Book of Common Prayer
Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings
A [a]Contemplation of (A)Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
(B)Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”
3 “I(C) have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have (D)sworn to My servant David:
4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne (E)to all generations.’ ” Selah
5 And (F)the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 (G)For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7 (H)God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 (I)You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10 (J)You have broken [b]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 (K)The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
(L)Tabor and (M)Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the (N)joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our [c]horn is (O)exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your [d]holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one (P)chosen from the people.
20 (Q)I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 (R)With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not [e]outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will (S)set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are (T)my Father,
My God, and (U)the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him (V)My firstborn,
(W)The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 (X)My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever,
(Y)And his throne (Z)as the days of heaven.
30 “If(AA) his sons (AB)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they [f]break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 (AC)Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not [g]utterly take from him,
Nor [h]allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor (AD)alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn (AE)by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36 (AF)His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne (AG)as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
38 But You have (AH)cast off and (AI)abhorred,[i]
You have been furious with Your [j]anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
(AJ)You have [k]profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his [l]strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way (AK)plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his [m]glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time (AL)is;
For what (AM)futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not [n]see (AN)death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of [o]the grave? Selah
49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You (AO)swore to David (AP)in Your truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
(AQ)How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 (AR)With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your [p]anointed.
52 (AS)Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
Assyria Resettles Samaria
24 (A)Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, (B)Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land.” 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, “Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land.” 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them (C)in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of (D)Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 (E)and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites (F)burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the Lord, (G)and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the [a]high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 (H)They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods—according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away.
34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, (I)whom He named Israel, 35 with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: (J)“You shall not fear other gods, nor (K)bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 36 but the Lord, who (L)brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and (M)an outstretched arm, (N)Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 37 And the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandment which He wrote for you, (O)you shall be careful to observe forever; you shall not fear other gods. 38 And the covenant that I have made with you, (P)you shall not forget, nor shall you fear other gods. 39 But the Lord your God you shall fear; and He will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.” 40 However they did not obey, but they followed their former rituals. 41 (Q)So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.
To the Unmarried and Widows
25 Now concerning virgins: (A)I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one (B)whom the Lord in His mercy has made (C)trustworthy. 26 I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—(D)that it is good for a man to remain as he is: 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.
29 But (E)this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not (F)misusing it. For (G)the form of this world is passing away.
Do Not Worry(A)
25 “Therefore I say to you, (B)do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 (C)Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b]stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But (D)seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.