Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer for the Persecuted People
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]Listen to us, O shepherd of Israel,[d]
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
As you sit enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
3 over Ephraim,[e] Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power
and come to save us.
4 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine[f] upon us,
and we will be saved.
5 O Lord of hosts,[g]
how long will you be angry
at your people’s prayers?
6 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink tears beyond measure.
7 You have made us an object of contention to our neighbors,
a source of mockery to our enemies.
8 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
9 [h]You brought a vine[i] out of Egypt;
you dispersed the nations and planted it.
10 You prepared the ground for it;
then it took root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered with its shade
and the cedars of God[j] with its shoots.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the Sea,[k]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 [l]Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pluck its grapes?[m]
14 The boars from the forest ravage it,
and wild beasts of the field feed on it.
15 Turn once again to us, O Lord of hosts;[n]
look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
16 this shoot[o] that your right hand has planted,
the son that you yourself made strong.
17 Let those who would burn it or cut it down
perish when confronted by your rebuke.
18 Let your hand rest upon the man at your right,[p]
the son of man that you yourself made strong.
19 Then we will never again turn away from you;
give us life and we will call upon your name.[q]
20 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
The Concluding Hallel—Pss 146–150[a]
Psalm 146[b]
Trust in God, Creator and Redeemer
1 [c]Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.[d]
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God throughout my life.[e]
3 Do not place your trust in princes,
in mortal men who have no power to save.
4 When the spirit departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day all their plans come to naught.[f]
5 [g]Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,[h]
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,[i]
the sea, and everything in them—
the one who keeps faith forever.
7 He grants justice to the oppressed[j]
and gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners
8 and opens the eyes of those who cannot see.[k]
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the stranger
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,[l]
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever,[m]
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Alleluia.
Psalm 147[n]
Hymn to the City of God
1 [o]Alleluia.
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
how pleasant it is to give him fitting praise.[p]
2 The Lord restores Jerusalem
and gathers together the dispersed people of Israel.[q]
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.[r]
4 He fixes the number of the stars
and assigns a name to each.[s]
5 Great is our Lord and awesome in power;
his wisdom is without limit.[t]
6 The Lord sustains the poor
but humbles the wicked in the dust.[u]
7 [v]Offer songs of thanksgiving to the Lord;
play the lyre in honor of our God.
8 He veils the heavens with clouds,
supplies the earth with rain,
and makes the hills sprout with grass.[w]
9 He provides food for the animals
and for the young ravens when they call.[x]
10 [y]He takes no pleasure in the strength of the horse,
or delight in the fleetness of a runner.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who place their hope in his kindness.
12 [z]Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Glorify your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.[aa]
14 He brings peace to your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.[ab]
15 He sends a command to the earth;
his word runs with utmost speed.
16 He gives the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.[ac]
17 He hurls down his hail like crumbs;
who can withstand his cold?[ad]
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 [ae]He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his decrees and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for the other nations;
they are not aware of his judgments.
Alleluia.
18 King David’s Prayer. Then King David went in and, sitting in the presence of the Lord, he said:
“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my lineage, that you have brought me this far? 19 Yet you regarded this as too insignificant an honor, Lord God, for you have also deigned to extend your protective care to the house of your servant for a long time to come. Who can truly consider himself sufficiently worthy to be the recipient of such love, Lord God?
20 “What more can David say to you, Lord God, since you know everything about your servant? 21 For the sake of your promise and in accordance with the purpose you have in mind, you have decided to reveal all this to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. 23 And what other nation on earth can be compared to your people Israel, whom you sent forth to redeem for yourself from Egypt by awe-inspiring deeds as you drove out other nations and their gods. 24 You have established your people Israel as your own forever, and you, Lord, became their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, in regard to the promise that you have made concerning your servant and his house, do what you have promised, 26 so that your name will be exalted forever, and people will say: ‘the Lord of hosts is the God of Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you, 27 since you, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, made this revelation to your servant: ‘I shall build a house for you.’ Therefore, your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to you.
28 “And now, Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. You have made this generous promise to your servant.[a] 29 Therefore, bless the house of your servant, so that it may remain ever before you. For you, Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
Chapter 3
The Christian Experience. 1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly presented as crucified. 2 I only wish you to tell me this: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law or by believing what you heard?
3 How can you be so foolish? After having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending in the flesh? 4 Is everything you have suffered to result in absolutely nothing—if indeed it was for nothing? 5 Does God give you the Spirit and work mighty deeds among you because you have kept the Law or because you believed what you have heard?
The Blessing of Abraham.[a] 6 Thus Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. 7 You can be assured that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Because Scripture foresaw[b] that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, it declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” 9 For this reason, those who have faith share the blessing with Abraham, the faithful one.
10 The Curse of the Law. In contrast, those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written “Cursed is everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things that are written in the book of the Law.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the Law, for the one who is righteous will live by faith. 12 However, the Law is not based on faith. On the contrary, whoever does these things shall live by them.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse himself for us, as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung upon a tree.” 14 This is so that the blessing bestowed upon Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
57 The Birth of John. When the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they shared in her rejoicing.
59 On the eighth day, when they came to circumcise the child, they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 However, his mother objected. “No,” she said. “He is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one in your family who has this name.” 62 They then made signs to his father to ask what name he wanted to be given to the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote: “His name is John.” They were all filled with wonder.
64 Immediately, his mouth was opened and his tongue was freed, and he began to speak, giving praise to God. 65 All their neighbors were overcome with awe, and all these things were related throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them were deeply impressed, and they wondered, “What then is this child going to be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.
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