Book of Common Prayer
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they were to [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)So that the generation to come would know, (N)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 So that they would put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)comply with His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His Law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking for (AK)food [g]that suited their taste.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare (AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)made the east wind blow in the sky
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He let them fall in the midst of [n]their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And He [o]satisfied their longing.
30 [p]Yet before they had abandoned their longing,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)strongest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in futility,
And their years to an end in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And they returned and searched (BE)diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)flattered Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful with His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, [s](BL)forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them;
And often He [t](BM)restrained His anger
And did not stir up all His wrath.
39 So (BN)He remembered that they were only (BO)flesh,
A [u](BP)wind that passes and does not return.
40 How often they (BQ)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (BR)grieved Him in the (BS)desert!
41 Again and again they [v](BT)tempted God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [w]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He performed His (BY)signs in Egypt
And His (BZ)marvels in the field of Zoan,
44 And (CA)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of (CB)flies among them that devoured them,
And (CC)frogs that destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He [x]destroyed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also turned their (CG)cattle over to the hailstones,
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent His burning anger upon them,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
A band of [y]destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their souls from death,
But (CI)turned their lives over to the plague,
51 And (CJ)struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first and best of their vigor in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led His own people out like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness (CN)like a flock;
53 He led them (CO)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (CP)the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 So (CQ)He brought them to His holy [z]land,
To this [aa](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had gained.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations from them
And (CU)apportioned them as an inheritance by measurement,
And had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [ab](CV)tempted and (CW)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (CX)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (CY)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (CZ)provoked Him with their (DA)high places
And (DB)moved Him to jealousy with their (DC)carved images.
59 When God heard them, He [ac]was filled with (DD)wrath
And He utterly (DE)rejected Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [ad]which He had pitched among people,
61 And He gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His glory (DI)into the hand of the enemy.
62 He also (DJ)turned His people over to the sword,
And [ae]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [af]His young men,
And [ag]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ah]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [ai]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
Like a (DP)warrior [aj]overcome by wine.
66 He [ak](DQ)drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting disgrace.
67 He also (DR)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (DS)Zion, which He loved.
69 And He (DT)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also (DU)chose His servant David
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From [al](DV)the care of the [am]ewes (DW)with nursing lambs He brought him
To (DX)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (DY)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (DZ)integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
15 (A)Woe for the day!
For the (B)day of the Lord is near,
And it will come as (C)destruction from the [a]Almighty.
16 Has (D)food not been cut off before our eyes, and
Joy and (E)rejoicing from the house of our God?
17 The [b](F)seeds have dried up under their shovels;
The storehouses have become desolate,
The grain silos are ruined,
Because the grain has dried up.
18 How (G)the animals have groaned!
The herds of cattle have wandered aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep have [c]suffered.
19 (H)To You, Lord, I cry out;
For (I)fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the animals of the field [d](J)pant for You;
For the (K)stream beds of water are dried up,
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
The Terrible Visitation
2 (L)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the (M)day of the Lord is coming;
Indeed, it is near,
2 A day of (N)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a (O)great and mighty people;
There has (P)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
3 A (Q)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame devours.
The land is (R)like the Garden of Eden before them,
But a (S)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their (T)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 [e]With a (U)noise as of chariots
They leap about on the tops of the mountains,
Like the [f]crackling of a (V)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people drawn up for battle.
6 Before them the people are in (W)anguish;
All (X)faces [g]turn pale.
7 They run like warriors,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And each of them (Y)marches [h]in line,
Nor do they lose their way.
8 They do not crowd each other,
Every warrior of them marches in his path;
When they [i]burst through the [j]defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9 They storm the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the (Z)houses,
They (AA)enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth (AB)quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The (AC)sun and the moon become dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Lord (AD)utters His voice before (AE)His army;
His camp is indeed very great,
For (AF)mighty is one who carries out His word.
The (AG)day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And (AH)who can endure it?
The Fourfold Hallelujah
19 After these things I heard something like a (A)loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“(B)Hallelujah! (C)Salvation, (D)glory, and power belong to our God, 2 (E)because His (F)judgments are (G)true and righteous; for He has judged the (H)great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her sexual immorality, and He has (I)avenged the blood of His bond-servants [a]on her.” 3 And a second time they said, “(J)Hallelujah! (K)Her smoke rises forever and ever.” 4 And the (L)twenty-four elders and the (M)four living creatures (N)fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “(O)Amen. (P)Hallelujah!” 5 And a voice came from the throne, saying,
“(Q)Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, (R)you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6 Then I heard something like (S)the voice of a great multitude and like (T)the sound of many waters, and like the (U)sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,
“(V)Hallelujah! For the (W)Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Marriage of the Lamb
7 Let’s rejoice and be glad and (X)give the glory to Him, because (Y)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His [b](Z)bride has prepared herself.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in (AA)fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the (AB)righteous acts of the [c]saints.
9 Then (AC)he *said to me, “(AD)Write: ‘(AE)Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “(AF)These are the true words of God.” 10 Then (AG)I fell at his feet to worship him. (AH)But he *said to me, “[d]Do not do that; I am a (AI)fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who (AJ)hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Discipleship Tested
25 Now [a]large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them, 26 “(A)If anyone comes to Me and does not [b]hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not (B)carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and (C)consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace. 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who (D)does not [c]give up all his own possessions.
34 “Therefore, salt is good; but (E)if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be [d]seasoned? 35 It is useless either for the soil or the manure pile, so it is thrown out. (F)The one who has ears to hear, [e]let him hear.”
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