Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “Lilies of the Agreement.” One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead your people[a] like sheep.
You sit on your throne above the Cherub angels.
Let us see you.
2 Shepherd of Israel, show your greatness to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Come and save your people.
3 God, accept us again.
Smile down on us and save us!
4 Lord God All-Powerful, when will you listen to our prayers?
How long will you be angry with us?
5 Instead of bread and water,
you gave your people tears.
6 You made us the target of everyone’s hatred.
Our enemies make fun of us.
7 God All-Powerful, accept us again.
Smile down on us and save us!
8 When you brought us out of Egypt,
we were like your special vine.
You forced other nations to leave this land,
and you planted that vine here.
9 You prepared the ground for it,
and it sent its roots down deep and spread throughout the land.
10 It covered the mountains,
and its leaves shaded even the giant cedar trees.
11 Its branches spread to the Mediterranean Sea,
its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 God, why did you pull down the walls that protect your vine?
Now everyone who passes by picks its grapes.
13 Wild pigs come and ruin it.
Wild animals eat the leaves.
14 God All-Powerful, come back.
Look down from heaven at your vine and protect it.
15 Look at the vine you planted with your own hands.
Look at the young plant[b] you raised.
16 Our enemies have cut it down and burned it up.
Show them how angry you are and destroy them.
To the director, Jeduthun.[a] One of Asaph’s songs.
77 I cry out to God for help.
I cry out to you, God; listen to me!
2 My Lord, in my time of trouble I came to you.
I reached out for you all night long.
My soul refused to be comforted.
3 I thought about you, God,
and tried to tell you how I felt, but I could not.
4 You would not let me sleep.
I tried to say something, but I was too upset.
5 I kept thinking about the past,
about things that happened long ago.
6 During the night, I thought about my songs.
I talked to myself, trying to understand what is happening.
7 I wondered, “Has our Lord rejected us forever?
Will he ever accept us again?
8 Is his love gone forever?
Will he never again speak to us?
9 Has God forgotten what mercy is?
Has his compassion changed to anger?” Selah
10 Then I said to myself, “What bothers me most is the thought
that God Most High has lost his power.”
11 Lord, I remember what you have done.
I remember the amazing things you did long ago.
12 I think about those things.
I think about them all the time.
13 God, all that you do is holy.
No god is as great as you are.
14 You are the God who does amazing things.
You showed the nations your great power.
15 By your power you saved your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 God, the water saw you and became afraid.
The deep water shook with fear.
17 The thick clouds dropped their water.
Thunder roared in the sky above.
Your arrows of lightning flashed through the clouds.
18 There were loud claps of thunder.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth shook and trembled.
19 You walked through the water and crossed the deep sea,
but you left no footprints.
20 You led your people like sheep,
using Moses and Aaron to guide them.
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
79 God, some people from other nations came to fight your people.
They ruined your holy Temple.
They left Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They left the bodies of your servants for the wild birds to eat.
They let wild animals eat the bodies of your followers.
3 Blood flowed like water all over Jerusalem.
No one is left to bury the bodies.
4 The countries around us insult us.
The people around us laugh at us and make fun of us.
5 Lord, will you be angry with us forever?
Will your strong feelings[a] continue to burn like a fire?
6 Turn your anger against the nations that do not know you,
against the people who do not honor you as God.
7 Those nations killed Jacob’s family
and destroyed their land.
8 Please don’t punish us for the sins of our ancestors.
Hurry, show us your mercy!
We need you so much!
9 Our God and Savior, help us!
That will bring glory to your name.
Save us and forgive our sins
for the good of your name.
10 Don’t give the other nations a reason to say,
“Where is their God? Can’t he help them?”
Let us see you punish those people.
Punish them for killing your servants.
11 Listen to the sad cries of the prisoners!
Use your great power to free those who are sentenced to die.
12 Punish the nations around us!
Pay them back seven times for what they did to us.
Punish them for insulting you.
13 We are your people, the sheep of your flock.
We will praise you forever.
We will praise you forever and ever!
4 Esther’s slave women and eunuchs came to her and told her about Mordecai. This made Queen Esther very sad and upset. She sent clothes for Mordecai to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been chosen to serve her. She commanded him to find out what was bothering Mordecai, and why. 6 So Hathach went out to where Mordecai was in the open place of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7 Then Mordecai told Hathach everything that had happened to him. Mordecai told him about the exact amount of money Haman had promised to put into the king’s treasury for killing Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the king’s command to kill the Jews. The command had been sent out all over the city of Susa. He wanted Hathach to show it to Esther and tell her everything. And he told him to encourage Esther to go to the king and beg him for mercy for Mordecai and her people.
