Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] “Lilies, a Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Hear us O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!
2
Before [a]Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up Your power
And come to save us!
3
Restore us, O God;
Cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.
4
O Lord God of hosts,
How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?
5
You have fed them the bread of tears,
And You have made them drink [bitter] tears in abundance.
6
You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts;
And cause Your face to shine on us [with favor and approval], and we will be saved.
8
You uprooted a vine (Israel) from Egypt;
You drove out the [Canaanite] nations and planted the vine [in Canaan].
9
You cleared away the ground before it,
And it took deep root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And its branches were like the cedars of God.
11
Israel sent out its branches to the [Mediterranean] Sea,
And its branches to the [Euphrates] River.(A)
12
Why have You broken down its [b]walls and hedges,
So that all who pass by pick its fruit?
13
A boar from the woods eats it away,
And the insects of the field feed on it.
14
Turn again [in favor to us], O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15
Even the stock which Your right hand has planted,
And [look down on] the son that You have reared and strengthened for Yourself.
16
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your [angry] appearance.
17
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You have made strong for Yourself.
18
Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us and we will call on Your name.
19
Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine on us [in favor and approval], and we shall be saved.
Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God’s Mighty Deeds.
To the Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun [one of David’s three chief musicians, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of Asaph.
77 My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.
2
In the day of my trouble I [desperately] sought the Lord;
In the night my hand was [a]stretched out [in prayer] without weariness;
My soul refused to be comforted.
3
I remember God; then I am disquieted and I groan;
I sigh [in prayer], and my spirit grows faint. Selah.
4
You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5
I have considered the ancient days,
The years [of prosperity] of long, long ago.
6
I will remember my song in the night;
I will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit searches:
7
Will the Lord reject forever?
And will He never be favorable again?
8
Has His lovingkindness ceased forever?
Have His promises ended for all time?
9
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.
10
And I said, “This is my grief,
That the right hand of the Most High has changed [and His lovingkindness is withheld].”
11
I will [solemnly] remember the deeds of the Lord;
Yes, I will [wholeheartedly] remember Your wonders of old.
12
I will meditate on all Your works
And thoughtfully consider all Your [great and wondrous] deeds.
13
Your way, O God, is holy [far from sin and guilt].
What god is great like our God?
14
You are the [awesome] God who works [powerful] wonders;
You have demonstrated Your power among the people.
15
You have with Your [great] arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
16
The waters [of the Red Sea] saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.
17
The clouds poured down water;
The skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder];
Your arrows (lightning) flashed here and there.
18
The voice of Your thunder was in the [b]whirlwind;
The lightnings illumined the world;
The earth trembled and shook.
19
Your way [of escape for Your people] was through the sea,
And Your paths through the great waters,
And Your footprints were not traceable.
20
You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron [to the promised goal].
A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2
They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3
They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],
A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.
5
How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6
Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.(A)
7
For they have devoured Jacob
And made his pasture desolate.
8
O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name’s sake.
10
Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],
Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.
11
Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.
12
And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold
The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.
13
So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.
David Plans to Build a Temple
7 When King David lived in his house (palace) and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, 2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.” 3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do everything that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”
4 But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Should you be the one to build Me a house in which to dwell? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought the sons (descendants) of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. 7 Wherever I have gone with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, asking, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’
God’s Covenant with David
8 So now, say this to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like that of the great men of the earth. 10 I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in a place of their own and not be disturbed again. The [a]wicked will not afflict them again, as formerly, 11 even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that He will make a house (royal dynasty) for you. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down [in death] with your fathers (ancestors), I will raise up your descendant after you, who shall be born to you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He [is the one who] shall build a house for My [b]Name and My Presence, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. When he commits iniquity (wrongdoing), I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of man. 15 But My lovingkindness and mercy will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house (royal dynasty) and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.”’” 17 Nathan spoke to David in accordance with all these words and all of this vision.
Paul at Corinth
18 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because [the Roman Emperor] Claudius had issued an edict that all the [a]Jews were to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them; and they worked together for they were tent-makers. 4 And he reasoned and debated in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks;
5 but when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia (northern Greece), Paul began devoting himself completely to [preaching] the word, and solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). 6 But since the Jews kept resisting and opposing him, and blaspheming [God], he [b]shook out his robe and said to them, “Your blood (damnation) be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”(A) 7 Then he moved on from there and went to the house of a man named [c]Titius Justus, who worshiped God and whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household [joyfully acknowledging Him as Messiah and Savior]; and many of the Corinthians who heard [Paul’s message] were believing and being baptized. 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid anymore, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you in order to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”(B) 11 So he settled there for a year and six months, teaching them the word of God [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].
11 The Pharisees came out and began to argue [contentiously and debate] with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him [because of their unbelief]. 12 He groaned and sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [a]no sign will be given to this generation!” 13 Leaving them, He again boarded the boat and left for the other side.
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Jesus repeatedly ordered them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the [b]leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16 They began discussing this with one another, saying, “It is because we have no bread [that He said this].” 17 Jesus, aware of this [discussion], said to them, “Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened?(A) 18 Though you have eyes, do you not see? And though you have ears, do you not hear and listen [to what I have said]? And do you not remember,(B) 19 when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They answered, “Twelve.” 20 “And [when I broke] the seven [loaves] for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they answered, “Seven.” 21 And He was saying to them, “Do you still not understand?”
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