Book of Common Prayer
This psalm is a song that the sons of Korah wrote.
God's holy city[a]
87 The Lord built his city on the holy mountain.
2 The Lord loves Zion city,
more than any other place where Jacob's family lives.[b]
3 People say great things about you!
You are God's own city!
Selah.
4 I will speak about the nations that serve God.
Rahab and Babylon are now among them,
also Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia.[c]
They say about themselves,
‘This man was born in Zion.’
5 They say this about Zion:
‘Each one of these people was born there.’
It is the Most High God who makes that city strong.
6 The Lord will write a list of all their names.
For the people from different nations,
he will say, ‘This person was born in Zion.’
Selah.
7 The singers and the musicians will say,
‘All our blessings come from you, Zion.’
A prayer of Moses, God's servant.
God lives for ever![a]
90 Lord, from long ago,
you have always been a safe home for us.[b]
2 From before the mountains began,
and before you made the world,
you were already there, as God.
You have no beginning and no end.
3 People return to dust in the ground when they die.
You say, ‘Become dust again, you people.’[c]
4 For you, a thousand years is only a short time.
They pass as quickly as a day for you,
or just a few hours in the night.
5 You cause people's lives to end,
as a dream finishes when you wake up.
People are like grass that appears in the morning.
6 During the morning, it grows well.
By the evening,
it becomes dry and it dies.
7 Your anger destroys us,
and we become very afraid.
8 All our sins are there for you to see.
You even see the sins that we have tried to hide.
9 Your anger gives us trouble all through our lives.
Then our lives end in a short groan.
10 The number of our days make 70 years,
or maybe 80 years if we are strong enough.
But even in the best years of our lives,
we have trouble and pain.
Our lives quickly pass,
and we hurry towards death.
11 Lord, nobody knows all the power of your anger.
It is your anger that causes people to be afraid of you.
12 Teach us to count carefully the days of our short lives.
Then we will be wise in how we live.
13 Lord, return to help us!
How long will you be angry with us?
Please be kind to us, your servants!
14 Show your faithful love to us every morning.
Then we will sing with joy,
and we will be happy for as long as we live.
15 For many years you have sent trouble to us.
Now, please make us happy
for as many years as you have given us pain.
16 Do great things again,
so that we, your servants, see them!
Let our children see that you rule as King!
17 Yes, may the Lord our God bless us.
May everything that we do go well!
Yes, may everything go well!
The Lord's special love[a]
136 Thank the Lord, because he is good!
His faithful love will always continue.
2 Thank God, who rules all gods.
His faithful love will always continue.
3 Thank the Lord who rules all lords.
His faithful love will always continue.
4-9 The Lord himself does great miracles.
He was wise when he made the skies.
He put the earth across the water of the seas.
He made the great lights to shine in the sky.
He made the sun to rule over the day.
He made the moon and the stars to rule the night.
So thank the Lord!
His faithful love will always continue.[b]
10-16 The Lord destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt.
He brought the Israelites out from among the Egyptians.
He did this with his great power and strength.
He cut the Red Sea into two separate parts.
He led the Israelites through the middle of the sea.
He threw Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea to drown.
The Lord led his people through the wilderness.
So thank the Lord!
His faithful love will always continue.[c]
17-22 The Lord destroyed great kings.
Yes, he killed powerful kings.
He killed Sihon, king of the Amorites.
He killed Og, the king of Bashan.
He gave their land to his people, the Israelites.
He gave it to them as their own land.
So thank the Lord!
His faithful love will always continue.[d]
23-25 The Lord thought about us when we were upset.
He saved us from the power of our enemies.
He gives food to everything that lives.
So thank the Lord!
His faithful love will always continue.[e]
26 Yes, thank the God of heaven!
His faithful love will always continue.
10 I am very happy,
because of what the Lord, my God, has done.[a]
I have so much joy!
He has given salvation to me,
like clothes that I can wear all the time.
