Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 89[a]
A Lament over God’s Promise to David
1 A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
A
I
2 I will sing of your mercy forever, Lord(A)
proclaim your faithfulness through all ages.
3 [b]For I said, “My mercy is established forever;
my faithfulness will stand as long as the heavens.
4 I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
5 I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”(B)
Selah
II
6 The heavens praise your marvels, Lord,
your loyalty in the assembly of the holy ones.(C)
7 Who in the skies ranks with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the sons of the gods?[c](D)
8 A God dreaded in the council of the holy ones,
greater and more awesome than all those around him!
9 Lord, God of hosts, who is like you?
Mighty Lord, your faithfulness surrounds you.
10 You rule the raging sea;(E)
you still its swelling waves.
11 You crush Rahab[d] with a mortal blow;
with your strong arm you scatter your foes.
12 Yours are the heavens, yours the earth;
you founded the world and everything in it.(F)
13 [e]Zaphon and Amanus you created;
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name.
14 You have a mighty arm.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is ever exalted.
15 Justice and judgment are the foundation of your throne;
mercy and faithfulness march before you.(G)
16 Blessed the people who know the war cry,
who walk in the radiance of your face, Lord.
17 In your name they sing joyfully all the day;
they rejoice in your righteousness.(H)
18 You are their majestic strength;
by your favor our horn[f] is exalted.(I)
19 Truly the Lord is our shield,
the Holy One of Israel, our king!(J)
III
20 Then you spoke in vision;(K)
to your faithful ones you said:
“I have set a leader over the warriors;
I have raised up a chosen one from the people.
21 I have chosen David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
22 My hand will be with him;(L)
my arm will make him strong.
23 No enemy shall outwit him,
nor shall the wicked defeat him.
24 I will crush his foes before him,
strike down those who hate him.
25 My faithfulness and mercy will be with him;
through my name his horn will be exalted.
26 [g]I will set his hand upon the sea,
his right hand upon the rivers.
27 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,(M)
my God, the Rock of my salvation!’
28 I myself make him the firstborn,
Most High[h] over the kings of the earth.
29 Forever I will maintain my mercy for him;(N)
my covenant with him stands firm.
30 I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.
31 If his descendants forsake my teaching,(O)
do not follow my decrees,
32 If they fail to observe my statutes,
do not keep my commandments,
33 I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with blows.
34 But I will not take my mercy from him,
nor will I betray my bond of faithfulness.(P)
35 I will not violate my covenant;
the promise of my lips I will not alter.(Q)
36 By my holiness I swore once for all:(R)
I will never be false to David.
37 [i]His dynasty will continue forever,(S)
his throne, like the sun before me.
38 Like the moon it will stand eternal,
forever firm like the sky!”
Selah
B
IV
39 But now you have rejected and spurned,(T)
been enraged at your anointed.
40 You renounced the covenant with your servant,
defiled his crown in the dust.
41 You broke down all city walls,(U)
left his strongholds in ruins.
42 All who pass through seize plunder;
his neighbors deride him.
43 You have exalted the right hand of his foes,
have gladdened all his enemies.(V)
44 You turned back his sharp sword,
did not support him in battle.
45 You brought to an end his splendor,
hurled his throne to the ground.
46 You cut short the days of his youth,
covered him with shame.
Selah
V
47 How long, Lord? Will you hide forever?
Must your wrath smolder like fire?(W)
48 Remember how brief life is,
how frail the sons of man you have created!(X)
49 What is man, that he should live and not see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?(Y)
Selah
VI
50 Where are your former mercies, Lord,
that you swore to David in your faithfulness?
51 Remember, Lord, the insults to your servants,
how I have borne in my bosom the slander of the nations.(Z)
52 Your enemies, Lord, insult;
they insult each step of your anointed.
53 [j]Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and amen!(AA)
Chapter 5
The Ark in the Temple of Dagon. 1 [a](A)The Philistines, having captured the ark of God, transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.(B) 2 They then took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning, Dagon was lying face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they picked Dagon up and put him back in his place. 4 But early the next morning, when they arose, Dagon lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord, his head and hands broken off and lying on the threshold, his trunk alone intact. 5 For this reason, neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day.
The Ark Is Carried About. 6 Now the hand of the Lord weighed heavily on the people of Ashdod, ravaging them and afflicting the city and its vicinity with tumors.[b](C) 7 On seeing how matters stood, the people of Ashdod decided, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand weighs heavily on us and Dagon our god.” 8 So they summoned all the Philistine leaders and inquired of them, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” The people of Gath replied, “Let them move the ark of the God of Israel to us.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath. 9 But after it had been brought there, the hand of the Lord was against the city, resulting in utter turmoil: the Lord afflicted its inhabitants, young and old, and tumors broke out on them. 10 The ark of God was next sent to Ekron; but as it entered that city, the people there cried out, “Why have they brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill us and our kindred?” 11 Then they, too, sent a summons to all the Philistine leaders and pleaded: “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. Send it back to its place so it does not kill us and our kindred.” A deadly panic had seized the whole city, since the hand of God lay heavy upon it. 12 Those who escaped death were afflicted with tumors. Thus the outcry from the city went up to the heavens.
12 Many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles. They were all together in Solomon’s portico.(A) 13 None of the others dared to join them, but the people esteemed them. 14 Yet more than ever, believers in the Lord, great numbers of men and women, were added to them. 15 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on one or another of them.(B) 16 A large number of people from the towns in the vicinity of Jerusalem also gathered, bringing the sick and those disturbed by unclean spirits, and they were all cured.
Trial Before the Sanhedrin.[a] 17 Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy,(C) 18 laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said,(D) 20 “Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life.” 21 When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in. 22 But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to. 25 Then someone came in and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.(E)
29 He taught them a lesson. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees. 30 When their buds burst open, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near; 31 in the same way, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.(A) 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.(B)
Exhortation to Be Vigilant. 34 “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise(C) 35 like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. 36 Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”(D)
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