Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer to Restore God’s Vineyard
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” Eduth.[b] A psalm of Asaph.
I
2 O Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear,
you who guide Joseph like a flock!
Seated upon the cherubim, shine forth(A)
3 upon Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power, and come to save us.
4 (B)O God, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
II
5 Lord of hosts,
how long will you smolder in anger
while your people pray?(C)
6 You have fed them the bread of tears,
made them drink tears in great measure.[c](D)
7 You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors;
our enemies deride us.(E)
8 O God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
III
9 You brought a vine[d] out of Egypt;
you drove out nations and planted it.
10 You cleared out what was before it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the cedars of God by its branches.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the sea,[e]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(F)
14 The boar from the forest strips the vine;
the beast of the field feeds upon it.(G)
15 Turn back again, God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
16 the stock your right hand has planted,
and the son[f] whom you made strong for yourself.
17 Those who would burn or cut it down—
may they perish at your rebuke.
18 May your hand be with the man on your right,[g]
with the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
19 Then we will not withdraw from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
20 Lord God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
Psalm 146[a]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(A)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(B)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(C)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(D)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(E)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(F)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(G)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(H)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(I)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147[b]
God’s Word Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
I
How good to sing praise to our God;
how pleasant to give fitting praise.(J)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the dispersed of Israel,(K)
3 Healing the brokenhearted,
and binding up their wounds.(L)
4 He numbers the stars,
and gives to all of them their names.(M)
5 Great is our Lord, vast in power,
with wisdom beyond measure.(N)
6 The Lord gives aid to the poor,
but casts the wicked to the ground.(O)
II
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
with the lyre make music to our God,(P)
8 [c]Who covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
makes grass sprout on the mountains,(Q)
9 Who gives animals their food
and young ravens what they cry for.(R)
10 [d]He takes no delight in the strength of horses,
no pleasure in the runner’s stride.(S)
11 Rather the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his mercy.
III
12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem;
Zion, offer praise to your God,
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
blessed your children within you.(T)
14 He brings peace to your borders,
and satisfies you with finest wheat.(U)
15 [e]He sends his command to earth;
his word runs swiftly!(V)
16 Thus he makes the snow like wool,
and spreads the frost like ash;(W)
17 He disperses hail like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?
18 Yet when again he issues his command, it melts them;
he raises his winds and the waters flow.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and laws to Israel.(X)
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
of such laws they know nothing.
Hallelujah!
David’s Thanksgiving. 18 Then King David went in and sat in the Lord’s presence and said, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you should have brought me so far?(A) 19 And yet even this is too little in your sight, Lord God! For you have made a promise regarding your servant’s house reaching into the future, and giving guidance to the people, Lord God! 20 What more can David say to you? You know[a] your servant, Lord God! 21 For your servant’s sake and as you have had at heart, you have brought about this whole magnificent disclosure to your servant. 22 Therefore, great are you, Lord God! There is no one like you, no God but you, as we have always heard.(B) 23 What other nation on earth is there like your people Israel? What god has ever led a nation, redeeming it as his people and making a name by great and awesome deeds, as you drove out the nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt?(C) 24 (D)You have established for yourself your people Israel as your people forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. 25 Now, Lord God, confirm the promise that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house forever. Bring about what you have promised 26 so that your name may be forever great. People will say: ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ when the house of your servant David is established in your presence. 27 Because you, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, ‘I will build you a house,’ your servant now finds the courage to make this prayer before you. 28 Since you, Lord God, are truly God and your words are truth and you have made this generous promise to your servant,(E) 29 do, then, bless the house of your servant, that it may be in your presence forever—since you, Lord God, have promised, and by your blessing the house of your servant shall be blessed forever.”
IV. Faith and Liberty
Chapter 3
Justification by Faith.[a] 1 O stupid[b] Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?(A) 2 I want to learn only this from you:(B) did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard?[c] 3 Are you so stupid?(C) After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?[d] 4 Did you experience so many things[e] in vain?—if indeed it was in vain. 5 Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard?(D) 6 Thus Abraham “believed God,(E) and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[f]
7 [g]Realize then that it is those who have faith who are children of Abraham.(F) 8 Scripture, which saw in advance that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold the good news to Abraham, saying, “Through you shall all the nations be blessed.”(G) 9 Consequently, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith.(H) 10 [h]For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things written in the book of the law.”(I) 11 And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live.”(J) 12 But the law does not depend on faith; rather, “the one who does these things will live by them.”(K) 13 Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,”(L) 14 that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.(M)
57 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.(A) 59 [a]When they came on the eighth day to circumcise(B) the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.”(C) 61 But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” 62 So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.(D) 65 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
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