Book of Common Prayer
The Privileges of Citizenship in Zion.
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87 His (A)foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 The Lord (B)loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.
3 (C)Glorious things are spoken of you,
(D)City of God. Selah
4 “I shall mention [a](E)Rahab and Babylon [b]among those who know Me;
Behold, Philistia and (F)Tyre with [c](G)Cush:
‘This one was born there.’”
5 But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”;
And the Most High Himself will (H)establish her.
6 The Lord will count when He (I)registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 Then those who (J)sing as well as those who [d](K)play the flutes will say,
“All my (L)springs of joy are in you.”
BOOK 4
God’s Eternity and the Brevity of Human Life.
A Prayer of [a]Moses, the man of God.
90 Lord, You have been our [b](A)dwelling place in all generations.
2 Before (B)the mountains were born
[c]Or You (C)gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even (D)from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You (E)turn mortals back into dust
And say, “Return, you sons of mankind.”
4 For (F)a thousand years in Your sight
Are like (G)yesterday when it passes by,
[d]Or like a (H)watch in the night.
5 You (I)have [e]swept them away like a flood, they [f](J)fall asleep;
In the morning they are like (K)grass that [g]sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it (L)flourishes and [h]sprouts anew;
Toward evening it (M)wilts and (N)withers away.
7 For we have been (O)consumed by Your anger,
And we have been terrified by Your wrath.
8 You have (P)placed our guilty deeds before You,
Our (Q)hidden sins in the light of Your presence.
9 For (R)all our days have dwindled away in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a [i]sigh.
10 As for the days of our [j]life, [k]they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, (S)eighty years,
Yet their pride is only (T)trouble and tragedy;
For it quickly passes, and we (U)disappear.
11 Who [l]understands the (V)power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the (W)fear [m]that is due You?
12 So (X)teach us to number our days,
That we may [n](Y)present to You a heart of wisdom.
13 Do (Z)return, Lord; (AA)how long will it be?
And [o]be (AB)sorry for Your servants.
14 (AC)Satisfy us in the morning with Your graciousness,
That we may (AD)sing for joy and rejoice all our days.
15 (AE)Make us glad [p]according to the days You have afflicted us,
And the (AF)years we have seen [q]evil.
16 Let Your (AG)work appear to Your servants
And Your (AH)majesty [r]to their children.
17 May the (AI)kindness of the Lord our God be upon us;
And [s](AJ)confirm for us the work of our hands;
Yes, [t]confirm the work of our hands.
Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.
136 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, for (B)He is good,
For (C)His [a]faithfulness is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the (D)God of gods,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the (E)Lord of lords,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
4 To Him who (F)alone does great [b]wonders,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
5 To Him who (G)made the heavens [c](H)with skill,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
6 To Him who (I)spread out the earth above the waters,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
7 To Him who (J)made the great lights,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
8 The (K)sun to rule [d]by day,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
9 The (L)moon and stars to rule [e]by night,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
10 To Him who (M)struck [f]the Egyptians, that is, their firstborn,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
11 And (N)brought Israel out from their midst,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
12 With a (O)strong hand and an (P)outstretched arm,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
13 To Him who (Q)divided the [g]Red Sea in parts,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
14 And (R)allowed Israel to pass through the midst of it,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
15 But (S)He [h]overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the [i]Red Sea,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
16 To Him who (T)led His people through the wilderness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
17 To Him who (U)struck great kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
18 And (V)brought death to [j]mighty kings,
For His faithfulness is everlasting:
19 (W)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
20 And (X)Og, king of Bashan,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
21 And (Y)gave their land as an inheritance,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
22 An inheritance to His (Z)servant Israel,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
23 Who (AA)remembered us in our lowliness,
For His faithfulness is everlasting,
24 And has (AB)rescued us from our enemies,
For His faithfulness is everlasting;
25 Who (AC)gives food to all flesh,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the (AD)God of heaven,
For His faithfulness is everlasting.
15 Then Nathan went to his house.
Loss of a Child
Later the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s [a]widow bore to David, so that he was very sick. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David (A)fasted and went and (B)lay all night on the ground. 17 (C)The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them. 18 Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died. And David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was still alive, we spoke to him and he did not listen to [b]us. How then can we tell him that the child is dead, since he might do himself harm?” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” 20 So David got up from the ground, (D)washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and (E)worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and when he asked, they served him food, and he ate.
21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was [c]alive; but when the child died, you got up and ate food.” 22 And he said, “While the child was still alive, (F)I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘(G)Who knows, the Lord may be gracious to me, and the child may live.’ 23 But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? (H)I am going to him, but (I)he will not return to me.”
Solomon Born
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and slept with her; and she gave birth to a son, and [d](J)he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and sent word through Nathan the prophet, and he named him [e]Jedidiah for the Lord’s sake.
War Again
26 (K)Now Joab fought against (L)Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and captured the royal city. 27 Then Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, I have even captured the city of waters. 28 Now then, gather the rest of the people and camp opposite the city and capture it, or I will capture the city myself and it will be named after me.” 29 So David gathered all the people and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 Then (M)he took the crown of [f]their king from his head; and its weight was a [g]talent of gold, and it had a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the plunder of the city in great amounts. 31 He also brought out the people who were in it, and (N)put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made [h]others [i]serve at the brick [j]works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for (A)the disciples, and when he had [a]encouraged them and taken his leave of them, he left (B)to go to (C)Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much [b]encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 And there he spent three months, and when (D)a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for (E)Syria, he decided to return through (F)Macedonia. 4 And [c]he was accompanied by Sopater of (G)Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by (H)Aristarchus and Secundus of the (I)Thessalonians, and (J)Gaius of (K)Derbe, and (L)Timothy, and (M)Tychicus and (N)Trophimus of [d](O)Asia. 5 Now these had gone on ahead and were waiting for (P)us at (Q)Troas. 6 (R)We sailed from (S)Philippi after [e](T)the days of Unleavened Bread, and reached them at (U)Troas within five days; and we stayed there for seven days.
7 On (V)the first day of the week, when (W)we were gathered together to (X)break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his [f]message until midnight. 8 There were many (Y)lamps in the (Z)upstairs room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named [g]Eutychus sitting [h]on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and (AA)fell upon him, and after embracing him, he (AB)said, “[i]Do not be troubled, for [j]he is still alive.” 11 When Paul had gone back up and had (AC)broken the bread and [k]eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were [l]greatly comforted.
Troas to Miletus
13 But (AD)we went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go [m]by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day we came to (AE)Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past (AF)Ephesus so that he would not have to lose time in [n](AG)Asia; for he was hurrying, if it might be possible for him (AH)to be in Jerusalem (AI)the day of Pentecost.
Death and Resurrection Foretold
30 (A)And from there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “(B)The Son of Man is to be [a]handed over to men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” 32 But (C)they [b]did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.
33 (D)They came to Capernaum; and when He was in (E)the house, He began to question them: “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way (F)they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 And sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “(G)If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And He took a child and placed him among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “(H)Whoever [c]receives [d]one child like this in My name [e]receives Me; and whoever [f]receives Me does not [g]receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”
Dire Warnings
38 (I)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and (J)we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 (K)For the one who is not against us is [h]for us. 41 For (L)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink [i]because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.
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