Book of Common Prayer
For the Director of Music: According to “The Lilies”. A testimony of Asaph. A psalm.
A Prayer for Jerusalem
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen!
The one who leads Joseph like a flock,
the one enthroned on the cherubim,
display your glory.[a]
2 Reveal[b] your power before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
then come to our rescue.
3 God, restore us,
show your favor[c] and deliver us.
4 Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
when will your smoldering anger[d]
toward your people’s prayers cease?[e]
5 You fed them tears as their food,
and caused them to drink a full measure of tears.
6 You have set us at strife against our neighbors
and our enemies deride us.
7 God of the Heavenly Armies, restore us
and show your favor,[f]
so we may be delivered.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt,
and drove out nations to transplant it.
9 You cleared the ground[g] so that its roots grew
and filled the land.
10 Mountains were covered by its shadows,
and the mighty cedars by its branches.
11 Its branches spread out to the Mediterranean[h] Sea
and its shoots to the Euphrates[i] River.
12 Why did you break down its walls
so that those who pass by pluck its fruits?[j]
13 Wild boars of the forest gnaw at it,
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 God of the Heavenly Armies, return!
Look down from heaven and see.
Show care[k] toward this vine.
15 The root[l] that your right hand planted,
the shoot[m] that you tended for yourself,
16 was burned with fire, cut off,
and destroyed on account of your rebuke.
17 May you support the man at your right hand;
the son of man whom you have raised for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Restore us, so we can call upon your name.
19 God of hosts, restore to us the light of your favor.[n]
Then we’ll be delivered.
To the director: To Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
Remembering God in Times of Trouble
77 I cry out to God!
I cry out to God and he hears me.
2 When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
my hands were raised at night
and they did not grow weary.
I refused to be comforted.
3 I remember God, and I groan;
I meditate, while my spirit grows faint.
4 You kept my eyes open;
I was troubled and couldn’t speak.
5 I thought of ancient times,
considering years long past.
6 During the night I remembered my song.
I meditate in my heart,
and my spirit ponders.
7 Will the Lord reject me[a] forever
and not show favor again?
8 Has his gracious love ceased forever?
Will his promise be unfulfilled in future generations?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?
10 So I say: “It causes me pain
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the Lord’s deeds;
indeed, I will remember your awesome deeds from long ago.
12 As I meditate on all your works,
I will consider your awesome deeds.
13 God, your way is holy.
What god is like our great God?
14 God, you are the one performing awesome deeds.
You reveal your might among the nations.
15 You delivered[b] your people—
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph—
with your power.
16 The waters saw you, God;
the waters saw you and writhed.
Indeed, the depths of the sea quaked.
17 The clouds poured rain;
the skies rumbled.
Indeed, your lightning bolts flashed.[c]
18 Your thunderous sound was in a whirlwind;
your lightning lights up the world;
the earth becomes agitated and quakes.
19 Your way was through the sea,
and your path through mighty waters,
but your footprints cannot be traced.[d]
20 You have led your people like a flock
by the hands of Moses and Aaron.
A Psalm of Asaph
A Prayer for Jerusalem
79 God, nations have invaded your land[a]
to desecrate your holy Temple,
to destroy Jerusalem,
2 to give the corpses of your servants
as food for the birds of the skies
and the flesh of your godly ones
to the beasts of the earth;
3 to make their blood flow like water around Jerusalem,
with no one being buried.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors,
a mockery and a derision to those around us.
5 How long, Lord, will you be angry? Forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your wrath upon the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
and over the kingdoms
that do not call on your name.
7 For they consumed Jacob,
making his dwelling place desolate.
8 Don’t charge[b] us for previous iniquity,
but let your compassion come quickly to us,
for we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, God, our deliverer,
on account of your glorious name,
deliver us and forgive[c] our sins
on account of your name.
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let vengeance for the blood of your servants be meted[d] out
before our eyes and among the nations.
