Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87
Zion, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.
1 His foundation is on the holy mountains.(A)
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.(B)
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.(C)
4 “I will mention those who know Me:
Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, and Cush—
each one was born there.”(D)
5 And it will be said of Zion,
“This one and that one were born in her.”
The Most High Himself will establish her.(E)
6 When He registers the peoples,
the Lord will record,
“This one was born there.”(F)
7 Singers and dancers alike will say,
“My whole source of joy is[a] in you.”(G)
BOOK IV
(Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
Eternal God and Mortal Man
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, You have been our refuge[a]
in every generation.(A)
2 Before the mountains were born,
before You gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, You are God.(B)
3 You return mankind to the dust,
saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”(C)
4 For in Your sight a thousand years
are like yesterday that passes by,
like a few hours of the night.(D)
5 You end their lives;[b] they sleep.(E)
They are like grass that grows in the morning—
6 in the morning it sprouts and grows;
by evening it withers and dries up.(F)
7 For we are consumed by Your anger;
we are terrified by Your wrath.(G)
8 You have set our unjust ways before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your presence.(H)
9 For all our days ebb away under Your wrath;
we end our years like a sigh.(I)
10 Our lives last[c] seventy years
or, if we are strong, eighty years.
Even the best of them are[d] struggle and sorrow;
indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.(J)
11 Who understands the power of Your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear that is due You.(K)
12 Teach us to number our days carefully
so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.[e](L)
13 Lord—how long?
Turn and have compassion on Your servants.(M)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love
so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days.(N)
15 Make us rejoice for as many days as You have humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen adversity.(O)
16 Let Your work be seen by Your servants,
and Your splendor by their children.(P)
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us;
establish for us the work of our hands—
establish the work of our hands!(Q)
Psalm 136
God’s Love Is Eternal
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.(A)
His love is eternal.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love is eternal.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.(B)
His love is eternal.
4 He alone does great wonders.(C)
His love is eternal.
5 He made the heavens skillfully.(D)
His love is eternal.
6 He spread the land on the waters.(E)
His love is eternal.
7 He made the great lights:(F)
His love is eternal.
8 the sun to rule by day,
His love is eternal.
9 the moon and stars to rule by night.(G)
His love is eternal.
10 He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians(H)
His love is eternal.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love is eternal.
12 with a strong hand and outstretched arm.(I)
His love is eternal.
13 He divided the Red Sea(J)
His love is eternal.
14 and led Israel through,(K)
His love is eternal.
15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.(L)
His love is eternal.
16 He led His people in the wilderness.(M)
His love is eternal.
17 He struck down great kings
His love is eternal.
18 and slaughtered famous kings—
His love is eternal.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love is eternal.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love is eternal.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love is eternal.
22 an inheritance to Israel His servant.(N)
His love is eternal.
23 He remembered us in our humiliation(O)
His love is eternal.
24 and rescued us from our foes.(P)
His love is eternal.
25 He gives food to every creature.(Q)
His love is eternal.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!(R)
His love is eternal.
Abimelech’s Punishment
22 When Abimelech had ruled over Israel three years, 23 God sent an evil spirit(A) between Abimelech and the lords of Shechem. They treated Abimelech deceitfully, 24 so that the crime against the 70 sons of Jerubbaal might come to justice and their blood would be avenged on their brother Abimelech, who killed them, and on the lords of Shechem, who had helped him kill his brothers. 25 The lords of Shechem rebelled against him by putting people on the tops of the mountains to ambush(B) and rob everyone who passed by them on the road. So this was reported to Abimelech.
50 Abimelech went to Thebez,(A) camped against it, and captured it. 51 There was a strong tower inside the city, and all the men, women, and lords of the city fled there. They locked themselves in and went up to the roof of the tower. 52 When Abimelech came to attack the tower, he approached its entrance to set it on fire. 53 But a woman threw the upper portion of a millstone on Abimelech’s head and fractured his skull. 54 He quickly called his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, or they’ll say about me, ‘A woman killed him.’” So his armor-bearer thrust him through, and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.
56 In this way, God turned back on Abimelech the evil that he had done against his father, by killing his 70 brothers. 57 And God also returned all the evil of the men of Shechem on their heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came on them.(B)
Believers Sharing
32 Now the large group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common.(A) 33 And the apostles were giving testimony with great power to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them.(B) 34 For there was not a needy person among them, because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,(C) 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed for each person’s basic needs.[a](D)
36 Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,(E) 37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.(F)
Lying to the Holy Spirit
5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.(G)
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart(H) to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? 4 Wasn’t it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn’t it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God!” 5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.(I) 6 The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.(J)
7 There was an interval of about three hours; then his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 “Tell me,” Peter asked her, “did you sell the field for this price?”
“Yes,” she said, “for that price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!”(K)
10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband. 11 Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.
Cleansing the Temple Complex
13 The Jewish Passover(A) was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(B) 14 In the temple complex(C) He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and He also found the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords,(D) He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep(E) and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father’s(F) house(G) into a marketplace!”[a](H)
17 And His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal(I) for Your house will consume(J) Me.(K)[b]
18 So the Jews replied to Him, “What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered, “Destroy this sanctuary,(L) and I will raise it up in three days.”(M)
20 Therefore the Jews said, “This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?”(N)
21 But He was speaking about the sanctuary of His body.(O) 22 So when He was raised from the dead,(P) His disciples remembered that He had said this.(Q) And they believed the Scripture(R) and the statement Jesus had made.
23 While He was in Jerusalem(S) at the Passover Festival,(T) many trusted in His name(U) when they saw the signs He was doing. 24 Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.(V)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.