Book of Common Prayer
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 Lord, I will sing about your great love forever.
For all time to come, I will tell how faithful you are.
2 I will tell everyone that your love stands firm forever.
I will tell them that you are always faithful, even in heaven itself.
3 You said, “Here is the covenant I have made with my chosen one.
Here is the promise I have made to my servant David.
4 ‘I will make your family line continue forever.
I will make your kingdom secure for all time to come.’ ”
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your wonderful deeds.
When your holy angels gather together,
they praise you for how faithful you are.
6 Who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who among the angels is like the Lord?
7 God is highly respected among his holy angels.
He’s more wonderful than all those who are around him.
8 Lord God who rules over all, who is like you?
Lord, you are mighty. You are faithful in everything you do.
9 You rule over the stormy sea.
When its waves rise up, you calm them down.
10 You crushed Egypt and killed her people.
With your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you. The earth is yours also.
You made the world and everything that is in it.
12 You created everything from north to south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you with joy.
13 Your arm is powerful.
Your hand is strong.
Your right hand is mighty.
14 Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Your faithful love leads the way in front of you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to shout praise to you.
Lord, they live in the light of your kindness.
16 All day long they are full of joy because of who you are.
They celebrate the fact that you do what is right.
17 You bring them glory and give them strength.
You are pleased to honor our king.
18 Our king is like a shield that keeps us safe.
He belongs to the Lord.
He belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
19 You once spoke to your faithful people in a vision.
You said, “I have given strength to a soldier.
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found my servant David.
I have poured my sacred oil on his head.
21 My powerful hand will keep him going.
My mighty arm will give him strength.
22 No enemy will have the victory over him.
No evil person will treat him badly.
23 I will crush the king’s enemies.
I will completely destroy them.
24 I will love him and be faithful to him.
Because of me his power will increase.
25 I will give him a great kingdom.
It will reach from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father.
You are my God. You are my Rock and Savior.’
27 I will also make him my oldest son.
Among all the kings of the earth, he will be the most important one.
28 I will continue to love him forever.
I will never break my covenant with him.
29 I will make his family line continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the heavens.
30 “What if his sons turn away from my laws
and do not follow them?
31 What if they disobey my orders
and fail to keep my commands?
32 Then I will punish them for their sins.
I will strike them with a rod.
I will whip them for their evil acts.
33 But I will not stop loving David.
I will always be faithful to him.
34 I will not break my covenant.
I will not go back on my word.
35 Once and for all, I have made a promise.
It is based on my holiness.
And I will not lie to David.
36 His family line will continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
37 It will last forever like the moon,
that faithful witness in the sky.”
38 But you have turned your back on your anointed king.
You have been very angry with him.
39 You have broken the covenant you made with him.
You have thrown your servant’s crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through the walls around his city.
You have completely destroyed his secure places.
41 All those who pass by have carried off what belonged to him.
His neighbors make fun of him.
42 You have made his enemies strong.
You have made all of them happy.
43 You have made his sword useless.
You have not helped him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his glory.
You have knocked his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his life.
You have covered him with shame.
46 Lord, how long will you hide yourself? Will it be forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is.
You have created all people for such a useless purpose!
48 Who can live and not die?
Who can escape the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is the great love you used to have?
You faithfully promised it to David.
50 Lord, remember how my enemies have made fun of me.
I’ve had to put up with mean words from all the nations.
51 Lord, your enemies have said mean things.
They have laughed at everything your anointed king has done.
52 Give praise to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
2 I will go up to the lookout tower.
I’ll station myself on the city wall.
I’ll wait to see how the Lord will reply to me.
Then I’ll try to figure out how his reply answers what I’ve complained about.
The Lord Replies to Habakkuk
2 The Lord replies,
“Write down the message I am giving you.
Write it clearly on the tablets you use.
Then a messenger can read it
and run to announce it.
3 The message I give you
waits for the time I have appointed.
It speaks about what is going to happen.
And all of it will come true.
It might take a while.
But wait for it.
You can be sure it will come.
It will happen when I want it to.
