever Is Not against You Is with You.^[d] John then said, “Master, we saw someone expelling demons in your name, and we forbade him because he is not with us.” ⁵⁰Jesus replied, “Do not hinder him! For whoever is not against you is with you.”

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 87[a]

Zion, Home of All Nations

Footnotes

Book IV—Psalms 90–106[a]

Psalm 90[b]

Prayer To Use Time Wisely

Footnotes

Psalm 136[a]

Thanksgiving for the Creation and Redemption

Footnotes

Footnotes

Christ, the One True Priest[a]

Footnotes

End of the Galilean Ministry

Footnotes

Psalm 87^[a]

Book IV—Psalms 90–106^[a]

Psalm 90^[b]

Psalm 136^[a]

Christ, the One True Priest^[a]