Book of Common Prayer
A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 Lord, I will sing about your great love forever.
For all time to come, I will tell how faithful you are.
2 I will tell everyone that your love stands firm forever.
I will tell them that you are always faithful, even in heaven itself.
3 You said, “Here is the covenant I have made with my chosen one.
Here is the promise I have made to my servant David.
4 ‘I will make your family line continue forever.
I will make your kingdom secure for all time to come.’ ”
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for your wonderful deeds.
When your holy angels gather together,
they praise you for how faithful you are.
6 Who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who among the angels is like the Lord?
7 God is highly respected among his holy angels.
He’s more wonderful than all those who are around him.
8 Lord God who rules over all, who is like you?
Lord, you are mighty. You are faithful in everything you do.
9 You rule over the stormy sea.
When its waves rise up, you calm them down.
10 You crushed Egypt and killed her people.
With your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens belong to you. The earth is yours also.
You made the world and everything that is in it.
12 You created everything from north to south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you with joy.
13 Your arm is powerful.
Your hand is strong.
Your right hand is mighty.
14 Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Your faithful love leads the way in front of you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to shout praise to you.
Lord, they live in the light of your kindness.
16 All day long they are full of joy because of who you are.
They celebrate the fact that you do what is right.
17 You bring them glory and give them strength.
You are pleased to honor our king.
18 Our king is like a shield that keeps us safe.
He belongs to the Lord.
He belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
19 You once spoke to your faithful people in a vision.
You said, “I have given strength to a soldier.
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found my servant David.
I have poured my sacred oil on his head.
21 My powerful hand will keep him going.
My mighty arm will give him strength.
22 No enemy will have the victory over him.
No evil person will treat him badly.
23 I will crush the king’s enemies.
I will completely destroy them.
24 I will love him and be faithful to him.
Because of me his power will increase.
25 I will give him a great kingdom.
It will reach from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father.
You are my God. You are my Rock and Savior.’
27 I will also make him my oldest son.
Among all the kings of the earth, he will be the most important one.
28 I will continue to love him forever.
I will never break my covenant with him.
29 I will make his family line continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the heavens.
30 “What if his sons turn away from my laws
and do not follow them?
31 What if they disobey my orders
and fail to keep my commands?
32 Then I will punish them for their sins.
I will strike them with a rod.
I will whip them for their evil acts.
33 But I will not stop loving David.
I will always be faithful to him.
34 I will not break my covenant.
I will not go back on my word.
35 Once and for all, I have made a promise.
It is based on my holiness.
And I will not lie to David.
36 His family line will continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
37 It will last forever like the moon,
that faithful witness in the sky.”
38 But you have turned your back on your anointed king.
You have been very angry with him.
39 You have broken the covenant you made with him.
You have thrown your servant’s crown into the dirt.
40 You have broken through the walls around his city.
You have completely destroyed his secure places.
41 All those who pass by have carried off what belonged to him.
His neighbors make fun of him.
42 You have made his enemies strong.
You have made all of them happy.
43 You have made his sword useless.
You have not helped him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his glory.
You have knocked his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his life.
You have covered him with shame.
46 Lord, how long will you hide yourself? Will it be forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is.
You have created all people for such a useless purpose!
48 Who can live and not die?
Who can escape the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is the great love you used to have?
You faithfully promised it to David.
50 Lord, remember how my enemies have made fun of me.
I’ve had to put up with mean words from all the nations.
51 Lord, your enemies have said mean things.
They have laughed at everything your anointed king has done.
52 Give praise to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
An Attack on Jerusalem Is Pictured
4 “Son of man, get a block of clay. Put it in front of you. Draw the city of Jerusalem on it. 2 Then pretend to surround it and attack it. Make some little models of war machines. Build a ramp up to it. Set camps up around it. Surround it with models of logs to be used for knocking down its gates. 3 Then get an iron pan. Put it between you and the city. Pretend it is an iron wall. Turn your face toward the city. It will be under attack when you begin to attack it. That will show the people of Israel what is going to happen to Jerusalem.
