Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
78 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction.
Listen to the words I speak.[c]
2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.[d]
3 What we have heard and learned[e]—
that which our ancestors[f] have told us—
4 we will not hide from their[g] descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,[h]
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
5 He established a rule[i] in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,[j]
6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.[k]
7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey[l] his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God.[m]
9 The Ephraimites[n] were armed with bows,[o]
but they retreated in the day of battle.[p]
10 They did not keep their covenant with God,[q]
and they refused to obey[r] his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,[s]
the amazing things he had shown them.
12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.[t]
13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.[u]
16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the Most High[v] in the desert.
18 They willfully challenged God[w]
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
19 They insulted God, saying,[x]
“Is God really able to give us food[y] in the wilderness?
20 Yes,[z] he struck a rock and water flowed out;
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 When[aa] the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up[ab] against Israel,
22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.[ac]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[ad]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[ae]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[af]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[ag]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[ah]
he gave them what they desired.
30 They were not yet filled up;[ai]
their food was still in their mouths,
31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.[aj]
33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied[ak]
and filled with terror.[al]
34 When he struck them down,[am] they sought his favor;[an]
they turned back and longed for God.
35 They remembered that God was their protector,[ao]
and that God Most High[ap] was their deliverer.[aq]
36 But they deceived him with their words,[ar]
and lied to him.[as]
37 They were not really committed to him,[at]
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.[au]
39 He remembered[av] that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.[aw]
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him[ax] in the wastelands.
41 They again challenged God,[ay]
and offended[az] the Holy One of Israel.[ba]
42 They did not remember what he had done,[bb]
how he delivered them from the enemy,[bc]
43 when he performed his awesome deeds[bd] in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment[be] in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them,[bf]
as well as frogs that overran their land.[bg]
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
48 He rained hail down on their cattle,[bh]
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.[bi]
49 His raging anger lashed out against them.[bj]
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster.[bk]
50 He sent his anger in full force.[bl]
He did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction.[bm]
51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power[bn] in the tents of Ham.
52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land[bo] that his right hand[bp] acquired.
55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments[bq]
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.[br]
56 Yet they challenged and defied[bs] God Most High,[bt]
and did not obey[bu] his commands.[bv]
57 They were unfaithful[bw] and acted as treacherously as[bx] their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.[by]
58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines,[bz]
and made him jealous with their idols.
59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned[ca] the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;[cb]
he gave the symbol of his splendor[cc] into the hand of the enemy.[cd]
62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation.[ce]
63 Fire consumed their[cf] young men,
and their[cg] virgins remained unmarried.[ch]
64 Their[ci] priests fell by the sword,
but their[cj] widows did not weep.[ck]
65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;[cl]
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.[cm]
66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults.[cn]
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above,[co]
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.[cp]
70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 He took him away from following the mother sheep,[cq]
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation.[cr]
72 David[cs] cared for them with pure motives;[ct]
he led them with skill.[cu]
26 “Nonetheless they grew disobedient and rebelled against you; they disregarded your law.[a] They killed your prophets who had solemnly admonished them in order to cause them to return to you. They committed atrocious blasphemies. 27 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from[b] their adversaries.
28 “Then, when they were at rest again, they went back to doing evil before you. Then you abandoned them to[c] their enemies, and they gained dominion over them. When they again cried out to you, in your compassion you heard from heaven and rescued them time and again. 29 And you solemnly admonished them in order to return them to your law, but they behaved presumptuously and did not obey your commandments. They sinned against your ordinances—those by which an individual, if he obeys them,[d] will live. They boldly turned from you;[e] they rebelled[f] and did not obey. 30 You prolonged your kindness[g] with them for many years, and you solemnly admonished them by your Spirit through your prophets. Still they paid no attention,[h] so you delivered them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.[i] 31 However, due to your abundant mercy you did not do away with them altogether; you did not abandon them. For you are a merciful and compassionate God.
32 “So now, our God—the great, powerful, and awesome God, who keeps covenant fidelity[j]—do not regard as inconsequential[k] all the hardship that has befallen us—our kings, our leaders, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors, and all your people—from the days of the kings of Assyria until this very day. 33 You are righteous with regard to all that has happened to us, for you have acted faithfully.[l] It is we who have been in the wrong! 34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them. 35 Even when they were in their kingdom and benefiting from your incredible[m] goodness that you had lavished[n] on them in the spacious and fertile land you had set[o] before them, they did not serve you, nor did they turn from their evil practices.
36 “So today we are slaves! In the very land you gave to our ancestors to eat its fruit and to enjoy[p] its good things—we are slaves. 37 Its abundant produce goes to the kings you have placed over us due to our sins. They rule over our bodies and our livestock as they see fit,[q] and we are in great distress!
The People Pledge to be Faithful
38 (10:1)[r] “Because of all this we are entering into[s] a binding covenant in written form;[t] our leaders, our Levites, and our priests have affixed their names[u] on the sealed document.”
9 Then[a] the kings of the earth who committed immoral acts with her and lived in sensual luxury[b] with her will weep and wail for her when they see the smoke from the fire that burns her up.[c] 10 They will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment, and will say,
“Woe, woe, O great city,
Babylon the powerful city!
For in a single hour your doom[d] has come!”
11 Then[e] the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn for her because no one buys their cargo[f] any longer— 12 cargo such as gold, silver,[g] precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk,[h] scarlet cloth,[i] all sorts of things made of citron wood,[j] all sorts of objects made of ivory, all sorts of things made of expensive wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice,[k] incense, perfumed ointment,[l] frankincense,[m] wine, olive oil and costly flour,[n] wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and four-wheeled carriages,[o] slaves and human lives.[p]
14 (The ripe fruit[q] you greatly desired[r]
has gone from you,
and all your luxury[s] and splendor[t]
have gone from you—
they will never ever be found again!)[u]
15 The merchants who sold[v] these things, who got rich from her, will stand a long way off because they are afraid of her torment. They will weep[w] and mourn, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, O great city—
dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing,[x]
and adorned with gold,[y] precious stones, and pearls—
17 because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!”[z]
And every ship’s captain,[aa] and all who sail along the coast[ab]—seamen, and all who[ac] make their living from the sea, stood a long way off 18 and began to shout[ad] when they saw the smoke from the fire that burned her up,[ae] “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were shouting with weeping and mourning,[af]
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith
21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A[a] Canaanite woman from that area came[b] and cried out,[c] “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. Then[d] his disciples came and begged him,[e] “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 24 So[f] he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and bowed down[g] before him and said,[h] “Lord, help me!” 26 “It is not right[i] to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,”[j] he said.[k] 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied,[l] “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then[m] Jesus answered her, “Woman,[n] your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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