Book of Common Prayer
God Loves Jerusalem
A song of the sons of Korah.
87 The Lord built Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
2 He loves its gates
more than any other place in Israel.
3 City of God,
wonderful things are said about you. Selah
4 God says, “I will put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me.
People from Philistia, Tyre and Cush
will be born there.”
5 They will say about Jerusalem,
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will strengthen her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” Selah
7 They will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”
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
since the beginning.
2 Before the mountains were born,
and before you created the earth and the world,
you are God.
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into dust.
You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”
4 To you, a thousand years
is like the passing of a day.
It passes like an hour in the night.
5 While people sleep, you take their lives.
They are like weeds that grow in the morning.
6 In the morning they are fresh and new.
But by evening they dry up and die.
7 We are destroyed by your anger.
We are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have put the evil we have done right in front of you.
You clearly see our secret sins.
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a moan.
10 Our lifetime is 70 years.
If we are strong, we may live to be 80.
But the years are full of hard work and pain.
They pass quickly, and then we are gone.
11 Who knows the full power of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 Teach us how short our lives really are
so that we may be wise.
13 Lord, how long before you return
and show kindness to your servants?
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.
15 We have seen years of trouble.
Now give us joy as you gave us sorrow.
16 Show your servants the wonderful things you do.
Show your greatness to their children.
17 Lord our God, be pleased with us.
Give us success in what we do.
Yes, give us success in what we do.
God’s Love Continues Forever
136 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God over all gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of all lords.
His love continues forever.
4 Only he can do great miracles.
His love continues forever.
5 With his wisdom he made the skies.
His love continues forever.
6 He spread out the earth on the seas.
His love continues forever.
7 He made the sun and the moon.
His love continues forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His love continues forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His love continues forever.
10 He killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
His love continues forever.
11 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
His love continues forever.
12 He did it with his great power and strength.
His love continues forever.
13 He parted the water of the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
14 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
His love continues forever.
15 But the king of Egypt and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His love continues forever.
17 He defeated great kings.
His love continues forever.
18 He killed powerful kings.
His love continues forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His love continues forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His love continues forever.
21 He gave their land as a gift.
His love continues forever.
22 It was a gift to his servants, the Israelites.
His love continues forever.
23 He remembered us when we were in trouble.
His love continues forever.
24 He freed us from our enemies.
His love continues forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature.
His love continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love continues forever.
Hosea’s Wife and Children
1 The Lord spoke his word to Hosea son of Beeri. This was during the time that Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. During part of this time Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
2 The Lord said to him, “Go, and marry a woman who will be unfaithful to you. She will give you children whose fathers are other men. Do this because people in this country have acted like an unfaithful wife toward the Lord.” 3 So Hosea married Gomer daughter of Diblaim. Gomer became pregnant and gave birth to Hosea’s son.
4 The Lord said to Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. This is because soon I will punish the family of Jehu for the people they killed at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. 5 And I will also break the power of Israel’s army in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. The Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah.[a] This is because I will not pity Israel anymore. I will no longer forgive them. 7 But I will show pity to the people of Judah. I will save them. I will not use bows or swords, horses or horsemen, or weapons of war to save them. I, the Lord their God, will save them.”
8 After Gomer had finished nursing Lo-Ruhamah, she became pregnant again. And she gave birth to another son. 9 The Lord said, “Name him Lo-Ammi[b] because you are not my people. And I am not your God.
God’s Promise to Israel
10 “But the people of Israel will become like the grains of sand of the sea. You cannot measure or count them. Now it is said to Israel, ‘You are not my people.’ But later they will be called ‘children of the living God.’ 11 Then the people of Judah and Israel will be joined together again. They will choose one leader for themselves. And again they will grow in their land. The day of Jezreel, when God plants, will be truly great.
2 “Your brothers and your sisters will be called ‘my people’ and ‘you have been shown love.’
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 When the trouble stopped, Paul sent for the followers to come to him. He encouraged them and then told them good-bye. Paul left and went to the country of Macedonia. 2 He said many things to strengthen the followers in the different places on his way through Macedonia. Then he went to Southern Greece. 3 He stayed there three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. 4 Some men went with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, two men from Asia. 5 These men went first, ahead of Paul, and waited for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we met them in Troas five days later. We stayed there seven days.
Paul’s Last Visit to Troas
7 On the first day of the week,[a] we all met together to break bread.[b] Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking till midnight. 8 We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. 9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. 10 Paul went down to Eutychus. He knelt down and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” 11 Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning. Then he left. 12 They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
The Trip from Troas to Miletus
13 We sailed for the city of Assos. We went first, ahead of Paul. He wanted to join us on the ship there. Paul planned it this way because he wanted to go to Assos by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 15 The next day, we sailed from Mitylene and came to a place near Chios. The next day, we sailed to Samos. A day later, we reached Miletus. 16 Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
Jesus Heals Many People
38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to Simon’s[a] house. Simon’s mother-in-law was very sick with a high fever. They asked Jesus to do something to help her. 39 He stood very close to her and commanded the fever to leave. It left her immediately, and she got up and began serving them.
40 When the sun went down, the people brought their sick to Jesus. They had many different diseases. Jesus put his hands on each sick person and healed every one of them. 41 Demons came out of many people. The demons would shout, “You are the Son of God.” But Jesus gave a strong command for the demons not to speak. They knew Jesus was the Christ.
42 At daybreak, Jesus went to a place to be alone, but the people looked for him. When they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving. 43 But Jesus said to them, “I must tell the Good News about God’s kingdom to other towns, too. This is why I was sent.”
44 Then Jesus kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.[b]
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.