Book of Common Prayer
God Loves Jerusalem
A song of the sons of Korah.
87 The Lord built Jerusalem on the holy mountain.
2 He loves its gates
more than any other place in Israel.
3 City of God,
wonderful things are said about you. Selah
4 God says, “I will put Egypt and Babylonia
on the list of nations that know me.
People from Philistia, Tyre and Cush
will be born there.”
5 They will say about Jerusalem,
“This one and that one were born there.
God Most High will strengthen her.”
6 The Lord will keep a list of the nations.
He will note, “This person was born there.” Selah
7 They will dance and sing,
“All good things come from Jerusalem.”
Book 4
Psalms 90—106
God Is Eternal, and We Are Not
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, you have been our home
since the beginning.
2 Before the mountains were born,
and before you created the earth and the world,
you are God.
You have always been, and you will always be.
3 You turn people back into dust.
You say, “Go back into dust, human beings.”
4 To you, a thousand years
is like the passing of a day.
It passes like an hour in the night.
5 While people sleep, you take their lives.
They are like weeds that grow in the morning.
6 In the morning they are fresh and new.
But by evening they dry up and die.
7 We are destroyed by your anger.
We are terrified by your hot anger.
8 You have put the evil we have done right in front of you.
You clearly see our secret sins.
9 All our days pass while you are angry.
Our years end with a moan.
10 Our lifetime is 70 years.
If we are strong, we may live to be 80.
But the years are full of hard work and pain.
They pass quickly, and then we are gone.
11 Who knows the full power of your anger?
Your anger is as great as our fear of you should be.
12 Teach us how short our lives really are
so that we may be wise.
13 Lord, how long before you return
and show kindness to your servants?
14 Fill us with your love every morning.
Then we will sing and rejoice all our lives.
15 We have seen years of trouble.
Now give us joy as you gave us sorrow.
16 Show your servants the wonderful things you do.
Show your greatness to their children.
17 Lord our God, be pleased with us.
Give us success in what we do.
Yes, give us success in what we do.
God’s Love Continues Forever
136 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
His love continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God over all gods.
His love continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of all lords.
His love continues forever.
4 Only he can do great miracles.
His love continues forever.
5 With his wisdom he made the skies.
His love continues forever.
6 He spread out the earth on the seas.
His love continues forever.
7 He made the sun and the moon.
His love continues forever.
8 He made the sun to rule the day.
His love continues forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
His love continues forever.
10 He killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
His love continues forever.
11 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
His love continues forever.
12 He did it with his great power and strength.
His love continues forever.
13 He parted the water of the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
14 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
His love continues forever.
15 But the king of Egypt and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
His love continues forever.
16 He led his people through the desert.
His love continues forever.
17 He defeated great kings.
His love continues forever.
18 He killed powerful kings.
His love continues forever.
19 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
His love continues forever.
20 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
His love continues forever.
21 He gave their land as a gift.
His love continues forever.
22 It was a gift to his servants, the Israelites.
His love continues forever.
23 He remembered us when we were in trouble.
His love continues forever.
24 He freed us from our enemies.
His love continues forever.
25 He gives food to every living creature.
His love continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love continues forever.
15 Then Nathan went home. And the Lord caused the son of David and Bathsheba, Uriah’s widow, to become very sick. 16 David prayed to God for the baby. David refused to eat or drink. He went into his house and stayed there. He lay on the ground all night. 17 The elders of David’s family came to him. They tried to pull him up from the ground. But he refused to get up. And he refused to eat food with them.
18 On the seventh day the baby died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the baby was dead. They said, “Look, we tried to talk to David while the baby was alive. But he refused to listen to us. If we tell him the baby is dead, he may harm himself.”
19 But David saw his servants whispering. Then he understood that the baby was dead. So he asked them, “Is the baby dead?”
They answered, “Yes, he is dead.”
