Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87[a]
Zion the True Birthplace
1 (A)A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
I
His foundation is on holy mountains,
2 The Lord loves the gates[b] of Zion
more than any dwelling in Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
Selah
II
4 Rahab and Babylon I count
among those who know me.
See, Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia,
“This one was born there.”
5 [c]And of Zion it will be said:
“Each one was born in it.”(B)
The Most High will establish it;(C)
6 the Lord notes in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born there.”(D)
Selah
7 So singers and dancers:
“All my springs are in you.”(E)
Fourth Book—Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90[a]
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
1 A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
I
Lord, you have been our refuge
through all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born,
the earth and the world brought forth,
from eternity to eternity you are God.(A)
3 You turn humanity back into dust,[b]
saying, “Return, you children of Adam!”(B)
4 A thousand years in your eyes
are merely a day gone by,(C)
Before a watch passes in the night,
5 [c]you wash them away;(D)
They sleep,
and in the morning they sprout again like an herb.
6 In the morning it blooms only to pass away;
in the evening it is wilted and withered.[d](E)
II
7 Truly we are consumed by your anger,
filled with terror by your wrath.
8 You have kept our faults before you,
our hidden sins in the light of your face.(F)
9 Our life ebbs away under your wrath;(G)
our years end like a sigh.
10 Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong;
Most of them are toil and sorrow;
they pass quickly, and we are gone.
11 Who comprehends the strength of your anger?
Your wrath matches the fear it inspires.
12 Teach us to count our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
III
13 Relent, O Lord! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your mercy,(H)
that all our days we may sing for joy.
15 Make us glad as many days as you humbled us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.(I)
16 Show your deeds to your servants,
your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God be ours.(J)
Prosper the work of our hands!
Prosper the work of our hands!
Psalm 136[a]
Hymn of Thanksgiving for God’s Everlasting Mercy
I
1 Praise the Lord, for he is good;(A)
for his mercy endures forever;
2 Praise the God of gods;
for his mercy endures forever;
3 Praise the Lord of lords;
for his mercy endures forever;
II
4 Who alone has done great wonders,(B)
for his mercy endures forever;
5 Who skillfully made the heavens,(C)
for his mercy endures forever;
6 Who spread the earth upon the waters,(D)
for his mercy endures forever;
7 Who made the great lights,
for his mercy endures forever;
8 The sun to rule the day,
for his mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule the night,(E)
for his mercy endures forever;
III
10 Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,(F)
for his mercy endures forever;
11 And led Israel from their midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
12 With mighty hand and outstretched arm,(G)
for his mercy endures forever;
13 Who split in two the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures forever;
14 And led Israel through its midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
15 But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,(H)
for his mercy endures forever;
16 Who led the people through the desert,(I)
for his mercy endures forever;
IV
17 Who struck down great kings,(J)
for his mercy endures forever;
18 Slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his mercy endures forever;
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his mercy endures forever;
21 And made their lands a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
22 [b]A heritage for Israel, his servant,
for his mercy endures forever.
V
23 The Lord remembered us in our low estate,
for his mercy endures forever;
24 Freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever;
25 And gives bread to all flesh,
for his mercy endures forever.
VI
26 Praise the God of heaven,
for his mercy endures forever.
15 Then Nathan returned to his house.
The Lord struck the child that the wife of Uriah had borne to David, and it became desperately ill. 16 David pleaded with God on behalf of the child. He kept a total fast, and spent the night lying on the ground clothed in sackcloth. 17 The elders of his house stood beside him to get him to rise from the ground; but he would not, nor would he take food with them. 18 On the seventh day, the child died. David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said: “When the child was alive, we spoke to him, but he would not listen to what we said. How can we tell him the child is dead? He may do some harm!” 19 But David noticed his servants whispering among themselves and realized that the child was dead. He asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “Yes.” 20 Rising from the ground, David washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the house of the Lord and worshiped. He returned to his own house and asked for food; they set it before him, and he ate. 21 His servants said to him: “What is this you are doing? While the child was living, you fasted and wept and kept vigil; now that the child is dead, you rise and take food.” 22 He replied: “While the child was living, I fasted and wept, thinking, ‘Who knows? The Lord may grant me the child’s life.’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”(A) 24 Then David consoled Bathsheba his wife. He went and slept with her; and she conceived and bore him a son, who was named Solomon. The Lord loved him 25 and sent the prophet Nathan to name him Jedidiah,[a] on behalf of the Lord.
End of the Ammonite War. 26 (B)Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured that royal city. 27 He sent messengers to David to say: “I have fought against Rabbah and have taken the water-city. 28 Therefore, assemble the rest of the soldiers, join the siege against the city, and capture it, lest I be the one to capture the city and mine be the name people mention, not yours.” 29 So David assembled the rest of the soldiers, went to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it. 30 He took the crown of Milcom from the idol’s head, a talent[b] of gold in weight, with precious stones; this crown David wore on his own head. He also brought out a great amount of spoil from the city. 31 He deported the people of the city and set them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, or put them to work at the brickmold. He dealt thus with all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and his whole army returned to Jerusalem.
Chapter 20
Journey to Macedonia and Greece. 1 When the disturbance was over, Paul had the disciples summoned and, after encouraging them, he bade them farewell and set out on his journey to Macedonia.(A) 2 As he traveled throughout those regions, he provided many words of encouragement for them. Then he arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed for three months. But when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return by way of Macedonia.
Return to Troas. 4 (B)Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, from Beroea, accompanied him, as did Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from Asia 5 who went on ahead and waited for us[a] at Troas.(C) 6 We sailed from Philippi after the feast of Unleavened Bread,[b] and rejoined them five days later in Troas, where we spent a week.
Eutychus Restored to Life. 7 On the first day of the week[c] when we gathered to break bread, Paul spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on speaking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were gathered, 9 and a young man named Eutychus who was sitting on the window sill was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. Once overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and when he was picked up, he was dead. 10 (D)Paul went down,[d] threw himself upon him, and said as he embraced him, “Don’t be alarmed; there is life in him.” 11 Then he returned upstairs, broke the bread, and ate; after a long conversation that lasted until daybreak, he departed. 12 And they took the boy away alive and were immeasurably comforted.
Journey to Miletus. 13 We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos where we were to take Paul on board, as he had arranged, since he was going overland. 14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 We sailed away from there on the next day and reached a point off Chios, and a day later we reached Samos, and on the following day we arrived at Miletus. 16 [e]Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order not to lose time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if at all possible, for the day of Pentecost.
The Second Prediction of the Passion. 30 (A)They left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.(B) 31 He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.
IV. The Full Revelation of the Mystery
The Greatest in the Kingdom.[a] 33 They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”(C) 34 But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. 35 Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”(D) 36 Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”(E)
Another Exorcist.[b] 38 John said to him,(F) “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us.(G) 41 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.(H)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.