9 Hathach went back and told Esther everything Mordecai had said.
10 Then Esther told Hathach to say this to Mordecai: 11 “Mordecai, all the king’s leaders and all the people of the king’s provinces know this: The king has one law for any man or woman who goes to the king without being called. That person must be put to death unless the king holds out his gold scepter to them. If the king does this, that person’s life will be saved. And I have not been called to go see the king for 30 days.”
12-13 Then Esther’s message was given to Mordecai. When he got her message, Mordecai sent his answer back: “Esther, don’t think that just because you live in the king’s palace you will be the only Jew to escape. 14 If you keep quiet now, help and freedom for the Jews will come from another place. But you and your father’s family will all die. And who knows, maybe you have been chosen to be the queen for such a time as this.”
15-16 Then Esther sent this answer to Mordecai: “Mordecai, go and get all the Jews in Susa together, and fast for me. Don’t eat or drink for three days and nights. I and my women servants will fast too. After we fast, I will go to the king. I know it is against the law to go to the king if he didn’t call me, but I will do it anyway. If I die, I die.”
17 So Mordecai went away and did everything Esther told him to do.
Paul in Corinth
18 Later, Paul left Athens and went to the city of Corinth. 2 There he met a Jewish man named Aquila, who was born in the country of Pontus. But he and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy. They left Italy because Claudius had given an order for all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. 3 They were tentmakers, the same as Paul, so he stayed with them and worked with them.
4 Every Sabbath day Paul went to the synagogue and talked with both Jews and Greeks, trying to persuade them to believe in Jesus. 5 But after Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time telling God’s message to the Jews, trying to convince them that Jesus is the Messiah. 6 But they disagreed with what Paul was teaching and started insulting him. So Paul shook the dust from his clothes.[a] He said to them, “If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do. After this I will go only to the non-Jewish people.”
7 Paul left the synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus, a man who was a worshiper of the true God. His house was next to the synagogue. 8 Crispus was the leader of that synagogue. He and all the people living in his house believed in the Lord Jesus. Many other people in Corinth also listened to Paul. They, too, believed and were baptized.
9 During the night, Paul had a vision. The Lord said to him, “Don’t be afraid, and don’t stop talking to people. 10 I am with you, and no one will be able to hurt you. Many of my people are in this city.” 11 Paul stayed there for a year and a half teaching God’s message to the people.
Luke Writes About the Life of Jesus
1 Most Honorable Theophilus:
Many others have tried to give a report of the things that happened among us to complete God’s plan. 2 What they have written agrees with what we learned from the people who saw those events from the beginning. They also served God by telling people his message. 3 I studied it all carefully from the beginning. Then I decided to write it down for you in an organized way. 4 I did this so that you can be sure that what you have been taught is true.
John Prepares the Way for Jesus(A)
3 It was the 15th year of the rule of Tiberius Caesar. These men were under Caesar:
Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea;
Herod, the ruler of Galilee;
Philip, Herod’s brother, the ruler of Iturea and Trachonitis;
Lysanias, the ruler of Abilene.
2 Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. During this time, John, the son of Zechariah, was living in the desert, and he received a message from God. 3 So he went through the whole area around the Jordan River and told the people God’s message. He told them to be baptized to show that they wanted to change their lives, and then their sins would be forgiven. 4 This is like the words written in the book of Isaiah the prophet:
“There is someone shouting in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord.
Make the road straight for him.
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be made flat.
Crooked roads will be made straight,
and rough roads will be made smooth.
6 Then everyone will see
how God will save his people!’” (B)
7 Crowds of people came to be baptized by John. But he said to them, “You are all snakes! Who warned you to run from God’s judgment that is coming? 8 Change your hearts! And show by your lives that you have changed. I know what you are about to say—‘but Abraham is our father!’ That means nothing. I tell you that God can make children for Abraham from these rocks! 9 The ax is now ready to cut down the trees.[a] Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 The people asked John, “What should we do?”
11 He answered, “If you have two shirts, share with someone who does not have one. If you have food, share that too.”
12 Even the tax collectors came to John. They wanted to be baptized. They said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “Don’t take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to collect.”
14 The soldiers asked him, “What about us? What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t use force or lies to make people give you money. Be happy with the pay you get.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International