Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.”[a] A testimony of Asaph.(A) A psalm.
1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock;(B)
You who sit enthroned on the cherubim,(C)
rise up(D)
2 before Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasseh.[b](E)
Rally Your power and come to save us.(F)
3 Restore us, God;
look on us with favor,
and we will be saved.(G)
4 Lord God of Hosts,
how long will You be angry
with Your people’s prayers?(H)
5 You fed them the bread of tears
and gave them a full measure[c]
of tears to drink.(I)
6 You make us quarrel with our neighbors;
our enemies make fun of us.(J)
7 Restore us, God of Hosts;
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.(K)
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
You drove out the nations and planted it.(L)
9 You cleared a place for it;
it took root and filled the land.(M)
10 The mountains were covered by its shade,
and the mighty cedars[d] with its branches.(N)
11 It sent out sprouts toward the Sea[e]
and shoots toward the River.[f](O)
12 Why have You broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its fruit?(P)
13 The boar from the forest tears it
and creatures of the field feed on it.(Q)
14 Return, God of Hosts.(R)
Look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
15 the root[g] Your right hand has planted,
the shoot[h] that You made strong for Yourself.(S)
16 It was cut down and burned up;[i]
they[j] perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.(T)
17 Let Your hand be with the man at Your right hand,
with the son of man
You have made strong for Yourself.(U)
18 Then we will not turn away from You;
revive us, and we will call on Your name.(V)
19 Restore us, Yahweh, the God of Hosts;(W)
look on us with favor, and we will be saved.(X)
Samuel Anoints David
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul,(A) since I have rejected him as king over Israel?(B) Fill your horn with oil(C) and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem(D) because I have selected a king from his sons.”
2 Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!”
The Lord answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’(E) 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do.(F) You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate to you.”(G)
4 Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem.(H) When the elders of the town met him, they trembled[a] and asked, “Do[b] you come in peace?”(I)
5 “In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves(J) and come with me to the sacrifice.”[c] Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab(K) and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees,[d] for man sees what is visible,[e] but the Lord sees the heart.”(L)
8 Jesse called Abinadab(M) and presented him to Samuel. “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said. 9 Then Jesse presented Shammah,(N) but Samuel said, “The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,”(O) he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 12 So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy,[f] handsome appearance.(P)
Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.”(Q) 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him(R) in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward.(S) Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
The Last Hour
18 Children, it is the last hour.(A) And as you have heard, “Antichrist(B) is coming,” even now many antichrists have come. We know from this that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us.
20 But you have an anointing(C) from the Holy One,(D) and all of you have knowledge.[a] 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar, if not the one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah?(E) This one is the antichrist: the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son can have the Father;(F) he who confesses the Son has the Father as well.(G)
Remaining with God
24 What you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son(H) and in the Father.(I) 25 And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.(J)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to Him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all His work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap;[a]
He puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth tremble before the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.(K)
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
He observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from His dwelling place.(Q)
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
He considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders
17 Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time(A)— 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and with the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews(B)— 20 and that I did not shrink back from proclaiming to you anything that was profitable or from teaching it to you in public and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God(C) and faith in our Lord Jesus.(D)
22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit,[a] not knowing what I will encounter there,(E) 23 except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.(F) 24 But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course[b] and the ministry(G) I received from the Lord Jesus,(H) to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “And now I know that none of you will ever see my face again—everyone I went about preaching the kingdom to. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent[c] of everyone’s blood,(I) 27 for I did not shrink back from declaring to you the whole plan of God.(J) 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock(K) that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers,(L) to shepherd the church of God,[d] which He purchased with His own blood.(M) 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And men will rise up from your own number with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them.(N) 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.(O)
32 “And now[e] I commit you to God and to the message of His grace,(P) which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance(Q) among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.(R) 34 You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my needs and for those who were with me.(S) 35 In every way I’ve shown you that by laboring like this, it is necessary to help the weak and to keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
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