Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer for the Persecuted People
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]Listen to us, O shepherd of Israel,[d]
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
As you sit enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
3 over Ephraim,[e] Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power
and come to save us.
4 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine[f] upon us,
and we will be saved.
5 O Lord of hosts,[g]
how long will you be angry
at your people’s prayers?
6 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink tears beyond measure.
7 You have made us an object of contention to our neighbors,
a source of mockery to our enemies.
8 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
9 [h]You brought a vine[i] out of Egypt;
you dispersed the nations and planted it.
10 You prepared the ground for it;
then it took root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered with its shade
and the cedars of God[j] with its shoots.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the Sea,[k]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 [l]Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pluck its grapes?[m]
14 The boars from the forest ravage it,
and wild beasts of the field feed on it.
15 Turn once again to us, O Lord of hosts;[n]
look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
16 this shoot[o] that your right hand has planted,
the son that you yourself made strong.
17 Let those who would burn it or cut it down
perish when confronted by your rebuke.
18 Let your hand rest upon the man at your right,[p]
the son of man that you yourself made strong.
19 Then we will never again turn away from you;
give us life and we will call upon your name.[q]
20 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
Psalm 77[a]
Lament and Consolation in Distress
1 For the director.[b] For Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]I cry aloud to God,
for when I cry out to God, he hears me.[d]
3 In the time of my distress I seek the Lord;
at night I stretch out my hands unceasingly,
and my soul refuses to be consoled.
4 [e]I groan as I think of God;
my spirit grows faint as I meditate on him. Selah
5 You keep my eyes from closing in sleep;
I am much too distraught to speak.
6 I reflect on the days of old
and recall the years long past.
7 At night I meditate in my heart,[f]
and as I reflect, my spirit questions:
8 [g]“Will the Lord cast us off forever
and never again show us his favor?
9 Has his kindness[h] vanished forever?
Has his promise ceased for all time?
10 Has God forgotten how to be merciful?
Has he shut up his compassion in anger?” Selah
11 [i]And I say: “This is my grief—
that the right hand[j] of the Most High has changed.”
12 I will remember the works of the Lord;
I will call to mind your wonders in the past.
13 I will reflect on all your deeds
and ponder your wondrous works.[k]
14 O God, your way is holy.[l]
What god is as great as our God?
15 You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might to the nations.
16 With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.[m] Selah
17 [n]When the waters[o] beheld you, O God,
when the waters beheld you, they writhed;
the very depths trembled.
18 The clouds poured forth their water,
the skies thundered,
your arrows[p] flashed back and forth.
19 The crash of your thunder resounded in the heavens;
your flashes of lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.[q]
20 Your path led through the sea,
your way, through the mighty waters,
though none could trace your footsteps.[r]
21 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.[s]
Psalm 79[a]
Prayer for Restoration
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]O God, the nations have invaded your heritage;
they have profaned your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of the air,
the flesh of your saints
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and no one is left to bury them.[d]
4 We have become the scorn of our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.[e]
5 [f]How long, O Lord?[g] Will you be angry forever?
How long will your rage continue to blaze like a fire?
6 [h]Pour out your wrath on the nations
that refuse to acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that fail to call on your name.[i]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and ravaged his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of our ancestors;
let your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate straits.[j]
9 [k]Help us, O God, our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and wipe away our sins
for your name’s sake.[l]
10 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes make it clearly known among those nations
that you avenge[m] the blood of your servants.
11 Let the groans of the captives come before you;
through your great power
save those who have been sentenced to death.[n]
12 Repay our neighbors sevenfold[o] in their breasts, O Lord,
for the insults with which they taunted you.
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will offer thanks to you[p] forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
The Last Judges: Eli and Samuel[a]
Chapter 1[b]
Elkanah’s Pilgrimage to Shiloh. 1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives. The name of one of them was Hannah, and the name of the other was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah did not have any children. 3 This man would travel from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts[c] in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests there.
4 When Elkanah performed his sacrifice, he would give a portion of it to Peninnah his wife and a portion each to all of her sons and daughters, 5 but he would give a double portion to Hannah, for he loved her although the Lord had left her barren. 6 Her rival[d] provoked her and made her miserable because the Lord had left her barren. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever she went up to the house of the Lord, she provoked her. This made her weep, and she refused to eat. 8 Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? Why are you not eating? Why are you so downhearted? Am I not worth more than ten sons to you?”
Hannah’s Prayer. 9 Once, when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting upon a chair by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was greatly distressed and she prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.[e] 11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will regard the troubles of your handmaid and will remember me, and not forget your handmaid, and you will give your handmaid a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord for his entire life, and no razor[f] will ever touch his head.”
12 As she continued to pray to the Lord, Eli watched her mouth. 13 Hannah was praying in her heart so that only her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, therefore, thought that she was drunk. 14 He said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 Hannah answered, “Oh no, my lord! I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking either wine or liquor. I have been pouring out my soul to the Lord. 16 Do not account your handmaid to be a daughter of Belial. I have been speaking out of the abundance of my difficulties and my grief.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace. The God of Israel grant the request you have made of him.” 18 She said, “Let your handmaid find favor in your sight.” The woman then went her way and ate, and she was not downcast anymore.
19 They arose early the next morning and worshiped before the Lord. They then went their way and came to their home in Ramah. Elkanah slept with Hannah, and the Lord remembered her.
20 The Birth of Samuel. In time it came to pass that Hannah conceived and bore a son whom she named Samuel, saying, “For I have asked the Lord for him.”
At Jerusalem[a]
From Jesus to the Community of the Lord[b]
Chapter 1
Prologue.[c] 1 In my previous book, Theophilus,[d] I wrote of everything that Jesus did and taught from the beginning 2 until the day he was taken up, after first giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.
The Promise of the Spirit.[e] 3 After his passion Jesus had presented himself alive to them by many proofs. He appeared to them during forty days and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. 4 When they were gathered together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, saying, “Wait there for the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak. 5 For John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 As they were all gathered together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He replied, “It is not for you to know the dates or the times that the Father has designated by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the farthest ends of the earth.”
The Ascension of Jesus.[f] 9 After he said this, he was lifted up as they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. 10 While he was departing as they gazed upward toward the sky, suddenly two men dressed in white robes stood beside them, 11 and they said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking up into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
12 The First Community Waiting for the Spirit. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, no farther distant than a Sabbath day’s journey.[g] 13 When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All of these were constantly engaged in prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.[h]
The Parable of the Tenants.[a] 9 Then Jesus began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenants, and went off on a journey for a long period.
10 “When the time arrived, he sent a servant to the tenants to receive his share of the produce of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. 11 Again, he sent another servant, but him they also beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 Then he sent a third servant, but him too they wounded and cast out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and put those tenants to death and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” 17 But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?
18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken into pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”
19 The scribes and the chief priests realized that this parable was directed at them, and they wanted to seize him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
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