Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.
A [a]Maskil of [b]Ethan [c]the Ezrahite.
89 I will (A)sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever;
To all generations I will (B)make known Your (C)faithfulness with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “(D)Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your (E)faithfulness.”
3 “I have made a covenant with (F)My chosen;
I have (G)sworn to David My servant,
4 I will establish your (H)seed forever
And build up your (I)throne to all generations.” [d]Selah.
5 The (J)heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also (K)in the assembly of the (L)holy ones.
6 For (M)who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the [e](N)sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
7 A God (O)greatly feared in the council of the (P)holy ones,
And (Q)awesome above all those who are around Him?
8 O Lord God of hosts, (R)who is like You, O mighty [f]Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You (S)still them.
10 You Yourself crushed [g](T)Rahab like one who is slain;
You (U)scattered Your enemies with [h]Your mighty arm.
11 The (V)heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The (W)world and [i]all it contains, You have founded them.
12 The (X)north and the south, You have created them;
(Y)Tabor and (Z)Hermon (AA)shout for joy at Your name.
13 You have [j]a strong arm;
Your hand is mighty, Your (AB)right hand is exalted.
14 (AC)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
(AD)Lovingkindness and [k]truth go before You.
15 How blessed are the people who know the [l](AE)joyful sound!
O Lord, they walk in the (AF)light of Your countenance.
16 In (AG)Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of (AH)their strength,
And by Your favor [m]our (AI)horn is exalted.
18 For our (AJ)shield belongs to the Lord,
[n]And our king to the (AK)Holy One of Israel.
19 [o]Once You spoke in vision to Your godly [p]ones,
And said, “I have [q]given help to one who is (AL)mighty;
I have exalted one (AM)chosen from the people.
20 “I have (AN)found David My servant;
With My holy (AO)oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom (AP)My hand will be established;
My arm also will (AQ)strengthen him.
22 “The enemy will not [r]deceive him,
Nor the [s](AR)son of wickedness afflict him.
23 “But I shall (AS)crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 “My (AT)faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his (AU)horn will be exalted.
25 “I shall also set his hand (AV)on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 “He will cry to Me, ‘You are (AW)my Father,
My God, and the (AX)rock of my salvation.’
27 “I also shall make him My (AY)firstborn,
The (AZ)highest of the kings of the earth.
28 “My (BA)lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My (BB)covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 “So I will establish his [t](BC)descendants forever
And his (BD)throne (BE)as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons (BF)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they [u]violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the (BG)rod
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 “But I will not break off (BH)My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 “My (BI)covenant I will not [v]violate,
Nor will I (BJ)alter [w]the utterance of My lips.
35 “[x]Once I have (BK)sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 “His [y](BL)descendants shall endure forever
And his (BM)throne (BN)as the sun before Me.
37 “It shall be established forever (BO)like the moon,
And the (BP)witness in the sky is faithful.” [z]Selah.
38 But You have (BQ)cast off and (BR)rejected,
You have been full of wrath [aa]against Your (BS)anointed.
39 You have (BT)spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have (BU)profaned (BV)his crown [ab]in the dust.
40 You have (BW)broken down all his walls;
You have (BX)brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 (BY)All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a (BZ)reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have (CA)exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have (CB)made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have (CC)not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his [ac](CD)splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have (CE)shortened the days of his youth;
You have (CF)covered him with shame. Selah.
46 (CG)How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your (CH)wrath burn like fire?
47 (CI)Remember [ad]what my span of life is;
For what (CJ)vanity [ae]You have created all the sons of men!
48 What man can live and not (CK)see death?
Can he (CL)deliver his soul from the [af]power of [ag]Sheol? Selah.
49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You (CM)swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, O Lord, the (CN)reproach of Your servants;
[ah]How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which (CO)Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of (CP)Your anointed.
52 (CQ)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Restoration of Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
(A)Bring her into the wilderness
And speak [a]kindly to her.
15 “Then I will give her her (B)vineyards from there,
And (C)the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [b](D)sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (E)day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me [c](F)Ishi
And will no longer call Me [d]Baali.
17 “For (G)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will be [e]mentioned by their names no more.
18 “In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the (H)beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will [f](I)abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land,
And will make them (J)lie down in safety.
19 “I will (K)betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in (L)righteousness and in justice,
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (M)know the Lord.
21 “It will come about in that day that (N)I will respond,” declares the Lord.
“I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
22 And the (O)earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil,
And they will respond to [g]Jezreel.
23 “I will (P)sow her for Myself in the land.
(Q)I will also have compassion on [h]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (R)I will say to [i]those who were (S)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [j]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Farewell to Ephesus
17 From Miletus he sent to (A)Ephesus and called to him (B)the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them,
“You yourselves know, (C)from the first day that I set foot in [a]Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me [b]through (D)the plots of the Jews; 20 how I (E)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and [c]from house to house, 21 solemnly (F)testifying to both Jews and Greeks of (G)repentance toward God and (H)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound by the [d]Spirit, (I)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that (J)the Holy Spirit solemnly (K)testifies to me in every city, saying that (L)bonds and afflictions await me. 24 But (M)I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may (N)finish my course and (O)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to (P)testify solemnly of the gospel of (Q)the grace of God.
25 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about (R)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 Therefore, I [e]testify to you this day that (S)I am [f]innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I (T)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole (U)purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all (V)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you [g]overseers, to shepherd (W)the church of God which (X)He [h]purchased [i]with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure (Y)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing (Z)the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away (AA)the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of (AB)three years I did not cease to admonish each one (AC)with tears. 32 And now I (AD)commend you to God and to (AE)the word of His grace, which is able to (AF)build you up and to give you (AG)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 (AH)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that (AI)these hands ministered to my own needs and to the (AJ)men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 When he had said these things, he (AK)knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And [j]they began to weep aloud and [k](AL)embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, 38 [l]grieving especially over (AM)the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were (AN)accompanying him to the ship.
The First Disciples
5 (A)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by (B)the lake of Gennesaret; 2 and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 And (C)He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the [a]people from the boat. 4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and (D)let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered and said, “(E)Master, (F)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but [b]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, (G)they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ [c]feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were [d]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “(H)Do not fear, from now on you will be (I)catching men.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, (J)they left everything and followed Him.
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