Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
Faulty Religion and Unethical Behavior Will Lead to Judgment
7 The Lord said to Jeremiah:[a] 2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim[b] this message: ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah who have passed through these gates to worship the Lord.[c] 3 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[d] says: Change the way you have been living and do what is right.[e] If you do, I will allow you to continue to live in this land.[f] 4 Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says,[g] “We are safe![h] The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!”[i] 5 You must change[j] the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly.[k] 6 Stop oppressing resident foreigners who live in your land, children who have lost their fathers, and women who have lost their husbands.[l] Stop killing innocent people[m] in this land. Stop paying allegiance to[n] other gods. That will only bring about your ruin.[o] 7 If you stop doing these things,[p] I will allow you to continue to live in this land[q] that I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.[r]
8 “‘But just look at you![s] You are putting your confidence in a false belief[t] that will not deliver you.[u] 9 You steal.[v] You murder. You commit adultery. You lie when you swear on oath. You sacrifice to the god Baal. You pay allegiance to[w] other gods whom you have not previously known. 10 Then you come and stand in my presence in this temple I have claimed as my own[x] and say, “We are safe!” You think you are so safe that you go on doing all those hateful sins![y] 11 Do you think this temple I have claimed as my own[z] is to be a hideout for robbers?[aa] You had better take note![ab] I have seen for myself what you have done! says the Lord. 12 So, go to the place in Shiloh where I allowed myself to be worshiped[ac] in the early days. See what I did to it[ad] because of the wicked things my people Israel did. 13 You also have done all these things, says the Lord, and I have spoken to you over and over again.[ae] But you have not listened! You have refused to respond when I called you to repent![af] 14 So I will destroy this temple that I have claimed as my own,[ag] this temple that you are trusting to protect you. I will destroy this place that I gave to you and your ancestors,[ah] just like I destroyed Shiloh.[ai] 15 And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’[aj]
The Illustration of Justification
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh,[a] has discovered regarding this matter?[b] 2 For if Abraham was declared righteous[c] by works, he has something to boast about—but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited[d] to him as righteousness.”[e] 4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation.[f] 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous,[g] his faith is credited as righteousness.
6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed[h] are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the one[i] against whom the Lord will never count[j] sin.”[k]
9 Is this blessedness[l] then for[m] the circumcision[n] or also for[o] the uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.”[p] 10 How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised,[q] so that he would become[r] the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised,[s] that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised,[t] who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.[u]
Teaching in the Temple
14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts[a] and began to teach.[b] 15 Then the Jewish leaders[c] were astonished[d] and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”[e] 16 So Jesus replied,[f] “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me.[g] 17 If anyone wants to do God’s will,[h] he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority.[i] 18 The person who speaks on his own authority[j] desires[k] to receive honor[l] for himself; the one who desires[m] the honor[n] of the one who sent him is a man of integrity,[o] and there is no unrighteousness in him. 19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps[p] the law! Why do you want[q] to kill me?”
20 The crowd[r] answered, “You’re possessed by a demon![s] Who is trying to kill you?”[t] 21 Jesus replied,[u] “I performed one miracle[v] and you are all amazed.[w] 22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision[x] (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child[y] on the Sabbath. 23 But if a male child[z] is circumcised[aa] on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken,[ab] why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well[ac] on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to external appearance,[ad] but judge with proper[ae] judgment.”
Questions About Jesus’ Identity
25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man[af] they are trying[ag] to kill? 26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly,[ah] and they are saying nothing to him.[ai] Do the ruling authorities[aj] really know that this man[ak] is the Christ?[al] 27 But we know where this man[am] comes from.[an] Whenever the Christ[ao] comes, no one will know where he comes from.”[ap]
28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts,[aq] cried out,[ar] “You both know me and know where I come from![as] And I have not come on my own initiative,[at] but the one who sent me[au] is true. You do not know him,[av] 29 but[aw] I know him, because I have come from him[ax] and he[ay] sent me.”
30 So then they tried to seize Jesus,[az] but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[ba] had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the crowd[bb] believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ[bc] comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?”[bd]
32 The Pharisees[be] heard the crowd[bf] murmuring these things about Jesus,[bg] so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers[bh] to arrest him.[bi] 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer,[bj] and then[bk] I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me[bl] but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”
35 Then the Jewish leaders[bm] said to one another, “Where is he[bn] going to go that we cannot find him?[bo] He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed[bp] among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he?[bq] 36 What did he mean by saying,[br] ‘You will look for me[bs] but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
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