Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87
Zion, the City of God
A psalm of the sons of Korah. A song.
1 The city he founded[a] is on the holy mountains.(A)
2 The Lord loves Zion’s city gates
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.(B)
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God.(C)Selah
4 “I will make a record of 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)Selah
7 Singers and dancers[b] alike will say,[c]
“My whole source of joy is[d] 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 iniquities 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 faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords.(B)
His faithful love endures forever.
4 He alone does great wonders.(C)
His faithful love endures forever.
5 He made the heavens skillfully.(D)
His faithful love endures forever.
6 He spread the land on the waters.(E)
His faithful love endures forever.
7 He made the great lights:(F)
His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule by day,
His faithful love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to rule by night.(G)
His faithful love endures forever.
10 He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians(H)
His faithful love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His faithful love endures forever.
12 with a strong hand and outstretched arm.(I)
His faithful love endures forever.
13 He divided the Red Sea(J)
His faithful love endures forever.
14 and led Israel through,(K)
His faithful love endures forever.
15 but hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea.(L)
His faithful love endures forever.
16 He led his people in the wilderness.(M)
His faithful love endures forever.
17 He struck down great kings
His faithful love endures forever.
18 and slaughtered famous kings—
His faithful love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His faithful love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His faithful love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His faithful love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to Israel his servant.(N)
His faithful love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our humiliation(O)
His faithful love endures forever.
24 and rescued us from our foes.(P)
His faithful love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.(Q)
His faithful love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven!(R)
His faithful love endures forever.
31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim(A) there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim!(B) To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan
14 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron,(C) and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder.(D) Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (E) 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.(F) 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey,(G) and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them.(H) Their protection(I) has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them,(J) the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
God’s Judgment of Israel’s Rebellion
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them?(K) 12 I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are.”(L)
13 But Moses replied to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. 14 They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land.(M) They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, how you, Lord, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.(N) 15 If you kill this people with a single blow,[a](O) the nations that have heard of your fame(P) will declare, 16 ‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them,(Q) he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’(R)
17 “So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as you have spoken: 18 The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love,(S) forgiving iniquity and rebellion.(T) But he will not leave the guilty unpunished,(U) bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation.(V) 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love,(W) just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”
20 The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. 21 Yet as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory,(X) 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested me these ten times and did not obey me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their ancestors.(Y) None of those who have despised me(Z) will see it. 24 But since my servant Caleb has a different spirit and has remained loyal to me, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it.(AA) 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands,[b] turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”(AB)
The Whole World Guilty before God
9 What then? Are we any better off?[a] Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews(A) and Greeks(B) are all under sin,[b](C) 10 as it is written:
There is no one righteous, not even one.
11 There is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away;
all alike have become worthless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.[c](D)
13 Their throat is an open grave;
they deceive with their tongues.[d](E)
Vipers’ venom is under their lips.[e](F)
14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.[f](G)
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
17 and the path of peace they have not known.[g](H)
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.[h](I)
19 Now we know that whatever the law says,(J) it speaks to those who are subject to the law,[i](K) so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.[j](L) 20 For no one will be justified[k] in his sight by the works of the law,(M) because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.(N)
The Question of Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,(A) he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.(B) 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.(C) 3 Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?” (D)
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created[a] them in the beginning made them male and female,[b](E) 5 and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[c](F) 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers(G) and to send her away?”
8 He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. 9 I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”[d](H)
10 His disciples(I) said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”
11 He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.(J) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”
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