Book of Common Prayer
An instruction[a]. By Ethan, the Ezrahite
God’s Covenant with David
89 I will sing forever about the gracious love of the Lord;
from generation to generation
I will declare your faithfulness with my mouth.
2 I will declare that your gracious love was established forever;
in the heavens itself, you have established your faithfulness.
3 I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise to David, my servant.
4 “I will establish your dynasty forever,
and I will lift up one who will build[b] your throne
from generation to generation.”
5 Even the heavens praise your awesome deeds, Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies compares to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the divine beings?
7 God is feared in the council of the holy ones,
revered by all those around him.
8 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
who is as mighty as you, Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the majestic[c] sea;
when its waves surge,
you calm them.
10 You crushed the proud one[d] to death;
with your powerful arm
you scattered your enemies.
11 Heaven and the earth belong to you,
the world and everything it contains—
you established them.
12 The north and south—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13 Your arm is strong;
your hand is mighty;
indeed, your right hand is victorious.[e]
14 Righteousness and justice make up
the foundation of your throne;
gracious love and truth meet before you.
15 How happy are the people who can worship joyfully![f]
Lord, they walk in the light of your presence.
16 In your name they rejoice all day long;
they exult in your justice.[g]
17 For you are their strength’s grandeur;
by your favor you exalted our power.[h]
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
and our king to the Holy One of Israel.
God’s Describes His Anointed
19 You spoke to your faithful[i] ones through a vision:[j]
“I will set a helper over[k] a warrior.
I will raise up a chosen one from the people.
20 I have found my servant David;
I have anointed him with my sacred oil,
21 with whom my power[l] will be firmly established;
for my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will deceive him;
no wicked person[m] will afflict him.
23 I will crush his enemies before him
and strike those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and gracious love will be with him,
and in my name his power[n] will be exalted.
25 I will place his hand[o] over the sea,
and his right hand[p] over the rivers.
26 He will announce to me
‘You are my father,
my God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 “Indeed, I myself made him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will show[q] my gracious love toward him forever,
since my covenant is securely established with him.
29 I will establish his dynasty[r] forever,
and his throne as long as heaven endures.[s]
30 “But if his sons abandon my laws and
do not follow my ordinances,
31 if they profane my statutes;
and do not keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their disobedience with a rod
and their iniquity with lashes.
33 But I will not cut off[t] my gracious love from him,
and I will not stop being faithful.
34 I will not dishonor my covenant,
because I will not change what I have spoken.[u]
35 I have sworn by my holiness once for all:
I will not lie to David.
36 His dynasty[v] will last forever
and his throne will be like the sun before me.
37 It will be established forever like the moon,
a faithful witness in the sky.”
A Commitment to Persevere
38 But you have spurned, rejected,
and became angry with your anointed one.
39 You have dishonored the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown on the ground.
40 You have broken through all his[w] walls;
you have laid his fortresses in ruin.
41 All who pass by on their way plunder him;
he has become a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
you have caused all of his enemies to rejoice.
43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and did not support him in battle.
44 You have caused his splendor[x] to cease
and cast down his throne to the ground.
45 You have caused the days of his youth to be cut short;
you have covered him with shame.
46 How long, Lord, will you hide yourself? Forever?
Will your anger continuously burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my lifetime is!
How powerless have you created all human beings![y]
48 What valiant man can live and not see death?
Who can deliver himself[z] from the power[aa] of Sheol.[ab]
49 Where is your gracious love of old, Lord,
that in your faithfulness you promised to David?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servant!
I carry inside me all the insults of many people,
51 when your enemies reproached you, Lord,
when they reproached the footsteps[ac] of your anointed.
52 Blessed is the Lord forever!
Amen and amen!
God’s Instructions to Joshua
1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord spoke to Nun’s son Joshua, announcing to him, 2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now get ready to cross the Jordan River[a]—you and all the people—to the land that I’m giving the Israelis. 3 I’m giving you every place where the sole of your foot falls, just as I promised Moses. 4 Your territorial border will extend from the wilderness to the Lebanon Mountains,[b] to the river—that great River Euphrates—all the land of the Hittites—as far as the Mediterranean[c] Sea where the sun sets. 5 No one will be victorious[d] against you for the rest of your life. I’ll be with you just like I was with Moses—I’ll neither fail you nor abandon you.
6 “Be strong and courageous, because you’ll be leading this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. 7 Only be strong and very courageous to ensure that you obey all the instructions[e] that my servant Moses gave you—turn neither to the right nor to the left from it—so that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 This set of instructions[f] is not to cease being a part of your conversations.[g] Meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to carry out everything that’s written in it, for then you’ll prosper and succeed. 9 I’ve commanded you, haven’t I? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be fearful or discouraged, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles
3 For this reason I, Paul, am the prisoner of the Messiah[a] Jesus for the sake of you gentiles. 2 Surely you have heard about the responsibility of administering God’s grace that was given to me on your behalf, 3 and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past. 4 By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about the Messiah,[b] 5 which in previous generations was not made known to human beings[c] as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s[d] holy apostles and prophets. This is that secret:[e] 6 The gentiles are heirs-in-common, members-in-common of the body, and common participants in what was promised[f] by the Messiah[g] Jesus through the gospel.
7 I have become a servant of this gospel[h] according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8 To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the gentiles the immeasurable wealth of the Messiah[i] 9 and help everyone see how this secret that has been at work was hidden for ages by God, who created all things. 10 He did this[j] so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm 11 in keeping with the eternal purpose that God[k] carried out through the Messiah[l] Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through his faithfulness.[m] 13 So then, I ask you not to become discouraged because of my troubles on your behalf, which work toward your glory.
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant(A)
5 When Jesus[a] returned to Capernaum, a centurion[b] came up to him and begged him repeatedly, 6 “Sir,[c] my servant is lying at home paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus[d] told him, “I will come and heal him.”
8 The centurion replied, “Sir,[e] I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed, 9 because I, too, am a man under authority and I have soldiers under me. I say to one of them[f] ‘Go’ and he goes, to another ‘Come’ and he comes, and to my servant ‘Do this’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and told those who were following him, “I tell all of you[g] with certainty, not even[h] in Israel have I found this kind of faith! 11 I tell all of you,[i] many will come from east and west and will feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom from[j] heaven. 12 But the unfaithful heirs[k] of that kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”[l]
13 “Go,” Jesus told the centurion, “and it will be done for you, just as you have believed.” And his servant was healed that very hour.
Jesus Heals Many People(B)
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s[m] mother-in-law lying in bed, sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began serving him.
16 When evening came, people[n] brought to him many who were possessed by demons. He drove out the spirits by speaking a command[o] and healed everyone who was sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“It was he who took our illnesses away
and removed our diseases.”[p]
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