Book of Common Prayer
God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel
A (A)Contemplation[a] of Asaph.
78 Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a (B)parable;
I will utter [b]dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4 (C)We will not hide them from their children,
(D)Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For (E)He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That (F)they should make them known to their children;
6 (G)That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8 And (H)may not be like their fathers,
(I)A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation (J)that did not [c]set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and [d]carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 (K)They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And (L)forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
12 (M)Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, (N)in the field of Zoan.
13 (O)He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And (P)He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 (Q)In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 (R)He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought (S)streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they sinned even more against Him
By (T)rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And (U)they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 (V)Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 (W)Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard this and (X)was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they (Y)did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
(Z)And opened the doors of heaven,
24 (AA)Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the [e]bread of (AB)heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to [f]the full.
26 (AC)He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 (AD)So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not [g]deprived of their craving;
But (AE)while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this (AF)they still sinned,
And (AG)did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 (AH)Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 (AI)When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that (AJ)God was their rock,
And the Most High God (AK)their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they (AL)flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 (AM)But He, being full of (AN)compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time (AO)He turned His anger away,
And (AP)did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For (AQ)He remembered (AR)that they were but flesh,
(AS)A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they (AT)provoked[h] Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, (AU)again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His [i]power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 (AV)Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 (AW)He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And (AX)frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the (AY)locust.
47 (AZ)He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their (BA)cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery [j]lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave [k]their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the (BB)firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But He (BC)made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He (BD)led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea (BE)overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His (BF)holy border,
This mountain (BG)which His right hand had acquired.
55 (BH)He also drove out the nations before them,
(BI)Allotted them an inheritance by [l]survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 (BJ)Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But (BK)turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside (BL)like a deceitful bow.
58 (BM)For they provoked Him to anger with their (BN)high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 (BO)So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 (BP)And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 (BQ)He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And (BR)their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 (BS)Their priests fell by the sword,
And (BT)their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
(BU)Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And (BV)He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion (BW)which He loved.
69 And He built His (BX)sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 (BY)He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following (BZ)the ewes that had young He brought him,
(CA)To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (CB)integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
Gideon’s Valiant Three Hundred
7 Then (A)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley.
2 And the Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel (B)claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, (C)‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4 But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. 7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, (D)“By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his [a]place.” 8 So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 It happened on the same (E)night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, 11 and you shall (F)hear what they say; and afterward [b]your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, (G)all the people of the East, were lying in the valley (H)as numerous as locusts; and their camels were [c]without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.
13 And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”
14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand (I)God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”
15 And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” 16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, ‘The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’ ”
A Lame Man Healed
3 Now Peter and John went up together (A)to the temple at the hour of prayer, (B)the ninth hour. 2 And (C)a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, (D)to [a]ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: (E)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, (F)leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 (G)And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who (H)sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Preaching in Solomon’s Portico
11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch (I)which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.
A Voice in the Wilderness(A)
19 Now this is (B)the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 (C)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you (D)the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: (E)“I am
(F)‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Make straight the way of the Lord,” ’
as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 John answered them, saying, (G)“I baptize with water, (H)but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 (I)It is He who, coming after me, [a]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”
28 These things were done (J)in [b]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.