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.
The Siege of Jerusalem Portrayed
4 “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2 (A)Lay siege against it, build a (B)siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be (C)besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. (D)This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
4 “Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; (E)so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
7 “Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8 (F)And surely I will [a]restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.
9 “Also take for yourself wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them into one vessel, and make bread of them for yourself. During the number of days that you lie on your side, three hundred and ninety days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food which you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from time to time you shall eat it. 11 You shall also drink water by measure, one-sixth of a hin; from time to time you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as barley cakes; and bake it using fuel of human waste in their sight.”
13 Then the Lord said, “So (G)shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
14 So I said, (H)“Ah, Lord God! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten (I)what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has (J)abominable[b] flesh ever come into my mouth.”
15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
16 Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, surely I will cut off the (K)supply of bread in Jerusalem; they shall (L)eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and shall (M)drink water by measure and with dread, 17 that they may lack bread and water, and be dismayed with one another, and (N)waste away because of their iniquity.
The Peril of Not Progressing
6 Therefore, (A)leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to [a]perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from (B)dead works and of faith toward God, 2 (C)of the doctrine of baptisms, (D)of laying on of hands, (E)of resurrection of the dead, (F)and of eternal judgment. 3 And this [b]we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted (G)the heavenly gift, and (H)have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, (I)since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, (J)receives blessing from God; 8 (K)but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
A Better Estimate
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For (L)God is not unjust to forget (M)your work and [d]labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have (N)ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence (O)to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become [e]sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience (P)inherit the promises.
A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for (A)Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But (B)they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples (C)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, [a]just as (D)Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, [b]and said, “You do not know what manner of (E)spirit you are of. 56 [c]For (F)the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
The Cost of Discipleship(G)
57 (H)Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man (I)has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 (J)Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, (K)I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is (L)fit for the kingdom of God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.