4 “Next, lie down on your left side. Pretend that you are putting Israel’s sin on yourself. Keep their sin on you for the number of days you lie on your side. 5 Let each day you lie there stand for one year of their sin. So you will keep Israel’s sin on you for 390 days.
6 “After you have finished this, lie down again. This time lie on your right side. Pretend that you are putting Judah’s sin on yourself. Lie there for 40 days. That is one day for each year of their sin. 7 Next, turn your face toward the model of Jerusalem under attack. Uncover your arm as if you were a soldier ready to fight. Prophesy against the city. 8 I will tie you up with ropes. Then you will not be able to turn from one side to the other. You will stay that way until you have finished attacking Jerusalem.
9 “Get some wheat and barley. Also get some beans and lentils. And get some millet and spelt. Put everything in a storage jar. Use it to make some bread for yourself. Eat it during the 390 days you are lying down on your side. 10 Weigh out eight ounces of food to eat each day. Eat it at your regular mealtimes. 11 Also measure out two-thirds of a quart of water. Drink it at your regular mealtimes. 12 Eat your food as you would eat a loaf of barley bread. Bake it over human waste in front of the people.” 13 The Lord said, “That is how the people of Israel will eat ‘unclean’ food. They will eat it in the nations where I will drive them.”
14 Then I said, “No, Lord and King! I won’t do this! I’ve never eaten anything ‘unclean.’ From the time I was young until now, I’ve never eaten anything that was found dead. And I’ve never eaten anything torn apart by wild animals. ‘Unclean’ meat has never entered my mouth.”
15 “All right,” he said. “I will let you bake your bread over waste from cows. You can use that instead of human waste.”
16 He continued, “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will be worried as they eat their tiny share of food. They will not have any hope as they drink their tiny share of water. 17 There will be very little food and water. The people will be shocked as they look at one another. They will become weaker and weaker because of their sin.
6 So let us move beyond the simple teachings about Christ. Let us grow up as believers. Let us not start all over again with the basic teachings. They taught us that we need to turn away from doing things that lead to death. They taught us that we must have faith in God. 2 These basic teachings taught us about different ways of becoming “clean.” They taught us about placing hands of blessing on people. They taught us that people will rise from the dead. They taught us that God will judge everyone. And they taught us that what he decides will last forever. 3 If God permits, we will go beyond those teachings and grow up.
4 What if some people fall away from the faith? It won’t be possible to bring them back. It is true that they have seen the light. They have tasted the heavenly gift. They have shared in the Holy Spirit. 5 They have tasted the good things of God’s word. They have tasted the powers of the age to come. 6 But they have fallen away from the faith. So it won’t be possible to bring them back. They won’t be able to turn away from their sins. They are losing everything. That’s because they are nailing the Son of God to the cross all over again. They are bringing shame on him in front of everyone. 7 Some land drinks the rain that falls on it. It produces a crop that is useful to those who farm the land. That land receives God’s blessing. 8 But other land produces only thorns and weeds. That land isn’t worth anything. It is in danger of coming under God’s curse. In the end, it will be burned.
9 Dear friends, we have to say these things. But we are sure of better things in your case. We are talking about the things that have to do with being saved. 10 God is fair. He will not forget what you have done. He will remember the love you have shown him. You showed it when you helped his people. And you show it when you keep on helping them. 11 We want each of you to be faithful to the very end. If you are, then what you hope for will fully happen. 12 We don’t want you to slow down. Instead, be like those who have faith and are patient. They will receive what God promised.
The Samaritans Do Not Welcome Jesus
51 The time grew near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven. So he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him. 53 But the people there did not welcome Jesus. That was because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 The disciples James and John saw this. They asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and commanded them not to do it. 56 Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 Once Jesus and those who were with him were walking along the road. A man said to Jesus, “I will follow you no matter where you go.”
58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God’s kingdom.”
61 Still another person said, “I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
62 Jesus replied, “Suppose someone starts to plow and then looks back. That person is not fit for service in God’s kingdom.”
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