Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87
The Joy of Living in Zion
Of the Korahites. A Psalm. A Song.
1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.(A)
3 Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God. Selah(B)
4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
Philistia, too, and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in it,”
for the Most High himself will establish it.(C)
6 The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah(D)
7 Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”(E)
Book IV
(Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place[a]
in all generations.(A)
2 Before the mountains were brought forth
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.(B)
3 You turn us[b] back to dust
and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”(C)
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past
or like a watch in the night.(D)
5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;(E)
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.(F)
7 For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.(G)
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end[c] like a sigh.(H)
10 The days of our life are seventy years
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span[d] is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.(I)
11 Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.(J)
12 So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.(K)
13 Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!(L)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.(M)
15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants
and your glorious power to their children.(N)
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!(O)
Psalm 136
God’s Work in Creation and in History
1 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(A)
2 O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(B)
3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
4 who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(C)
5 who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(D)
6 who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(E)
7 who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(F)
8 the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(G)
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
10 who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(H)
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(I)
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(J)
13 who divided the Red Sea[a] in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(K)
14 and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(L)
15 but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,[b]
for his steadfast love endures forever;(M)
16 who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(N)
who made water flow from the rock,
for his steadfast love endures forever;[c]
17 who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(O)
18 and killed famous kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
20 and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
21 and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(P)
22 a heritage to his servant Israel,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
23 It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(Q)
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;(R)
25 who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.(S)
26 O give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
The Seventy Elders
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting and have them take their place there with you.(A) 17 I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself.(B)
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and placed them all around the tent.(A) 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders, and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.(B)
26 Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, so they prophesied in the camp.(C) 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men,[a] said, “My lord Moses, stop them!”(D) 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”(E)
One in Christ
11 So then, remember that at one time you gentiles by birth,[a] called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a circumcision made in the flesh by human hands(A)— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.(B) 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.(C) 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us,(D) 15 abolishing the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,(E) 16 and might reconcile both to God in one body[b] through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.[c](F) 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.(G) 19 So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,(H) 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone;[d](I) 21 in him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord,(J) 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually[e] into a dwelling place for God.
28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these words, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,(A) 29 for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.
Jesus Cleanses a Man
8 When Jesus[a] had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him, 2 and there was a man with a skin disease who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”(B) 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately his skin disease was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”(C)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.