Book of Common Prayer
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.
15 You shall leave your name (A)as a curse to (B)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And (C)call His servants by another name;
16 (D)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And (E)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.
The Glorious New Creation
17 “For behold, I create (F)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [a]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (G)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (H)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
(I)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (J)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (K)another eat;
For (L)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (M)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(N)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (O)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall come to pass
That (P)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (Q)hear.
25 The (R)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(S)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
All Things Made New
21 Now (A)I saw a new heaven and a new earth, (B)for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, [a]John, saw (C)the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared (D)as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, (E)the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 (F)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; (G)there shall be no more death, (H)nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then (I)He who sat on the throne said, (J)“Behold, I make all things new.” And He said [b]to me, “Write, for (K)these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, (L)“It[c] is done! (M)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. (N)I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.