Book of Common Prayer
A maskil of Asaph.
78 My people, listen to my teaching.
Pay attention to what I say.
2 I will open my mouth and tell a story.
I will speak about things that were hidden.
They happened a long time ago.
3 We have heard about them and we know them.
Our people who lived before us have told us about them.
4 We won’t hide them from our children.
We will tell them to those who live after us.
We will tell them what the Lord has done that is worthy of praise.
We will talk about his power and the wonderful things he has done.
5 He gave laws to the people of Jacob.
He gave Israel their law.
He commanded our people who lived before us
to teach his laws to their children.
6 Then those born later would know his laws.
Even their children yet to come would know them.
And they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God.
They would not forget what he had done.
They would obey his commands.
8 They would not be like their people who lived long ago.
Those people were stubborn. They refused to obey God.
They turned away from him.
Their spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The soldiers of Ephraim were armed with bows.
But they ran away on the day of battle.
10 They didn’t keep the covenant God had made with them.
They refused to live by his law.
11 They forgot what he had done.
They didn’t remember the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles right in front of their people who lived long ago.
At that time they were living in Egypt, in the area of Zoan.
13 God parted the Red Sea and led them through it.
He made the water stand up like a wall.
14 He guided them with the cloud during the day.
He led them with the light of a fire all night long.
15 He broke the rocks open in the desert.
He gave them as much water as there is in the oceans.
16 He brought streams out of a rocky cliff.
He made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against him.
In the desert they refused to obey the Most High God.
18 They were stubborn and tested God.
They ordered him to give them the food they wanted.
19 They spoke against God. They said,
“Can God really put food on a table in the desert?
20 It is true that he struck the rock, and streams of water poured out.
Huge amounts of water flowed down.
But can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard what they said, he was very angry.
His anger broke out like fire against the people of Jacob.
He became very angry with Israel.
22 That was because they didn’t believe in God.
They didn’t trust in his power to save them.
23 But he gave a command to the skies above.
He opened the doors of the heavens.
24 He rained down manna for the people to eat.
He gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Mere human beings ate the bread of angels.
He sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He made the east wind blow from the heavens.
By his power he caused the south wind to blow.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust.
He sent them birds like sand on the seashore.
28 He made the birds come down inside their camp.
The birds fell all around their tents.
29 People ate until they couldn’t eat any more.
He gave them what they had wanted.
30 But even before they had finished eating, God acted.
He did it while the food was still in their mouths.
31 His anger rose up against them.
He put to death the strongest among them.
He struck down Israel’s young men.
32 But even after all that, they kept on sinning.
Even after the wonderful things he had done, they still didn’t believe.
33 So he brought their days to an end like a puff of smoke.
He ended their years with terror.
34 Every time God killed some of them, the others would seek him.
They gladly turned back to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock.
They remembered that God Most High had set them free.
36 But they didn’t mean it when they praised him.
They lied to him when they spoke.
37 They turned away from him.
They weren’t faithful to the covenant he had made with them.
38 But he was full of tender love.
He forgave their sins
and didn’t destroy his people.
Time after time he held back his anger.
He didn’t let all his burning anger blaze out.
39 He remembered that they were only human.
He remembered they were only a breath of air
that drifts by and doesn’t return.
40 How often they refused to obey him in the desert!
How often they caused him sorrow in that dry and empty land!
41 Again and again they tested God.
They made the Holy One of Israel sad and angry.
42 They didn’t remember his power.
They forgot the day he set them free
from those who had treated them so badly.
43 They forgot how he had shown them his signs in Egypt.
They forgot his miracles in the area of Zoan.
44 He turned the river of Egypt into blood.
The people of Egypt couldn’t drink water from their streams.
45 He sent large numbers of flies that bit them.
He sent frogs that destroyed their land.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshoppers.
He gave their food to the locusts.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail.
He destroyed their fig trees with sleet.
48 He killed their cattle with hail.
Their livestock were struck by lightning.
49 Because he was so angry with Egypt, he caused them to have great trouble.
In his great anger he sent destroying angels against them.
50 God prepared a path for his anger.
He didn’t spare their lives.
He gave them over to the plague.
51 He killed the oldest son of each family in Egypt.
He struck down the oldest son in every house in the land of Ham.
