Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 89[a]
A well-written song[b] by Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing continually[c] about the Lord’s faithful deeds;
to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness.[d]
2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established;[e]
in the skies you set up your faithfulness.”[f]
3 The Lord said,[g]
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:
4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty[h]
and establish your throne throughout future generations.’”[i] (Selah)
5 O Lord, the heavens[j] praise your amazing deeds,
as well as your faithfulness in the angelic assembly.[k]
6 For who in the skies can compare to the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings,[l]
7 a God who is honored[m] in the great angelic assembly,[n]
and more awesome than[o] all who surround him?
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies![p]
Who is strong like you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the proud sea.[q]
When its waves surge,[r] you calm them.
10 You crushed the Proud One[s] and killed it;[t]
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you, as does the earth.
You made the world and all it contains.[u]
12 You created the north and the south.
Tabor and Hermon[v] rejoice in your name.
13 Your arm is powerful,
your hand strong,
your right hand[w] victorious.[x]
14 Equity and justice are the foundation of your throne.[y]
Loyal love and faithfulness characterize your rule.[z]
15 How blessed are the people who worship you![aa]
O Lord, they experience your favor.[ab]
16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and are vindicated[ac] by your justice.
17 For you give them splendor and strength.[ad]
By your favor we are victorious.[ae]
18 For our shield[af] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.[ag]
19 Then you[ah] spoke through a vision to your faithful followers[ai] and said:
“I have placed a young hero[aj] over a warrior;
I have raised up a young man[ak] from the people.
20 I have discovered David, my servant.
With my holy oil I have anointed him as king.[al]
21 My hand will support him,[am]
and my arm will strengthen him.
22 No enemy will be able to exact tribute[an] from him;[ao]
a violent oppressor will not be able to humiliate him.[ap]
23 I will crush his enemies before him;
I will strike down those who hate him.
24 He will experience my faithfulness and loyal love,[aq]
and by my name he will win victories.[ar]
25 I will place his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.[as]
26 He will call out to me,
‘You are my father,[at] my God, and the protector who delivers me.’[au]
27 I will appoint him to be my firstborn son,[av]
the most exalted of the earth’s kings.
28 I will always extend my loyal love to him,
and my covenant with him is secure.[aw]
29 I will give him an eternal dynasty,[ax]
and make his throne as enduring as the skies above.[ay]
30 If his sons reject my law
and disobey my regulations,
31 if they break[az] my rules
and do not keep my commandments,
32 I will punish their rebellion by beating them with a club,[ba]
their sin by inflicting them with bruises.[bb]
33 But I will not remove[bc] my loyal love from him,
nor be unfaithful to my promise.[bd]
34 I will not break[be] my covenant
or go back on what I promised.[bf]
35 Once and for all I have vowed by my own holiness,
I will never deceive[bg] David.
36 His dynasty will last forever.[bh]
His throne will endure before me, like the sun;[bi]
37 it will remain stable, like the moon.[bj]
His throne will endure like the skies.”[bk] (Selah)
38 But you have spurned[bl] and rejected him;
you are angry with your chosen king.[bm]
39 You have repudiated[bn] your covenant with your servant;[bo]
you have thrown his crown to the ground.[bp]
40 You have broken down all his[bq] walls;
you have made his strongholds a heap of ruins.
41 All who pass by[br] have robbed him;
he has become an object of disdain to his neighbors.
42 You have allowed his adversaries to be victorious,[bs]
and all his enemies to rejoice.
43 You turn back[bt] his sword from the adversary,[bu]
and have not sustained him in battle.[bv]
44 You have brought to an end his splendor,[bw]
and have knocked[bx] his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short his youth,[by]
and have covered him with shame. (Selah)
46 How long, O Lord, will this last?
Will you remain hidden forever?[bz]
Will your anger continue to burn like fire?
47 Take note of my brief lifespan.[ca]
Why do you make all people so mortal?[cb]
48 No man can live on without experiencing death,
or deliver his life from the power of Sheol.[cc] (Selah)
49 Where are your earlier faithful deeds,[cd] O Lord,[ce]
the ones performed in accordance with your reliable oath to David?[cf]
50 Take note, O Lord,[cg] of the way your servants are taunted,[ch]
and of how I must bear so many insults from people.[ci]
51 Your enemies, O Lord, hurl insults;
they insult your chosen king as they dog his footsteps.[cj]
52 [ck] The Lord deserves praise[cl] forevermore!
We agree! We agree![cm]
The King of Assyria Populates Israel with Foreigners
24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners[a] from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria[b] in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 25 When they first moved in,[c] they did not worship[d] the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. 26 The king of Assyria was told,[e] “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people[f] because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.” 27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you[g] deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.”[h] 28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. He taught them how to worship[i] the Lord.
29 But each of these nations made[j] its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria[k] had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. 30 The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth,[l] the people from Cuth made Nergal,[m] the people from Hamath made Ashima,[n] 31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak,[o] and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech,[p] the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 At the same time they worshiped[q] the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places.[r] 33 They were worshiping[s] the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.
34 To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship[t] the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave[u] the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 35 The Lord made a covenant with them[v] and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. 36 Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability;[w] bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 37 You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. 38 You must never forget the covenant I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. 39 Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 40 But they[x] paid no attention; instead they observed their earlier practices. 41 These nations were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons are doing just as their fathers have done, to this very day.
Remaining Unmarried
25 With regard to the question about people who have never married,[a] I have no command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one shown mercy by the Lord to be trustworthy. 26 Because of the impending crisis I think it best for you to remain as you are. 27 The one bound to a wife should not seek divorce. The one released from a wife should not seek marriage.[b] 28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face difficult circumstances,[c] and I am trying to spare you such problems.[d] 29 And I say this, brothers and sisters:[e] The time is short. So then those who have wives should be as those who have none, 30 those with tears like those not weeping, those who rejoice like those not rejoicing, those who buy like those without possessions, 31 those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.
Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry[a] about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky:[b] They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds[c] them. Aren’t you more valuable[d] than they are? 27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?[e] 28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers[f] of the field grow; they do not work[g] or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass,[h] which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven,[i] won’t he clothe you even more,[j] you people of little faith? 31 So then, don’t worry saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the unconverted[k] pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his kingdom[l] and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.[m]
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