20 Then David got up from the floor. He washed himself, put lotions on himself and changed his clothes. Then he went into the Lord’s house to worship. After that, he went home and asked for something to eat. His servants gave him some food, and he ate.
21 David’s servants said to him, “Why are you doing this? When the baby was still alive, you refused to eat. You cried. But when the baby died, you got up and ate food.”
22 David said, “While the baby was still alive, I refused to eat, and I cried. I thought, ‘Who knows? Maybe the Lord will feel sorry for me and let the baby live.’ 23 But now the baby is dead. So why should I go without food? I can’t bring him back to life. Some day I will go to him. But he cannot come back to me.”
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife. He slept with her and had intimate relations with her. She became pregnant again and had another son. David named the boy Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon. 25 The Lord sent word through Nathan the prophet to name the baby Jedidiah.[a] This was because the Lord loved the child.
David Captures Rabbah
26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah, a city of the Ammonites. And he was about to capture the royal city. 27 Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. I have captured its water supply. 28 Now bring the other soldiers together and attack this city. Capture it before I capture it myself. If I capture this city, it will be called by my name!”
29 So David gathered all the army and went to Rabbah. He fought against Rabbah and captured it. 30 David took the crown off their king’s head. It was gold and weighed about 75 pounds. It also had gems in it. They put the crown on David’s head. And David took many valuable things out of the city. 31 He also brought out the people of the city. He made them work with saws, iron picks and axes. He also forced them to build with bricks. David did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his army went back to Jerusalem.
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 When the trouble stopped, Paul sent for the followers to come to him. He encouraged them and then told them good-bye. Paul left and went to the country of Macedonia. 2 He said many things to strengthen the followers in the different places on his way through Macedonia. Then he went to Southern Greece. 3 He stayed there three months. He was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So Paul decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria. 4 Some men went with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from the city of Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus, from the city of Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; and Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus, two men from Asia. 5 These men went first, ahead of Paul, and waited for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and we met them in Troas five days later. We stayed there seven days.
Paul’s Last Visit to Troas
7 On the first day of the week,[a] we all met together to break bread.[b] Paul spoke to the group. Because he was planning to leave the next day, he kept on talking till midnight. 8 We were all together in a room upstairs, and there were many lamps in the room. 9 A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window. As Paul continued talking, Eutychus was falling into a deep sleep. Finally, he went sound asleep and fell to the ground from the third floor. When they picked him up, he was dead. 10 Paul went down to Eutychus. He knelt down and put his arms around him. He said, “Don’t worry. He is alive now.” 11 Then Paul went upstairs again, broke bread, and ate. He spoke to them a long time, until it was early morning. Then he left. 12 They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
The Trip from Troas to Miletus
13 We sailed for the city of Assos. We went first, ahead of Paul. He wanted to join us on the ship there. Paul planned it this way because he wanted to go to Assos by land. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 15 The next day, we sailed from Mitylene and came to a place near Chios. The next day, we sailed to Samos. A day later, we reached Miletus. 16 Paul had already decided not to stop at Ephesus. He did not want to stay too long in Asia. He was hurrying to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
Jesus Talks About His Death
30 Then Jesus and his followers left that place and went through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was 31 because he wanted to teach his followers alone. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be given to men who will kill him. After three days, he will rise from death.” 32 But the followers did not understand what Jesus meant. And they were afraid to ask.
Who Is the Greatest?
33 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum and went into a house there. Then Jesus said to them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the 12 apostles to him. He said, “If anyone wants to be the most important, then he must be last of all and servant of all.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. He took the child in his arms and said, 37 “If anyone accepts children like these in my name, then he is also accepting me. And if he accepts me, then he is also accepting the One who sent me.”
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us
38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of a person. We told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
39 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him. Anyone who uses my name to do powerful things will not say evil things about me. 40 He who is not against us is with us. 41 I tell you the truth. If anyone helps you by giving you a drink of water because you belong to the Christ, then he will truly get his reward.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.