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.
God’s Mercy on His People
14 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Will bring her into the wilderness,
And speak [a]comfort to her.
15 I will give her her vineyards from there,
And (A)the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;
She shall sing there,
As in (B)the days of her youth,
(C)As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
16 “And it shall be, in that day,”
Says the Lord,
“That you will call Me [b]‘My Husband,’
And no longer call Me [c]‘My Master,’
17 For (D)I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals,
And they shall be remembered by their name no more.
18 In that day I will make a (E)covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
With the birds of the air,
And with the creeping things of the ground.
Bow and sword of battle (F)I will shatter from the earth,
To make them (G)lie down safely.
19 “I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
20 I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And (H)you shall know the Lord.
21 “It shall come to pass in that day
That (I)I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
22 The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer [d]Jezreel.
23 Then (J)I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
(K)And I will have mercy on her who had [e]not obtained mercy;
Then (L)I will say to those who were [f]not My people,
‘You are [g]My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”
The Ephesian Elders Exhorted
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, (A)from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me (B)by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how (C)I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 (D)testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, (E)repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And see, now (F)I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that (G)the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 [a]But (H)none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, (I)so that I may finish my [b]race with joy, (J)and the ministry (K)which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am (L)innocent[c] of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not [d]shunned to declare to you (M)the whole counsel of God. 28 (N)Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit (O)has made you overseers, to shepherd the church [e]of God (P)which He purchased (Q)with His own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departure (R)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also (S)from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking [f]perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that (T)for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and (U)to the word of His grace, which is able (V)to build you up and give you (W)an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 [g]Yes, you yourselves know (X)that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, (Y)by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 Then they all (Z)wept [h]freely, and (AA)fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, 38 sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples(A)
5 So (B)it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to (C)hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He (D)sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, (E)“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught (F)nothing; nevertheless (G)at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, (H)“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
9 For he and all who were with him were (I)astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. (J)From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, (K)they [a]forsook all and followed Him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.