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.
God Answers the Prophet
2 I will (A)stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will (B)keep watch to see (C)what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply [a]when I am reproved.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“(D)Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That [b]the one who [c]reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the (E)appointed time;
It [d]hastens toward the goal and it will not [e]fail.
Though it tarries, (F)wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it (G)will not delay.
9 “Woe to him who gets (A)evil gain for his house
To (B)put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of calamity!
10 “You have devised a (C)shameful thing for your house
By cutting off many peoples;
So you are (D)sinning against yourself.
11 “Surely the (E)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [a]framework.
12 “Woe to him who (F)builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with [b]violence!
13 “Is it not indeed from the Lord of hosts
That peoples (G)toil for fire,
And nations grow weary for nothing?
14 “For the earth will be (H)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to you who make [c]your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
16 “You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor.
Now you yourself (I)drink and [d]expose your own nakedness.
The (J)cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you,
And (K)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 “For the (L)violence [e]done to Lebanon will [f]overwhelm you,
And the devastation of its beasts [g]by which you terrified them,
(M)Because of human bloodshed and (N)violence [h]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 “What (O)profit is the [i]idol when its maker has carved it,
Or [j]an image, a (P)teacher of falsehood?
For its maker (Q)trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 “Woe to him who (R)says to a piece of wood, ‘(S)Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with (T)gold and silver,
And there is (U)no breath at all inside it.
20 “But the (V)Lord is in His holy temple.
[k]Let all the earth (W)be silent before Him.”
Faith and Works
14 (A)What use is it, (B)my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can [a]that faith save him? 15 (C)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “(D)Go in peace, [b]be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so (E)faith, if it has no works, is [c]dead, being by itself.
18 (F)But someone [d]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (G)faith without the works, and I will (H)show you my faith (I)by my works.” 19 You believe that [e](J)God is one. (K)You do well; (L)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, (M)you foolish fellow, that (N)faith without works is useless? 21 (O)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that (P)faith was working with his works, and [f]as a result of the (Q)works, faith was [g]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(R)And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called (S)the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not (T)Rahab the harlot also justified by works (U)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (V)faith without works is dead.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus (A)was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to (B)Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In (C)Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘(D)Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in (E)this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that (F)during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And [a]besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may (G)warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They have (H)Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, (I)father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.