Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 (H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
9 You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do (U)turn back;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (Y)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.
Samuel Goes to Bethlehem
16 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “(A)How long are you going to mourn for [a]Saul, since (B)I have rejected him from being king over Israel? (C)Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to (D)Jesse the Bethlehemite, because I have (E)chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “(F)Take a heifer [b]with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And you shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and (G)I will let you know what you shall do; and (H)you shall anoint for Me the one whom I [c]designate to you.” 4 So Samuel did what the Lord told him, and he came to (I)Bethlehem. Then the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and said, “(J)Do you come in peace?” 5 And he said, “In peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. (K)Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” He also consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they entered, he looked at (L)Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is standing before Him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [d]God does not see as man sees, since man looks at [e]the outward appearance, (M)but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called (N)Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel. But he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 9 Next Jesse had [f](O)Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.” 10 So Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the boys?” And he said, “(P)The youngest is still left, but behold, he is tending the sheep.” So Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; for we will not take our places at the table until he comes here.”
David Anointed
12 So he sent word and brought him in. Now he was [g]reddish, with (Q)beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, “(R)Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and (S)anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and (T)the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel set out and went to Ramah.
18 Children, (A)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that (B)antichrist is coming, (C)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 (D)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, (E)so that [a]it would be evident that they all are not of us. 20 [b]But you have an (F)anointing from (G)the Holy One, and (H)you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but (I)because you do know it, and [c]because no lie is (J)of the truth. 22 Who is the liar except (K)the one who denies that Jesus is the [d]Christ? This is (L)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 (M)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, see that what you heard (N)from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also (O)will remain in the Son and in the Father.
The Promise Is Eternal Life
25 (P)This is the promise which He Himself [e]made to us: eternal life.
Praise to the Creator and Protector.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is right,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their [a]lights.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [c]stood firm.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The (S)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [d]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (AF)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
Farewell to Ephesus
17 From Miletus he sent word to (A)Ephesus and called to himself (B)the elders of the church. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them,
“You yourselves know, (C)from the first day that I set foot in [a]Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and trials which came upon me [b]through (D)the plots of the Jews; 20 how I (E)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was beneficial, and teaching you publicly and [c]from house to house, 21 solemnly (F)testifying to both Jews and Greeks of (G)repentance toward God and (H)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, bound by the [d]Spirit, (I)I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that (J)the Holy Spirit solemnly (K)testifies to me in every city, saying that (L)chains and afflictions await me. 24 But (M)I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may (N)finish my course and (O)the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to (P)testify solemnly of the gospel of (Q)God’s grace.
25 “And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about (R)preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. 26 Therefore, I [e]testify to you this day that (S)I am [f]innocent of the blood of all people. 27 For I (T)did not shrink from declaring to you the whole (U)purpose of God. 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all (V)the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you [g]overseers, to shepherd (W)the church of God which (X)He [h]purchased [i]with His own blood. 29 I know that after my departure (Y)savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing (Z)the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away (AA)the disciples after them. 31 Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of (AB)three years I did not cease to admonish each one (AC)with tears. 32 And now I (AD)entrust you to God and to (AE)the word of His grace, which is able to (AF)build you up and to give you (AG)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 (AH)I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. 34 You yourselves know that (AI)these hands served my own needs and the (AJ)men who were with me. 35 In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
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