Book of Common Prayer
The Glories of the City of God
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 (A)The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 (B)Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God! Selah
4 “I will make mention of [a]Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’ ”
5 And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
6 The Lord will record,
When He (C)registers the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 Both the singers and the players on instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer (A)of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, (B)You have been our [a]dwelling place in all generations.
2 (C)Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [b]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, (D)“Return, O children of men.”
4 (E)For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
(F)They are like a sleep.
In the morning (G)they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 (H)You have set our iniquities before You,
Our (I)secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 (J)So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And (K)have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
(L)That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let (M)Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 (N)And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And (O)establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy
136 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
(B)For His mercy endures forever.
2 Oh, give thanks to (C)the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:
4 To Him (D)who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
5 (E)To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
6 (F)To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
7 (G)To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
8 (H)The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.
10 (I)To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
11 (J)And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
12 (K)With a strong hand, and with [a]an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
13 (L)To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
15 (M)But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
16 (N)To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
17 (O)To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
18 (P)And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
19 (Q)Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
20 (R)And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
21 (S)And gave their land as a [b]heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
22 A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
23 Who (T)remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And (U)rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
25 (V)Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
4 Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. 5 For you are not sent to a people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, but to the house of Israel, 6 not to many people of unfamiliar speech and of hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, (A)had I sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel will not listen to you, (B)because they will not listen to Me; (C)for all the house of Israel are [a]impudent and hard-hearted. 8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their faces, and your forehead strong against their foreheads. 9 (D)Like adamant stone, harder than flint, I have made your forehead; (E)do not be afraid of them, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they are a rebellious house.”
10 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. 11 And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, (F)‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.”
12 Then (G)the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the (H)glory of the Lord from His place!” 13 I also heard the (I)noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. 14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the [b]heat of my spirit; but (J)the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. 15 Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who dwelt by the River Chebar; and (K)I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days.
Ezekiel Is a Watchman
16 Now it (L)came to pass at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 17 (M)“Son of man, I have made you (N)a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them (O)warning from Me:
7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had (A)offered up prayers and supplications, (B)with vehement cries and tears to Him (C)who was able to save Him from death, and was heard (D)because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned (E)obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And (F)having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest (G)“according to the order of Melchizedek,” 11 of whom (H)we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become (I)dull of hearing.
Spiritual Immaturity
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the [a]oracles of God; and you have come to need (J)milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is (K)a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are [b]of full age, that is, those who by reason of [c]use have their senses exercised (L)to discern both good and evil.
A Boy Is Healed(A)
37 (B)Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O [a]faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and [b]bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death(C)
43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.
But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 (D)“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 (E)But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
Who Is the Greatest?(F)
46 (G)Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, (H)perceiving the thought of their heart, took a (I)little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, (J)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and (K)whoever receives Me (L)receives Him who sent Me. (M)For he who is least among you all will be great.”
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism(N)
49 (O)Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for (P)he who is not against [c]us is on [d]our side.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.