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)
Psalm 77
Confidence in a Time of Crisis
For the choir director: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph.(A) A psalm.
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and He will hear me.(B)
2 I sought the Lord in my day of trouble.
My hands were continually lifted up
all night long;
I refused to be comforted.(C)
3 I think of God; I groan;
I meditate; my spirit becomes weak.(D)
4 You have kept me from closing my eyes;
I am troubled and cannot speak.(E)
5 I consider days of old,
years long past.(F)
6 At night I remember my music;
I meditate in my heart, and my spirit ponders.(G)
7 “Will the Lord reject forever
and never again show favor?(H)
8 Has His faithful love ceased forever?
Is His promise at an end for all generations?(I)
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has He in anger withheld His compassion?”(J)
10 So I say, “I am grieved[a]
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”(K)
11 I will remember the Lord’s works;
yes, I will remember Your ancient wonders.(L)
12 I will reflect on all You have done
and meditate on Your actions.(M)
13 God, Your way is holy.
What god is great like God?(N)
14 You are the God who works wonders;
You revealed Your strength among the peoples.(O)
15 With power You redeemed Your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.(P)
16 The waters saw You, God.
The waters saw You; they trembled.
Even the depths shook.(Q)
17 The clouds poured down water.
The storm clouds thundered;
Your arrows flashed back and forth.(R)
18 The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
lightning lit up the world.(S)
The earth shook and quaked.(T)
19 Your way went through the sea
and Your path through the great waters,
but Your footprints were unseen.(U)
20 You led Your people like a flock(V)
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.(W)
Psalm 79
Faith amid Confusion
A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance,
desecrated Your holy temple,
and turned Jerusalem into ruins.(B)
2 They gave the corpses of Your servants
to the birds of the sky for food,
the flesh of Your godly ones
to the beasts of the earth.(C)
3 They poured out their blood
like water all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.(D)
4 We have become an object of reproach
to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule
to those around us.(E)
5 How long, Yahweh? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy keep burning like fire?(F)
6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that don’t acknowledge You,
on the kingdoms that don’t call on Your name,(G)
7 for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.(H)
8 Do not hold past sins[a] against us;
let Your compassion come to us quickly,
for we have become weak.(I)
9 God of our salvation, help us(J)—
for the glory of Your name.
Deliver us and atone for[b] our sins,
because of Your name.(K)
10 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”(L)
Before our eyes,
let vengeance for the shed blood of Your servants
be known among the nations.(M)
11 Let the groans of the prisoners reach You;
according to Your great power,
preserve those condemned to die.(N)
Remember the Lord
8 “You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land(A) the Lord swore to your fathers. 2 Remember that the Lord your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. 3 He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.(B) 4 Your clothing did not wear out, and your feet did not swell these 40 years.(C) 5 Keep in mind that the Lord your God has been disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 So keep the commands of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land,(D) a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper. 10 When you eat and are full,(E) you will praise the Lord your God for the good land(F) He has given you.
Greeting
1 James,(A) a slave of God(B) and of the Lord Jesus Christ:
To the 12 tribes(C) in the Dispersion.[a](D)
Greetings.(E)
Trials and Maturity
2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials,(F) 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.(G) 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 An indecisive[b] man is unstable in all his ways.(H)
9 The brother of humble circumstances should boast in his exaltation, 10 but the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.(I) 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities.(J)
12 A man who endures trials[c] is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown(K) of life that God[d] has promised to those who love Him.(L)
13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God.” For God is not tempted by evil,[e] and He Himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desires.(M) 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.(N)
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
18 While He was praying in private(A) and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”[a](B)
20 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah!”(C)
His Death and Resurrection Predicted
21 But He strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one,(D) 22 saying,(E) “The Son of Man(F) must suffer many things(G) and be rejected(H) by the elders, chief priests, and scribes,(I) be killed, and be raised the third day.”(J)
Take Up Your Cross
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with[b] Me, he must deny himself,(K) take up his cross daily,[c] and follow Me.(L) 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.(M) 25 What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?(N) 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words,(O) the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory(P) and that of the Father and the holy angels.(Q) 27 I tell you the truth: There are some standing here who will not taste death(R) until they see the kingdom of God.”(S)
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