Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87[a]
Zion, Home of All Nations
1 A psalm of the sons of Korah.[b] A song.
The Lord has founded a city[c]
on the holy mountains.
2 He loves the gates of Zion
more than[d] any dwelling in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God. Selah
4 [e]“I number Rahab and Babylon
among those who acknowledge the Lord,
as well as Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia;
concerning them it can be said,
‘This one was born there.’ ”[f] Selah
5 However, of Zion it will be said,
“They were all born there,
for the Most High himself establishes her.”[g]
6 The Lord records in the register[h] of the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 And as they play, they all sing,[i]
“In you are all my fountains.”
Book IV—Psalms 90–106[a]
Psalm 90[b]
Prayer To Use Time Wisely
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.[c]
Lord, you have been our refuge
from generation to generation.
2 Before the mountains were brought forth
or the earth and the world came into existence,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn men back to dust,
saying, “Return,[d] you children of men.”
4 For to you a thousand years
are like a yesterday that has passed
or one of the watches of the night.[e]
5 You snatch them away like a dream;
they are like the grass of the field,[f]
6 which at dawn flourishes and is green
but by nightfall is withered and dry.
7 [g]We have been brought low by your anger
and overwhelmed with terror by your wrath.
8 You have not forgotten our iniquities;
our secret sins are clearly visible in your sight.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
our years are consumed like a sigh.
10 The span of our life numbers seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we have enough strength.
Most of them are marked by toil and emptiness;[h]
they pass swiftly, and then we fly away.
11 [i]Who understands the might of your anger
and rightly fears the power of your wrath?
12 Teach us to comprehend how few our days are
so that our hearts may be filled with wisdom.
13 Return,[j] O Lord. How long must we wait?
Show compassion to your servants.
14 Fill us with your kindness in the morning[k]
so that we may exult and be glad all our days.
15 Grant us joy for as many days as you have afflicted us
and for as many years as we have known misfortune.
16 Manifest your works to your servants
and your glory to their children.
17 May the favor[l] of the Lord, our God, rest upon us.
And may the work of our hands prosper—
indeed, may the work of our hands prosper.
Psalm 136[a]
Thanksgiving for the Creation and Redemption
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures forever.
4 He alone works great wonders,
for his love endures forever.
5 [c]In his wisdom he made the heavens,
for his love endures forever.
6 He spread out the earth upon the waters,[d]
for his love endures forever.
7 He made the great lights,
for his love endures forever.
8 He made the sun to rule over the day,
for his love endures forever.
9 He made the moon and stars to rule the night,
for his love endures forever.
10 [e]He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his love endures forever.
11 He led forth Israel from among them,
for his love endures forever.
12 He did so with a strong hand and outstretched arm,
for his love endures forever.
13 [f]He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love endures forever.
14 Then he led Israel through its midst,
for his love endures forever.
15 But he swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his love endures forever.
16 [g]Then he led his people through the wilderness,
for his love endures forever.
17 He struck down great kings,
for his love endures forever.
18 He slew powerful kings,
for his love endures forever.
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love endures forever.
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his love endures forever.
21 [h]He gave their land as a heritage,
for his love endures forever.
22 The heritage was for his servant Israel,
for his love endures forever.
23 The Lord remembered us in our wretched state,
for his love endures forever.
24 He rescued us from our enemies,
for his love endures forever.
25 [i]He provides food to every creature,
for his love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his love endures forever.
Chapter 14
The People Rebel.[b] 1 The whole assembly cried out and wept loudly that night. 2 All the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole assembly said to them, “Would that we would have died in Egypt, or we had died in this desert! 3 Why did the Lord bring us into this land so that we fall by the sword? Our wives and our children will be taken as plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 They said to one another, “Let us choose a leader who will take us back to Egypt.”
5 Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered there. 6 Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. 7 They spoke to the entire assembly of the people of Israel saying, “The land we passed through and explored is a tremendously good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection is gone, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them!”
The Lord’s Response.10 But the whole assembly decided to stone them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting in front of all of the people of Israel. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? How long before they trust me, in spite of all the signs that I have performed in their midst? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and I will destroy them. Then I will make a nation arise from you that is greater and mightier than they are.”[c]
13 But Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your power you brought this people out from their midst. 14 They will report it to the people of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people, for you, O Lord, are seen face to face. Your cloud stands over them, and you go before them as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as if it were a single man, then the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he promised them, so he killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 Therefore, my Lord, show your great power, for as you have declared, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the father upon the sons to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 By your great mercy, I beseech you, forgive this people, just as you have forgiven this people ever since they left Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord answered, “I have forgiven them, just as you have asked. 21 But assuredly, just as I live and the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 because this entire people has witnessed my glory and the miracles that I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet they have put me to the test these ten times and have not heeded my voice, 23 none of them will see the land that I promised to their fathers. None of those who despised me will see it. 24 But I will bring my servant Caleb into the land that he entered because he has a different spirit and wholeheartedly follows me. His descendants will inherit it. 25 Turn back tomorrow and set out for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea for the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valley.”
The Whole World Guilty before God.[a] 9 Well, then, are we any better?[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written,
“There is no one who is righteous,
not even one.
11 There is no one who has understanding,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away;
together they have become worthless.
There is no one who shows kindness,
not even one.
13 Their throats are open graves;
they use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of vipers is on their lips;
14 their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
15 Their feet hasten to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their paths.
17 The way of peace they do not know;
18 there is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that what the Law says is addressed to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the entire world may be seen as guilty before God. 20 For no one can be regarded as justified in the sight of God by keeping the Law. The Law brings only the consciousness of sin.
The Coming of the Son of Man[a]
The Ministry in Judea and Jerusalem
Chapter 19
Marriage and Celibacy.[b] 1 When Jesus had finished this discourse, he left Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came forward and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason whatsoever?” 4 He replied, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ 5 and said: ‘That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh’? 6 And so they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He replied, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like this from the beginning. 9 Now I say to you: if a man divorces his wife for any reason except if the marriage was unlawful and marries another, he commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to him, “If that is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 He replied, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been made so from birth and eunuchs who were made so by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let those accept this who can do so.”[c]
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