Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Covenant with David, and Israel’s Afflictions.
A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing of the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord forever;
With my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness from generation to generation.
2
For I have said, “Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens [unchangeable and majestic] You will establish Your faithfulness.”
3
[God has said] “I have made a covenant with My chosen one;
I have sworn to David My servant,
4
I will establish your seed forever
And I will build up your throne for all generations.”(A) Selah.
5
The heavens (angels) praise Your wonders, O Lord,
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
6
For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the divine beings is like the Lord,
7
A God greatly feared and reverently worshiped in the council of the holy [angelic] ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
8
O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds You [as an intrinsic, unchangeable part of Your very being].
9
You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.(B)
10
You have crushed Rahab (Egypt) like one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.(C)
12
The north and the south, You have created them;
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon shout for joy at Your name.
13
You have a strong arm;
Mighty is Your hand, Your right hand is exalted.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You.
15
Blessed and happy are the people who know the joyful sound [of the trumpet’s blast]!
They walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!
16
In Your name they rejoice all the day,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17
For You are the glory of their strength [their proud adornment],
And by Your favor our horn is exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,
And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20
“I have found David My servant;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,(D)
21
With whom My hand shall be established and steadfast;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
22
“The enemy will not outwit him,
Nor will the wicked man afflict or humiliate him.
23
“I will crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24
“My faithfulness and My steadfast lovingkindness shall be with him,
And in My name shall his horn be exalted [great power and prosperity shall be conferred upon him].
25
“I will also [a]set his hand on the [Mediterranean] sea,
And his right hand on the rivers [the tributaries of the Euphrates].
26
“He will cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27
“I will also make him My firstborn (preeminent),
The highest of the kings of the earth.(E)
28
“My lovingkindness I will keep for him forevermore,
And My covenant will be confirmed to him.
29
“His descendants I will establish forever,
And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.(F)
30
“If his children [b]turn away from My law
And do not walk in My ordinances,
31
If they break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32
Then I will punish their transgression with the rod [of discipline],
And [correct] their wickedness with stripes.(G)
33
“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.
34
“My covenant I will not violate,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
35
“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];
I will not lie to David.
36
“His [c]descendants shall endure forever
And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.(H)
37
“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.”(I) Selah.
38
But [in apparent contradiction of all this] You [the faithful Lord] have cast off and rejected;
You have been full of wrath against Your anointed.
39
You have spurned and repudiated the covenant with Your servant;
You have profaned his crown [by casting it] in the dust.
40
You have broken down all his [city] walls;
You have brought his strongholds to ruin.
41
All who pass along the road rob him;
He has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43
Also, You have turned back the edge of his sword
And have not made him [strong enough] to stand in battle.
44
You have put an end to his splendor
And have hurled his throne to the ground.
45
You have shortened the days of his youth;
You have covered him with shame. Selah.
46
How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47
Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;
For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!
48
What man can live and not see death?
Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.
49
O Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses [so abundant in the days of David and Solomon],
Which You swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants [scorned, insulted, and disgraced];
How I bear in [d]my heart the reproach of all the many peoples,
51
With which Your enemies have taunted, O Lord,
With which they have mocked the footsteps of Your anointed.
52
Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.
God’s Commission to Joshua
1 Now it happened after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant (attendant), saying,(A) 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore [a]arise [to take his place], cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the [b]sons of Israel. 3 I have given you every place on which the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness [of Arabia in the south] and this Lebanon [in the north], even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates [in the east], all the land of the [c]Hittites (Canaan), and as far as the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward the west shall be your territory. 5 No man will [be able to] stand before you [to oppose you] as long as you live. Just as I was [present] with Moses, so will I be with you; I will not fail you or abandon you. 6 Be strong and confident and courageous, for you will give this people as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers (ancestors) to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do [everything] in accordance with the entire law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper and be successful wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall read [and meditate on] it day and night, so that you may be careful to do [everything] in accordance with all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will be [d]successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Paul’s Stewardship
3 For this reason [because I preach that you and believing Jews are joint heirs] I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was entrusted to me [to share with you] for your benefit; 3 and that by [divine] revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have already written in brief.(A) 4 By referring to this, when you read it you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not disclosed to mankind, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the [Holy] Spirit; 6 [it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation]. 7 Of this [gospel] I was made a minister by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power. 8 To me, [though I am] the very least of all the saints (God’s people), this grace [which is undeserved] was graciously given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the incomprehensible riches of Christ [that spiritual wealth which no one can fully understand], 9 and to make plain [to everyone] the plan of the mystery [regarding the uniting of believing Jews and Gentiles into one body] which [until now] was kept hidden through the ages in [the mind of] God who created all things. 10 So now through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God [in all its countless aspects] might now be made known [revealing the mystery] to the [angelic] rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This is in accordance with [the terms of] the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him [that is, our faith gives us sufficient courage to freely and openly approach God through Christ]. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart at my sufferings on your behalf, for they are your glory and honor.
5 As Jesus went into Capernaum, a [a]centurion came up to Him, begging Him [for help],(A) 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, with intense and terrible, tormenting pain.” 7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied to Him, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, He was amazed and said to those who were following Him, “I tell you truthfully, I have not found such great faith [as this] with anyone in Israel. 11 I say to you that many [Gentiles] will come from east and west, and will sit down [to feast at the table, and enjoy God’s promises] with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven [because they accepted Me as Savior], 12 while the sons and heirs of the kingdom [the descendants of Abraham who will not recognize Me as Messiah] will be thrown out into the outer darkness; in that place [which is farthest removed from the kingdom] there will be weeping [in sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [in distress and anger].”(B) 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it will be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was restored to health at that very hour.
Peter’s Mother-in-law and Many Others Healed
14 When Jesus went into Peter’s house [in Capernaum], He saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever.(C) 15 He touched her hand and the fever left her; and she got up and served Him. 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons; and He cast out the evil spirits with a word, and restored to health all who were sick [exhibiting His authority as Messiah], 17 so that He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He Himself took our infirmities [upon Himself] and carried away our diseases.”(D)
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.