4 “The Babylonians are very proud.
What they want is not good.
“But the person who is godly
will live by his faithfulness.
9 “How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They build their kingdom with money
that they gained by cheating others.
They have tried to make the kingdom
as secure as possible.
After all, they did not want to be destroyed.
10 They have planned to wipe out many nations.
But they have brought shame on their own kingdom.
So they must pay with their own lives.
11 The stones in the walls of their homes will cry out.
And the wooden beams will echo that cry.
12 “How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They build cities by spilling the blood of others.
They establish towns by doing what is wrong.
13 I am the Lord who rules over all.
Human effort is no better than wood that feeds a fire.
So the nations wear themselves out for nothing.
14 The oceans are full of water.
In the same way, the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of my glory.
15 “How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They give drinks to their neighbors.
They pour the drinks from wineskins
until their neighbors are drunk.
They want to look at their naked bodies.
16 But the Babylonians will be filled
with shame instead of glory.
So now it is their turn to drink
and be stripped of their clothes.
The cup of anger in my powerful right hand
is going to punish them.
They will be covered with shame instead of glory.
17 The harm they have done to Lebanon
will bring them down.
Because they have killed so many animals,
animals will terrify them.
They have spilled human blood.
They have destroyed lands and cities
and everyone in them.
18 “If someone carves a statue of a god, what is it worth?
What value is there in a god
that teaches lies?
The one who trusts in this kind of god
worships his own creation.
He makes statues of gods that can’t speak.
19 How terrible it will be for the Babylonians!
They say to a wooden god, ‘Come to life!’
They say to a stone god, ‘Wake up!’
Can those gods give advice?
They are covered with gold and silver.
They can’t even breathe.”
20 The Lord is in his holy temple.
Let the whole earth be silent in front of him.
Show Your Faith by What You Do
14 Suppose a person claims to have faith but doesn’t act on their faith. My brothers and sisters, can this kind of faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister has no clothes or food. 16 Suppose one of you says to them, “Go. I hope everything turns out fine for you. Keep warm. Eat well.” And suppose you do nothing about what they really need. Then what good have you done? 17 It is the same with faith. If it doesn’t cause us to do something, it’s dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith. I do good deeds.”
Show me your faith that doesn’t cause you to do good deeds. And I will show you my faith by the goods deeds I do. 19 You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble!
20 You foolish person! Do you want proof that faith without good deeds is useless? 21 Our father Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar. Wasn’t he considered to be right with God because of what he did? 22 So you see that what he believed and what he did were working together. What he did made his faith complete. 23 That is what Scripture means where it says, “Abraham believed God. God accepted Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6) And that’s not all. God called Abraham his friend. 24 So you see that a person is considered right with God by what they do. It doesn’t happen only because they believe.
25 Didn’t God consider even Rahab the prostitute to be right with him? That’s because of what she did for the spies. She gave them a place to stay. Then she sent them off in a different direction. 26 A person’s body without their spirit is dead. In the same way, faith without good deeds is dead.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “Once there was a rich man. He was dressed in purple cloth and fine linen. He lived an easy life every day. 20 A man named Lazarus was placed at his gate. Lazarus was a beggar. His body was covered with sores. 21 Even dogs came and licked his sores. All he wanted was to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.
22 “The time came when the beggar died. The angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In the place of the dead, the rich man was suffering terribly. He looked up and saw Abraham far away. Lazarus was by his side. 24 So the rich man called out, ‘Father Abraham! Have pity on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water. Then he can cool my tongue with it. I am in terrible pain in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember what happened in your lifetime. You received your good things. Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted here, and you are in terrible pain. 26 Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you. So those who want to go from here to you can’t go. And no one can cross over from there to us.’
27 “The rich man answered, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham. Send Lazarus to my family. 28 I have five brothers. Let Lazarus warn them. Then they will not come to this place of terrible suffering.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have the teachings of Moses and the Prophets. Let your brothers listen to them.’
30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will turn away from their sins.’
31 “Abraham said to him, ‘They do not listen to Moses and the Prophets. So they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
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