Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87[a]
Zion the True Birthplace
1 (A)A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
I
His foundation is on holy mountains,
2 The Lord loves the gates[b] of Zion
more than any dwelling in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
Selah
II
4 Rahab and Babylon I count
among those who know me.
See, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
“This one was born there.”
5 [c]And of Zion it will be said:
“Each one was born in it.”(B)
The Most High will establish it;(C)
6 the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born there.”(D)
Selah
7 So singers and dancers:
“All my springs are in you.”(E)
Fourth Book—Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90[a]
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
I
Lord, you have been our refuge
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born,
the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.(A)
3 You turn humanity back into dust,[b]
saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”(B)
4 A thousand years in your eyes
are merely a day gone by,(C)
Before a watch passes in the night,
5 [c]you wash them away;(D)
They sleep,
and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
6 In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
in the evening it is wilted and withered.[d](E)
II
7 Truly we are consumed by your anger,
filled with terror by your wrath.
8 You have kept our faults before you,
our hidden sins in the light of your face.(F)
9 Our life ebbs away under your wrath;(G)
our years end like a sigh.
10 Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong;
Most of them are toil and sorrow;
they pass quickly, and we are gone.
11 Who comprehends the strength of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
12 Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
III
13 Relent, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your mercy,(H)
that all our days we may sing for joy.
15 Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.(I)
16 Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.(J)
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
Psalm 136[a]
Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Everlasting Mercy
I
1 Praise the Lord, for he is good;(A)
for his mercy endures forever;
2 Praise the God of gods;
for his mercy endures forever;
3 Praise the Lord of lords;
for his mercy endures forever;
II
4 Who alone has done great wonders,(B)
for his mercy endures forever;
5 Who skillfully made the heavens,(C)
for his mercy endures forever;
6 Who spread the earth upon the waters,(D)
for his mercy endures forever;
7 Who made the great lights,
for his mercy endures forever;
8 The sun to rule the day,
for his mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule the night,(E)
for his mercy endures forever;
III
10 Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,(F)
for his mercy endures forever;
11 And led Israel from their midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
12 With mighty hand and outstretched arm,(G)
for his mercy endures forever;
13 Who split in two the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures forever;
14 And led Israel through its midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
15 But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,(H)
for his mercy endures forever;
16 Who led the people through the desert,(I)
for his mercy endures forever;
IV
17 Who struck down great kings,(J)
for his mercy endures forever;
18 Slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his mercy endures forever;
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his mercy endures forever;
21 And made their lands a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
22 [b]A heritage for Israel, his servant,
for his mercy endures forever.
V
23 The Lord remembered us in our low estate,
for his mercy endures forever;
24 Freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever;
25 And gives bread to all flesh,
for his mercy endures forever.
VI
26 Praise the God of heaven,
for his mercy endures forever.
The Seventy Elders. 16 Then the Lord said to Moses: Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the tent of meeting. When they are in place beside you, 17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will confer it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself.
The Spirit on the Elders. 24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. Gathering seventy elders of the people, he had them stand around the tent. 25 The Lord then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied[a] but did not continue.
26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 So, when a young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” 28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the Lord were prophets! If only the Lord would bestow his spirit on them!”
11 Therefore, remember that at one time you, Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by those called the circumcision, which is done in the flesh by human hands, 12 were at that time without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel[a] and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.(A) 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.(B)
14 [b]For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,(C) 15 abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person[c] in place of the two, thus establishing peace,(D) 16 and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.(E) 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near,(F) 18 for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.(G)
19 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God,(H) 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,(I) with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.[d] 21 Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;(J) 22 in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.(K)
28 [a]When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 [b](A)for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
III. Ministry and Mission in Galilee[c]
Chapter 8
The Cleansing of a Leper. 1 (B)When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And then a leper[d] approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” 3 He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. 4 [e]Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;(C) that will be proof for them.”
The Healing of a Centurion’s Servant.[f]
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