Book of Common Prayer
The Glories of the City of God
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87 His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2 (A)The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 (B)Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God! Selah
4 “I will make mention of [a]Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’ ”
5 And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
6 The Lord will record,
When He (C)registers the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 Both the singers and the players on instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
BOOK FOUR
Psalms 90–106
The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty
A Prayer (A)of Moses the man of God.
90 Lord, (B)You have been our [a]dwelling place in all generations.
2 (C)Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [b]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
3 You turn man to destruction,
And say, (D)“Return, O children of men.”
4 (E)For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
5 You carry them away like a flood;
(F)They are like a sleep.
In the morning (G)they are like grass which grows up:
6 In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.
7 For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
8 (H)You have set our iniquities before You,
Our (I)secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
9 For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 (J)So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And (K)have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
(L)That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let (M)Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 (N)And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And (O)establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Thanksgiving to God for His Enduring Mercy
136 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
(B)For His mercy endures forever.
2 Oh, give thanks to (C)the God of gods!
For His mercy endures forever.
3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords!
For His mercy endures forever:
4 To Him (D)who alone does great wonders,
For His mercy endures forever;
5 (E)To Him who by wisdom made the heavens,
For His mercy endures forever;
6 (F)To Him who laid out the earth above the waters,
For His mercy endures forever;
7 (G)To Him who made great lights,
For His mercy endures forever—
8 (H)The sun to rule by day,
For His mercy endures forever;
9 The moon and stars to rule by night,
For His mercy endures forever.
10 (I)To Him who struck Egypt in their firstborn,
For His mercy endures forever;
11 (J)And brought out Israel from among them,
For His mercy endures forever;
12 (K)With a strong hand, and with [a]an outstretched arm,
For His mercy endures forever;
13 (L)To Him who divided the Red Sea in two,
For His mercy endures forever;
14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,
For His mercy endures forever;
15 (M)But overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
For His mercy endures forever;
16 (N)To Him who led His people through the wilderness,
For His mercy endures forever;
17 (O)To Him who struck down great kings,
For His mercy endures forever;
18 (P)And slew famous kings,
For His mercy endures forever—
19 (Q)Sihon king of the Amorites,
For His mercy endures forever;
20 (R)And Og king of Bashan,
For His mercy endures forever—
21 (S)And gave their land as a [b]heritage,
For His mercy endures forever;
22 A heritage to Israel His servant,
For His mercy endures forever.
23 Who (T)remembered us in our lowly state,
For His mercy endures forever;
24 And (U)rescued us from our enemies,
For His mercy endures forever;
25 (V)Who gives food to all flesh,
For His mercy endures forever.
26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven!
For His mercy endures forever.
15 Then Nathan departed to his house.
The Death of David’s Son
And the (A)Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and (B)lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?”
And they said, “He is dead.”
20 So David arose from the ground, washed and (C)anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and (D)worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; (E)for I said, ‘Who can tell whether [a]the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go (F)to him, but (G)he shall not return to me.”
Solomon Is Born
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So (H)she bore a son, and (I)he[b] called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So [c]he called his name [d]Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Rabbah Is Captured(J)
26 Now (K)Joab fought against (L)Rabbah of the people of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah, and I have taken the city’s water supply. 28 Now therefore, gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called after my name.” 29 So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah, fought against it, and took it. 30 (M)Then he took their king’s crown from his head. Its weight was a talent of gold, with precious stones. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the [e]spoil of the city in great abundance. 31 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Journeys in Greece
20 After the uproar had ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and (A)departed to go to Macedonia. 2 Now when he had gone over that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to (B)Greece 3 and stayed three months. And (C)when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 And Sopater of Berea accompanied him to Asia—also (D)Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and (E)Gaius of Derbe, and (F)Timothy, and (G)Tychicus and (H)Trophimus of Asia. 5 These men, going ahead, waited for us at (I)Troas. 6 But we sailed away from Philippi after (J)the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them (K)at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
Ministering at Troas
7 Now on (L)the first day of the week, when the disciples came together (M)to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps (N)in the upper room where [a]they were gathered together. 9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, (O)fell on him, and embracing him said, (P)“Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.
From Troas to Miletus
13 Then we went ahead to the ship and sailed to Assos, there intending to take Paul on board; for so he had [b]given orders, intending himself to go on foot. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 We sailed from there, and the next day came opposite Chios. The following day we arrived at Samos and stayed at Trogyllium. The next day we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for (Q)he was hurrying (R)to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on (S)the Day of Pentecost.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection
30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. 31 (A)For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will (B)kill Him. And after He is killed, He will (C)rise the third day.” 32 But they (D)did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Who Is the Greatest?(E)
33 (F)Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you [a]disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had (G)disputed among themselves who would be the (H)greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, (I)“If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then (J)He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and (K)whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism(L)
38 (M)Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, (N)for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For (O)he who is not against [b]us is on [c]our side. 41 (P)For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.