11 Let the cries of the prisoners reach you.
With the strength of your power,
release those condemned to death.[e]
12 Pay back our neighbors seven times[f]
the reproach with which they reproached you, Lord.
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you always, from generation to generation.
We will declare your praise.
David Plans to Build the Temple(A)
7 After the king had settled down in his palace and the Lord had given him respite from all of his surrounding enemies, 2 he[a] told the prophet Nathan, “Look now, I’m living in a cedar palace, but the Ark of God resides behind[b] a tent[c] curtain.”
3 Nathan replied to the king, “Go do everything you have in mind,[d] because the Lord is with you.”
4 But later that same night, this message came to Nathan from the Lord:
5 “Go tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘“Are you going to build a house[e] for me to inhabit? 6 After all, I haven’t lived in a house since the day I brought up the Israelis from Egypt until now. Instead, I’ve moved around in a tent that served as my[f] dwelling place. 7 Wherever I moved among the Israelis, did I ever ask even one tribal leader[g] of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built me a cedar house?’
8 “‘“Now therefore this is what you are to tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I took you from the pasture myself—from tending sheep—to become Commander-in-Chief[h] over my people, that is, over Israel.
9 “‘“Furthermore, I have remained with you everywhere you have gone, annihilating all your enemies right in front of you. I will make a great reputation[i] for you, like the reputation[j] of great ones who have lived on[k] earth. 10 I will establish a homeland[l] for my people—for Israel—planting them so they may live in a secure location where they will never be disturbed anymore. Wicked people[m] will no longer afflict them, as happened in the past 11 when I had commanded judges to administer[n] my people Israel. I’ll also grant you relief from all your enemies.”’
“‘The Lord also announces to you: “The Lord will himself build a house[o] for you. 12 When your life[p] is complete and you go to join[q] your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring[r] after you, who will come forth from your body,[s] and I will fortify his kingdom. 13 He will build a Temple dedicated to my Name, and I will make the throne of his kingdom last forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he will be to me a son who, when he commits iniquity, I will discipline with the rod wielded by armies[t] and with wounds inflicted by human beings.[u] 15 But I’ll never remove my gracious love from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed from your presence. 16 Your dynasty and your kingdom will remain forever in my presence—your throne will be secure forever.”’”
17 Nathan communicated this complete oracle to David with precisely these words.
Paul in Corinth
18 After this, Paul[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul[b] went to visit them, 3 and because they had the same trade he stayed with them. They worked together because they were tentmakers by trade. 4 Every Sabbath, he would speak in the synagogue, trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word[c] as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.[d] 6 But when they began to oppose him and insult him, he shook out his clothes in protest and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.”
7 Then he left that place and went to the home of a man named Titius[e] Justus, who worshipped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Now Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole family. Many Corinthians who heard Paul also believed and were baptized.
9 One night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, “Stop being afraid to speak out! Don’t remain silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you or harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul[f] lived there for a year and a half and continued to teach the word of God among the people there.[g]
Interpreting the Time(A)
11 The Pharisees arrived and began arguing with Jesus.[a] They tested him by demanding from him a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply in his spirit and remarked, “Why do those living today[b] demand a sign? I tell all of you[c] with certainty, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Leaving them, he got into a boat again and crossed to the other side.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees(B)
14 Now the disciples[d] had forgotten to take any bread along, but they had one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Jesus[e] had been warning them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”[f]
16 So they were discussing with one another the fact that they didn’t have any bread. 17 Knowing this, Jesus[g] asked them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand or perceive yet? Are your hearts hardened? 18 Do you have eyes, but fail to see? Do you have ears, but fail to hear?[h] Don’t you remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces?”
They told him, “Twelve.”
20 “When I broke[i] the seven loaves[j] for the 4,000, how many large baskets did you fill with the leftover pieces?”
They told him, “Seven.”
21 Then he asked them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
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