Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
1 The city of His foundation is on the holy mountain.
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah.
4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon
to those who know Me;
look, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia;
“This man was born there.”
5 But of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,”
for the Most High shall make her secure.
6 The Lord shall count when He registers the people,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 As well the singers and the players of instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or You had formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
3 You return man to the dust
and say, “Return, you children of men.”
4 For a thousand years in Your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a night watch in the night time.
5 You carry them away as with a flood;
they are as a dream, like renewed grass in the morning:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7 For we are consumed by Your anger,
and by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 You have set our iniquities before You,
even our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For all our days pass away in your wrath;
we end our years with a groan.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
and if by reason of strength eighty;
yet their length is toil and sorrow,
for they soon end, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
Or Your wrath according to Your fear?
12 So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord, how long?
Have mercy on Your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the early morning with Your mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days that You have afflicted us,
and the years that we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work be displayed to Your servants
and Your glory to their children.
17 Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands among us;
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 136
1 Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,
for His mercy endures forever.
2 Oh, give thanks unto 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 who alone does great wonders,
for His mercy endures forever;
5 to Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
for His mercy endures forever;
6 to Him who stretched out the earth above the waters,
for His mercy endures forever;
7 to Him who made the great heavenly lights,
for His mercy endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for His mercy endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for His mercy endures forever;
10 to Him who struck down in Egypt their firstborn,
for His mercy endures forever;
11 and brought out Israel from among them,
for His mercy endures forever;
12 with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm,
for His mercy endures forever;
13 to Him who divided the Red Sea into two,
for His mercy endures forever;
14 and made Israel to pass through the midst of it,
for His mercy endures forever;
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for His mercy endures forever;
16 to Him who led His people through the wilderness,
for His mercy endures forever;
17 to Him who struck down great kings,
for His mercy endures forever;
18 and slew mighty kings,
for His mercy endures forever;
19 Sihon king of the Amorites,
for His mercy endures forever;
20 and Og king of Bashan,
for His mercy endures forever;
21 and gave their land for a possession,
for His mercy endures forever;
22 even an inheritance to Israel His servant,
for His mercy endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our low place,
for His mercy endures forever;
24 and has redeemed us from our enemies,
for His mercy endures forever;
25 who gives food to all people,
for His mercy endures forever.
26 Give thanks unto the God of heaven,
for His mercy endures forever.
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Consecrate a war!
Stir up the mighty men!
Let all the men of war draw near and rise.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks into spears;
let the weakling say,
“I am a warrior!”
11 Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations,
and gather there.
Bring down Your warriors, O Lord.
12 Let the nations be roused,
and go up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit
to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Swing the sickle,
for the harvest is ripe.
Come and tread,
for the winepress is full.
The wine vats overflow,
because their evil is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near
in the valley of the decision.
15 The sun and moon darken,
and the stars withdraw their radiance.
16 The Lord roars from Zion,
and sounds His voice from Jerusalem,
and heaven and earth quake.
But the Lord is a refuge for His people,
and a stronghold for the children of Israel.
The Lord Dwells in Zion
17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God,
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain.
And Jerusalem will be holy,
and invaders will never again pass through her.
Warning Against Partiality
2 My brothers, have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, without partiality. 2 For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes into your assembly, and also a poor man in ragged clothing comes in, 3 and you have respect for him who wears the fine clothing and say to him, “Sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor, “Stand there,” or “Sit here under my footstool,” 4 have you not then become partial among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers. Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you and drag you before the judgment seats? 7 Do they not blaspheme that worthy name by which you are called?
8 If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,”[a] you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as sinners. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty of breaking the whole law. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,”[b] also said, “Do not kill.”[c] Now if you do not commit adultery, yet you kill, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For he who has shown no mercy will have judgment without mercy, for mercy triumphs over judgment.
10 “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much. And he who is dishonest in the least is dishonest also in much. 11 So if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who will give you that which is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
The Law and the Kingdom of God(A)
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things and derided Him. 15 He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed before men is an abomination before God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were preached until John. Since then the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17 It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of the law to fail.
18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced by her husband commits adultery.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.