52 But he brought his people out like a flock.
He led them like sheep through the desert.
53 He guided them safely, and they weren’t afraid.
But the Red Sea swallowed up their enemies.
54 And so he brought his people to the border of his holy land.
He led them to the central hill country he had taken by his power.
55 He drove out the nations to make room for his people.
He gave to each family a piece of land to pass on to their children.
He gave the tribes of Israel a place to make their homes.
56 But they tested God.
They refused to obey the Most High God.
They didn’t keep his laws.
57 They were like their people who lived long ago.
They turned away from him and were not faithful.
They were like a bow that doesn’t shoot straight.
They couldn’t be trusted.
58 They made God angry by going to their high places.
They made him jealous by worshiping the statues of their gods.
59 When God saw what the people were doing, he was very angry.
He turned away from them completely.
60 He deserted the holy tent at Shiloh.
He left the tent he had set up among his people.
61 He allowed the ark to be captured.
Into the hands of his enemies he sent the ark where his glory rested.
62 He let his people be killed by swords.
He was very angry with them.
63 Fire destroyed their young men.
Their young women had no one to marry.
64 Their priests were killed by swords.
Their widows weren’t able to weep.
65 Then the Lord woke up as if he had been sleeping.
He was like a warrior waking up from the deep sleep caused by wine.
66 He drove back his enemies.
He put them to shame that will last forever.
67 He turned his back on the tents of the people of Joseph.
He didn’t choose to live in the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead, he chose to live in the tribe of Judah.
He chose Mount Zion, which he loved.
69 There he built his holy place as secure as the heavens.
He built it to last forever, like the earth.
70 He chose his servant David.
He took him from the sheep pens.
71 He brought him from tending sheep
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob.
He made him the shepherd of Israel, his special people.
72 David cared for them with a faithful and honest heart.
With skilled hands he led them.
Rewards for Obeying the Lord
26 “ ‘Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. Do not set up a likeness of a god or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down in front of it. I am the Lord your God.
2 “ ‘You must always keep my Sabbath days. Have respect for my sacred tent. I am the Lord.
3 “ ‘Follow my rules. Be careful to obey my commands. 4 Then I will send you rain at the right time. The ground will produce its crops. The trees will bear their fruit. 5 You will continue to harvest your grain until you gather your grapes. You will continue to gather your grapes until you plant your crops. You will have all you want to eat. And you will live in safety in your land.
6 “ ‘I will give you peace in the land. You will be able to sleep because no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild animals from the land. There will not be any war in your country. 7 You will hunt down your enemies. You will kill them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase 100. And 100 of you will chase 10,000. You will kill your enemies with your swords.
9 “ ‘I will bless you. I will give you many children so that there will be many of you. And I will be faithful to the covenant I made with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s crops when you will have to make room for new crops. 11 I will live among you. I will not turn away from you. 12 I will walk among you. I will be your God. And you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did not want you to be slaves in Egypt anymore. I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.
Punishment for Not Obeying the Lord
14 “ ‘On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands. 15 Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands. 16 Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your strength away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted. 17 I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.
18 “ ‘After all that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times. 19 I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it. 20 You will work with all your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of your land will not bear any fruit.
Teachings About Worship
2 First, I want you to pray for all people. Ask God to help and bless them. Give thanks for them. 2 Pray for kings. Pray for everyone who is in authority. Pray that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. And pray that we will be godly and holy. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior. 4 He wants all people to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth. 5 There is only one God. And there is only one go-between for God and human beings. He is the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. We have been told this message at just the right time.
18 “Listen! Here is the meaning of the story of the farmer. 19 People hear the message about the kingdom but do not understand it. Then the evil one comes. He steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed planted on a path. 20 The seed that fell on rocky places is like other people. They hear the message and at once receive it with joy. 21 But they have no roots. So they last only a short time. They quickly fall away from the faith when trouble or suffering comes because of the message. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns is like others who hear the message. But then the worries of this life and the false promises of wealth crowd it out. They keep the message from producing fruit. 23 But the seed that fell on good soil is like those who hear the message and understand it. They produce a crop 100, 60 or 30 times more than the farmer planted.”
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