I have his righteousness as my coat!
He makes me handsome,
like a bridegroom who wears a priest's hat.
He makes me beautiful,
like a bride who wears her jewels.
11 The Almighty Lord will cause his righteousness
to grow everywhere.
It will grow like crops in the fields,
and like plants that grow in a garden.
Then his people will praise him,
and all the nations will see it!
Salvation will come to Zion
62 Because I love Zion,
I will not be quiet.
I cannot stay quiet,
because Jerusalem is in trouble.
I will continue to speak until she is safe again.
I want her righteousness to shine
like the sun at dawn.
I want her salvation to be a bright light in the dark.
2 Jerusalem, the nations will see your righteousness.
All their kings will see how great you are.
People will call you by a new name,
which the Lord himself will give to you.
3 The Lord your God will hold you in his hand,
and you will bring him honour.
You will be like his beautiful crown!
4 They will no longer call you by the name ‘Alone’.
They will not call your land ‘Empty place’.
Instead, they will call you ‘The one that makes God happy’.
The name of your land will be ‘Married’.
Yes, the Lord will be very happy with you.
Your land will be his bride.
5 As a young man marries a pure young woman,
so your sons will marry you, Jerusalem.[b]
Your God will be very happy that you belong to him,
as a bridegroom is happy with his new wife.
Timothy must continue to do his work for God
4 Timothy, I tell you this seriously, as God and Christ Jesus see everything that we do. When Christ Jesus comes to rule as king, he will judge everyone. He will judge the people who are alive and also those who have already died. When he appears, he will decide what should happen to them all. So I tell you this now: 2 Tell God's message to people. Always be ready to speak God's message clearly to people, whether they want to listen to you or not. Warn people when they are doing something wrong. Tell them to stop doing wrong things, and explain to them what they ought to do. But be very patient while you teach them what is true.
3 Do this, because a time will come when people will not listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to hear all kinds of new messages that will make them happy. So they will find many teachers for themselves who will tell them what they want to hear. 4 People will refuse to listen to God's true message. Instead, they will want to listen to silly stories that are false. 5 But you yourself must continue to think seriously and clearly. Be patient and brave when troubles come. Continue to tell the good news about Christ to people. Do all the work that God has given you to do as his servant.
6 As for me, it is nearly time for me to die. My death will be like a drink offering that they pour out to God. My life as God's servant will end.[a] 7 I have worked to serve Christ well. I have finished everything that God wanted me to do. I am like a runner who has run to the end of the race. I have continued to believe God's true message. 8 So now a gift is waiting for me. The Lord will make me completely right with him. That will be like a crown which the Lord will give me on that great day when he judges people. He is the judge who is fair and right. He will not only give that gift to me. He will give it to all those people who love him. They will be happy to see him when he comes again.[b]
Jesus causes a blind man to see
46 Then Jesus and his disciples arrived in Jericho. When they were leaving the city again, a large crowd of people followed them. A blind man was sitting by the side of the road. He was asking people to give him money.[a] His name was Bartimaeus and he was the son of Timaeus.
47 Somebody told Bartimaeus that Jesus from Nazareth was walking past him. So he began to shout. He said, ‘Jesus, Son of David! Please be kind to me and help me!’
48 Many people were angry with Bartimaeus. They told him that he should be quiet. But he shouted even louder than before, ‘Son of David![b] Please help me!’
49 Jesus stopped. He said to the people, ‘Tell the man to come here.’ So the people said to the blind man, ‘Be brave! Stand up. Jesus is asking you to go to him.’ 50 So Bartimaeus threw away his coat. He jumped up and he came to Jesus.
51 Then Jesus said to Bartimaeus, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’
The blind man said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, I want to see again.’
52 ‘Go,’ Jesus said to him. ‘You are well now, because you believed in me.’ Immediately, Bartimaeus could see again. He followed Jesus along the road.
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