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 graciousness of the Lord forever;
To all generations I will (B)make Your (C)faithfulness known with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “(D)Graciousness 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 My servant David,
4 I will establish your [d](H)descendants forever
And build up your (I)throne to all generations.” Selah
5 The (J)heavens will praise Your wonders, 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 Lord God of armies, (R)who is like You, mighty [f]Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the surging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You (S)calm 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 established 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)Mercy and [k]truth go before You.
15 Blessed are the people who know the [l](AE)joyful sound!
Lord, they walk in the (AF)light of Your face.
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 My servant David;
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 will the [s](AR)son of wickedness afflict him.
23 But I will (AS)crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 My (AT)faithfulness and My favor will be with him,
And in My name his (AU)horn will be exalted.
25 I will also place his hand (AV)on the sea,
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are (AW)my Father,
My God, and the (AX)rock of my salvation.’
27 I will also make him My (AY)firstborn,
The (AZ)highest of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain My (BA)favor 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)abandon 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 wrongdoing with the (BG)rod,
And their guilt with [v]afflictions.
33 But I will not [w]withhold (BH)My favor from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 I will not [x]violate My (BI)covenant,
Nor will I (BJ)alter [y]the utterance of My lips.
35 [z]Once I have (BK)sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His [aa](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 a (BP)witness in the sky is faithful.” Selah
38 But You have (BQ)rejected and (BR)refused,
You have been full of wrath [ab]against Your (BS)anointed.
39 You have [ac](BT)repudiated the covenant of Your servant;
You have (BU)profaned (BV)his crown [ad]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)disgrace 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 put an end to his [ae](CD)splendor
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, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your (CH)wrath burn like fire?
47 (CI)Remember [af]what my lifespan is;
For what (CJ)futility [ag]You have created all the sons of mankind!
48 What man can live and not (CK)see death?
Can he (CL)save his soul from the [ah]power of [ai]Sheol? Selah
49 Where are Your former acts of favor, Lord,
Which You (CM)swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, Lord, the (CN)taunt against Your servants;
[aj]How I carry in my heart the taunts of all the many peoples,
51 With which (CO)Your enemies have taunted, Lord,
With which they have taunted the footsteps of (CP)Your anointed.
52 (CQ)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Restoration of Israel
14 “Therefore, behold, I am going to persuade 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 [b]Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will [c](D)respond there as in the days of her youth,
As in the (E)day when she went up from the land of Egypt.
16 And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me [d](F)my husband
And no longer call Me my [e]Baal.
17 For (G)I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will no longer be [f]mentioned by their names.
18 On that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the (H)animals of the field,
The birds of the sky,
And the crawling things of the ground.
And I will [g](I)eliminate the bow, the sword, and war from the land,
And will let 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 favor and in compassion,
20 And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will (M)know the Lord.
21 “And it will come about on 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 [h]Jezreel.
23 I will (P)sow her for Myself in the land.
(Q)I will also have compassion on [i]her who had not obtained compassion,
And (R)I will say to [j]those who were (S)not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And [k]they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Farewell to Ephesus
17 From Miletus he sent word to (A)Ephesus and called to himself (B)the elders of the church. 18 And when they came 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 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 beneficial, 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)chains 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)God’s grace.
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 people. 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)entrust 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 served my own needs and the (AJ)men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way 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 all 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 distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 Now 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 responded and said, “(E)Master, (F)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but [a]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, (G)they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; 7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. 8 But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, 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 likewise also were [b]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 people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to land, (J)they left everything and followed Him.
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