Book of Common Prayer
God’s Promise to David
89 I will sing of the loving-kindness of the Lord forever. I will make known with my mouth how faithful You are to all people. 2 For I said, “Loving-kindness will be built up forever. You will make known how faithful You are in the heavens.”
3 You said, “I have made an agreement with My chosen one. I have promised to David, Your servant. 4 I will make your seed last forever. I will build up your throne for all the children-to-come.”
5 O Lord, the heavens will praise Your great works and how faithful You are in the meeting of the holy ones. 6 For who in the heavens is like the Lord? Who among the sons of the powerful is like the Lord? 7 God is honored with fear in the meeting of the holy ones. He is honored with fear more than all who are around Him. 8 Lord God of all, powerful Lord, who is like You? All around You we see how faithful You are. 9 You rule over the rising sea. When its waves rise, You quiet them. 10 You have crushed Rahab like one who is killed. You have destroyed those who hate You with Your powerful arm.
11 The heavens are Yours; and the earth is Yours. You have made the world and all that is in it. 12 You have made from nothing the north and the south. Tabor and Hermon call out for joy at Your name. 13 You have a strong arm. Your hand is powerful. Your right hand is honored. 14 Your throne stands on what is right and fair. Loving-kindness and truth go before You. 15 How happy are the people who know the sound of joy! They walk in the light of Your face, O Lord. 16 They are full of joy in Your name all day long. And by being right with You, they are honored. 17 For You are the shining-greatness of their strength. And our horn is lifted high by Your favor. 18 For our safe-covering belongs to the Lord. And our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once You spoke in a special dream to Your faithful ones, saying: “I have given help to a powerful one. I have honored a chosen one from among the people. 20 I have found David, Your servant. I have poured My holy oil upon him. 21 My hand will stay with him. And My arm will give him strength. 22 Those who hate him will not fool him. No sinful man will bring trouble to him. 23 But he will see Me crush those who fight against him. I will kill those who hate him. 24 I will be faithful and My loving-kindness will be with him. And in My name he will become great. 25 I will set his hand on the sea also, and his right hand on the rivers. 26 He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the rock that saves me.’ 27 I will make him My first-born also, the highest of the kings of the earth. 28 I will keep My loving-kindness for him forever. And My agreement with him will be made strong. 29 I will make his seed last forever. And his throne will last as long as heaven.
30 “If his sons leave My Law and do not do what I say, 31 and if they break My Laws and do not obey My Word, 32 then I will punish their sin with the stick, and their wrong-doing with the whip. 33 But I will not take my loving-kindness from him. I will always be faithful to him. 34 I will not break My agreement, or change what was spoken by My lips. 35 Once I have promised by My holy name, I will not lie to David. 36 His seed will last forever. And his throne will last before Me like the sun. 37 It will last forever like the moon, which may always be seen in the sky.”
38 But You have thrown off and turned away from Your chosen one. You have been full of anger against him. 39 You have hated the agreement with Your servant. You have made his crown dirty in the dust. 40 You have broken down all his walls. You have destroyed his strong places. 41 All who pass on the road rob him. He has become a shame to his neighbors. 42 You have honored the right hand of those who fight against him. You have made all who hate him glad. 43 You have turned away the sharp part of his sword. And You have not made him stand in a fight. 44 You have put an end to what shows of his greatness, and have thrown his throne to the ground. 45 You have made him old before his time, and have covered him with shame.
46 How long, O Lord? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your anger burn like fire? 47 Remember how fast my life is passing. You have made all men for nothing. 48 What man can live and not see death? Can he save himself from the power of the grave?
49 O Lord, where is the loving-kindness You used to have, that You promised in faith to David? 50 O Lord, remember the shame of those who work for You. Remember how I carry near my heart the shame of all the nations. 51 Those who hate You have put us to shame, O Lord. They have put to shame the footsteps of Your chosen one.
52 Praise the Lord forever! Let it be so.
God’s Loving-Kindness for His People
14 “So I will lead her into the desert and speak words of comfort to her. 15 I will give her grape-fields there, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And she will sing there as she did when she was young, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. 16 In that day” says the Lord, “you will call Me, ‘My Husband.’ And you will no longer call Me, ‘My Baal.’ 17 For I will take the names of the Baals from her mouth. The names of these false gods will never be spoken again. 18 In that day I will make an agreement for them with the wild animals of the field, the birds of the sky, and the things which move upon the ground. I will put an end to the bow, the sword, and war in all the land. And I will let My people lie down in peace and be safe. 19 I will promise to make you Mine forever. Yes, I will take you as My bride in what is right and good and fair, and in loving-kindness and in loving-pity. 20 I will keep My promise and make you Mine. Then you will know the Lord.
21 “In that day” says the Lord, “I will give an answer to the heavens, and they will give an answer to the earth. 22 The earth will give an answer to the grain, the new wine, and the oil. And they will give an answer to Jezreel. 23 I will plant her for Myself in the land. Those who were not loved, I will call, ‘My loved ones.’ Those who were not My people, I will call, ‘My people.’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Paul Meets with the Leaders of the Church of Ephesus
17 From Miletus he sent word to Ephesus. He asked the leaders of the church to come to him. 18 When they got there, he said to them, “From the first day that I came to Asia you have seen what my life has been like. 19 I worked for the Lord without pride. Because of the trouble the Jews gave me, I have had many tears. 20 I always told you everything that would be a help to you. I taught you in open meetings and from house to house. 21 I preached to the Jews and to the Greeks. I told them to turn from their sin to God and to put their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.
22 “As you see, I am on my way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit makes me go. I do not know what will happen to me there. 23 But in every city I have been, the Holy Spirit tells me that trouble and chains will be waiting for me there. 24 But I am not worried about this. I do not think of my life as worth much, but I do want to finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do. My work is to preach the Good News of God’s loving-favor.
25 “All of you have heard me preach the Good News. I am sure that none of you will ever see my face again. 26 I tell you this day that I am clean and free from the blood of all men. 27 I told you all the truth about God. 28 Keep a careful watch over yourselves and over the church. The Holy Spirit has made you its leaders. Feed and care for the church of God. He bought it with His own blood.
29 “Yes, I know that when I am gone, hungry wolves will come in among you. They will try to destroy the church. 30 Also men from your own group will begin to teach things that are not true. They will get men to follow them. 31 I say again, keep watching! Remember that for three years I taught everyone of you night and day, even with tears.
32 “And now, my brothers, I give you over to God and to the word of His love. It is able to make you strong and to give you what you are to have, along with all those who are set apart for God. 33 I have not tried to get anyone’s money or clothes. 34 You all know that these hands worked for what I needed and for what those with me needed. 35 In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we can help those who are weak. We must remember what the Lord Jesus said, ‘We are more happy when we give than when we receive.’ ”
36 As he finished talking, he got down on his knees and prayed with them all. 37 They cried and put their arms around Paul and kissed him. 38 What made them sad most of all was he said that they would never see his face again. Then they went with him to the ship.
Jesus Calls Simon and James and John (A)
5 While Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, many people pushed to get near Him. They wanted to hear the Word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” 5 Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish, their net started to break. 7 They called to their friends working in the other boat to come and help them. They came and both boats were so full of fish they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he got down at the feet of Jesus. He said, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.” 9 He and all those with him were surprised and wondered about the many fish. 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised also. They were working together with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish for men.” 11 When they came to land with their boats, they left everything and followed Jesus.
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