Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 89
A maskil by Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing forever about the evidence of your mercy, O Yahweh.
I will tell about your faithfulness to every generation.
2 I said, “Your mercy will last forever.
Your faithfulness stands firm in the heavens.”
3 You said, “I have made a promise[a] to my chosen one.
I swore this oath to my servant David:
4 ‘I will make your dynasty continue forever.
I built your throne to last throughout every generation.’” Selah
5 O Yahweh, the heavens praise your miracles
and your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 Who in the skies can compare with Yahweh?
Who among the heavenly beings is like Yahweh?
7 El is terrifying in the council of the holy ones.
He is greater and more awe-inspiring than those who surround him.
8 O Yahweh Elohim Tsebaoth, who is like you?
Mighty Yah, even your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule the raging sea.
When its waves rise, you quiet them.
10 You crushed Rahab;[b] it was like a corpse.
With your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours.
The earth is also yours.
You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing your name joyfully.
13 Your arm is mighty.
Your hand is strong.
Your right hand is lifted high.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne.
Mercy and truth stand in front of you.
15 Blessed are the people who know how to praise you.
They walk in the light of your presence, O Yahweh.
16 They find joy in your name all day long.
They are joyful in your righteousness
17 because you are the glory of their strength.
By your favor you give us victory.[c]
18 Our shield belongs to Yahweh.
Our king belongs to Qedosh Yisrael.
19 Once in a vision you said to your faithful ones:
“I set a boy above warriors.[d]
I have raised up one chosen from the people.
20 I found my servant David.
I anointed him with my holy oil.
21 My hand is ready to help him.
My arm will also give him strength.
22 No enemy will take him by surprise.
No wicked person will mistreat him.
23 I will crush his enemies in front of him
and defeat those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him,
and in my name he will be victorious.[e]
25 I will put his left hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my Ab, my El, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Yes, I will make him the firstborn.
He will be the Most High to the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy will stay with him forever.
My promise to him is unbreakable.
29 I will make his dynasty endure forever
and his throne like the days of heaven.
30 “If his descendants abandon my teachings
and do not live by my rules,
31 if they violate my laws
and do not obey my commandments,
32 then with a rod I will punish their rebellion
and their crimes with beatings.
33 But I will not take my mercy away from him
or allow my truth to become a lie.
34 I will not dishonor my promise
or alter my own agreement.
35 On my holiness I have taken an oath once and for all:
I will not lie to David.
36 His dynasty will last forever.
His throne will be in my presence like the sun.
37 Like the moon his throne will stand firm forever.
It will be like a faithful witness in heaven.”
38 But you have despised, rejected,
and become angry with your anointed one.
39 You have refused to recognize the promise to your servant
and have thrown his crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through all his walls
and have laid his fortified cities in ruins.
41 (Everyone who passed by robbed him.
He has become the object of his neighbors’ scorn.)
42 You held the right hand of his enemies high
and made all of his adversaries rejoice.
43 You even took his sword out of his hand
and failed to support him in battle.
44 You put an end to his splendor
and hurled his throne to the ground.
45 You cut short the days of his youth
and covered him with shame. Selah
46 How long, O Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your anger continue to burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is!
Have you created Adam’s descendants for no reason?
48 Can a mortal go on living and never see death?
Who can set himself free from the power of the grave? Selah
49 Where is the evidence of your mercy, Adonay?
You swore an oath to David
on the basis of your faithfulness.
50 Remember, O Yahweh,[f] how your servant[g] has been insulted.
Remember how I have carried in my heart the insults from so many people.
51 Your enemies insulted me.
They insulted your Mashiach[h] every step he took.
52 Thank Yahweh forever.
Amen and amen!
Ezekiel Plays Out the Blockade of Jerusalem
4 The Lord said, “Son of man, take clay, put it in front of you, and draw a map of Jerusalem on it. 2 Set up a blockade against it, build attack walls around it, put up dirt ramps around it, have troops ready to attack it, and place battering rams all around it. 3 Then take an iron pan, and set it up as a wall between you and the city. Turn your face toward the city as if you were going to attack it, and then attack it. This is a sign for the people of Israel.
4 “Then lie on your left side and take the punishment of the nation of Israel yourself. You will bear its punishment as many days as you lie on that side. 5 I have assigned to you one day for each year its punishment will last. So for 390 days, you will bear the punishment for the sins of the nation of Israel. 6 When you finish this, you will lie down again, this time on your right side. You will bear the punishment for the sins of the nation of Judah for 40 days, one day for each year I have assigned to you. 7 Turn your face toward the blockaded Jerusalem. Shake your fist and prophesy against it. 8 I will tie you up with ropes so that you will not be able to turn from one side to the other until you have finished attacking Jerusalem.
9 “Then take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and winter wheat. Put them in a container, and use them to make bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days that you are lying on your side. 10 The food that you eat should be weighed. Eat eight ounces of food every day at set times. 11 Measure out two-thirds of a quart of water, and drink it at set times. 12 Eat the bread as you would eat barley loaves. Bake the bread in front of people, using human excrement for fuel.”
13 Then Yahweh said, “In the same way, the people of Israel will eat unclean[a] bread among the nations where I scatter them.”
14 I answered, “Adonay Yahweh, I have never dishonored myself. From the time I was young until now, I have never eaten an animal that died by itself or was killed by other wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”
15 He said to me, “I will let you use cow manure in place of human excrement. Bake your bread over it.”
16 He also said to me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the bread supply in Jerusalem. People will anxiously eat rationed bread and fearfully drink rationed water. 17 They will be shocked at the sight of each other because of the lack of food and water. They will waste away because of their sin.”
6 With this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn’t repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God. 2 We shouldn’t repeat the basic teachings about such things as baptisms, setting people apart for holy tasks, dead people coming back to life, and eternal judgment. 3 If God permits, we will do this.
4 Some people once had God’s light. They experienced the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit. 5 They experienced the goodness of God’s word and the powers of the world to come. 6 Yet, they have deserted Christ. They are crucifying the Son of God again and publicly disgracing him. Therefore, they cannot be led a second time to God.
7 God blesses the earth. So rain often falls on it, and it produces useful crops for farmers. 8 However, if the earth produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.
God Will Not Forget You
9 Dear friends, even though we say these things, we are still convinced that better things are in store for you and that they will save you. 10 God is fair. He won’t forget what you’ve done or the love you’ve shown for him. You helped his holy people, and you continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to prove that you’re working hard so that you will remain confident until the end. 12 Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are receiving the promises through faith and patience.
People from a Samaritan Village Reject Jesus
51 The time was coming closer for Yeshua to be taken to heaven. So he was determined to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him. They went into a Samaritan village to arrange a place for him to stay. 53 But the people didn’t welcome him, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 James and John, his disciples, saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?”
55 But he turned and corrected them.[a] 56 So they went to another village.
What It Takes to Be a Disciple(A)
57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to Yeshua, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
58 Yeshua told him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to sleep.”
59 He told another man, “Follow me!”
But the man said, “Sir, first let me go to bury my father.”
60 But Yeshua told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You must go everywhere and tell about the kingdom of God.”
61 Another said, “I’ll follow you, sir, but first let me tell my family goodbye.”
62 Yeshua said to him, “Whoever starts to plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.