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!
The Philistines’ Troubles because of the Ark
5 The Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then the Philistines took the Ark of God, brought it to the temple of Dagon,[a] and placed it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground in front of the Ark of the Lord. They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But when they got up the next morning, there was Dagon, lying on the ground again in front of the Ark of the Lord. Dagon’s head and both of his arms[b] were broken off and lying on the threshold.[c] Only the trunk of[d] Dagon was left intact.[e] 5 This is why neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of Dagon step on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.
6 The Lord heavily oppressed the people of Ashdod, devastating and afflicting Ashdod and its territories with tumors of the groin. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “Don’t let the Ark of the God of Israel stay with us, because he is severely attacking us and our god Dagon.” 8 They sent messengers[f] and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and asked, “What are we to do with the Ark of the God of Israel?”
They said, “Let the Ark of the God of Israel move to Gath.” So they moved the Ark of the God of Israel.
9 After they moved it, the Lord moved against the town, causing[g] a very great panic. He struck the men of the town, from young to old with tumors of the groin. 10 Then they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. When the Ark of God arrived in Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel to us to kill us and our people!”
11 They sent messengers[h] and gathered together all the Philistine lords: “Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to where it belongs so that it does not kill us and our people.” Meanwhile, a deadly panic had spread all over the town, and God kept on pressuring[i] them there. 12 The people who did not die were afflicted with tumors of the groin, and the cry of the town went up to heaven.
The Apostles Perform Many Miracles
12 Now many signs and wonders were being performed by the apostles among the people, who were gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 None of the others dared join them, although the rest of the people continued to hold them in high regard. 14 Nevertheless, believers were being added to the Lord in increasing numbers—both men and women. 15 As a result, people[a] kept carrying their sick into the streets and placing them on stretchers and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he went by. 16 Crowds continued coming in—even from the towns around Jerusalem—bringing their sick and those who were troubled by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed.
The Apostles are Tried before the Jewish Council
17 Then the high priest and all those from the sect of the Sadducees who were with him were filled with jealousy. So they went out, 18 arrested the apostles, and put them in the city jail. 19 But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out. The angel[b] told them, 20 “Go, stand in the Temple, and keep on telling the people the whole message about this life they can have.”[c]
21 After the apostles[d] heard this, they went into the Temple at daybreak and began to teach. The high priest and those who were with him arrived, called the Council[e] and all the elders of Israel together, and sent word[f] to the prison to have the men brought in. 22 When the Temple police got there, they did not find them in the prison. They came back and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them.
25 Then someone came and told them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the Temple and teaching the people!” 26 So the commander of the Temple guards went with his men to bring them back without force, because they were afraid of being stoned to death by the people.
The Lesson from the Fig Tree(A)
29 Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 As soon as they produce leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already approaching. 31 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 I tell all of you[a] with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until all these things take place. 33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words won’t ever disappear.”
Be Alert
34 “Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise 35 like a trap, because it will come on everyone who lives on the face of the earth. 36 So be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to take your stand in the presence of the Son of Man.”
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