Book of Common Prayer
Asaph wrote this psalm for the music leader. He should use special music.
God, help our nation[a]
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us!
You lead us, Joseph's family,
as your sheep.[b]
God, you sit on your throne as king,
above the cherubs.[c]
Show everyone your bright glory!
2 Shine on Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Show your great power!
Come and rescue us!
3 God, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
4 Lord God Almighty,
we, your people, are praying to you.
How long will you continue to be angry with us?
5 You have caused us to eat tears as our food.
Buckets full of tears is what we drink.
6 You have caused the people who live near us
to laugh at us.
Our enemies insult us.
7 God Almighty, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
8 You pulled us out from Egypt,
like a vine that you dug out of the ground.
You chased nations out of this land,
and you planted us here.[d]
9 You prepared the ground ready for us.
We put down roots like a vine.[e]
We grew well and we covered all the land.
10 Our branches gave shade to the mountains,
and to the big cedar trees.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why have you knocked down the walls
that protected us?[f]
Now, anyone who passes can rob our fruit.
13 Wild pigs from the forest attack your vine.
Other wild animals eat all the fruit.
14 Come back to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven
and see what is happening!
Take care of your special vine.
15 You planted it with your own right hand.
You caused it to grow, like a strong son.[g]
16 But now the enemy has cut down your vine,
and they have burned it with fire.
Show them that you are angry with them,
and destroy them!
17 Give strength to the one who sits at your right hand.
He is the man that you have chosen to serve you.[h]
18 Then we will never turn away from you.
Give to us new life and strength,
so that we may always worship you.
19 Lord God Almighty, turn us to come back to you.
Look at us with a smile on your face!
Then we will be safe.
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader, Jeduthun.
A prayer in times of trouble[a]
77 I will call out to God for help.
I will call aloud to God,
and he will listen to me.
2 When trouble came to me,
I looked for the Lord to help me.
All through the night,
I lifted my hands to him while I prayed.
But I did not feel peace in myself.
3 When I think about God,
I am sad and upset.
I do not know if he will help me.
Selah.
4 God, you do not let me close my eyes to sleep.
I am so upset that I cannot even speak.[b]
5 I think about my life long ago,
in the years that have passed.
6 At night, I remember the songs that I sang before.
I think carefully about what is happening.
7 I ask myself, ‘Will the Lord always turn against me?
Will he never be kind to me again?
8 Does he no longer have a faithful love for his people?
Will he never do what he has promised us?
9 Has God forgotten to be kind and help us?
Is he so angry that he will not be kind to us any more?’[c]
Selah.
10 Then I said, ‘This makes me very upset!
Has the Most High God stopped helping us?
11 I will remember the things that the Lord has done.
Yes, I will remember the miracles that you did long ago.
12 I will think about everything that you have done.
I will think carefully about all those great things.’
13 God, your ways are holy.
There is no god as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does miracles.
You show the nations
that you are very powerful.
15 You used your power to rescue your people.
Yes, you saved the descendants
of Jacob and Joseph.
Selah.
16 The waters of the sea saw you, God.
When they saw you,
they shook with fear!
Even the deepest seas were afraid.
17 Rain poured down from the clouds.
The noise of thunder was in the skies.
Your arrows of lightning
shot everywhere.
18 The sound of your thunder was in the storm.
Your lightning made all the world bright.
The earth shook.
19 You went through the sea.
Your path went through the deep water,
but nobody saw where your feet had gone.
20 You led your people,
as a shepherd leads his sheep.
Moses and Aaron did that for you.
Asaph wrote this psalm.
God, help us![a]
79 God, foreign nations have attacked your own land.
They have spoiled your holy temple.[b]
They have destroyed the buildings in Jerusalem.
2 They have let birds come down
and eat the dead bodies of your people.
Your servants have become food for wild animals to eat.
3 The blood of your servants has poured out
all over the streets of Jerusalem.
There is nobody left there
to bury their bodies.
4 The nations that live near to us
do not respect us.
They laugh at us and they insult us.
5 Lord, how long will this continue?
Will you be angry with us for ever?
Will you always be angry,
like a fire that continues to burn?
6 Please punish those nations
that do not respect you.
Be angry with the kingdoms
that do not pray to you.
7 They have destroyed Jacob's descendants
and the land where they live.[c]
8 Our ancestors did bad things,
but do not say that we are guilty because of that.
Be kind and send help to us quickly.
We are in a lot of trouble!
9 God, help us! You are the one who can save us.
Rescue us,
so that people will respect your great name.
Forgive our sins,
so that people know you are good.
10 Foreign nations are saying about us,
‘Their God cannot help them!’
That is not right!
People of those nations have murdered your servants,
so punish them for us to see.
11 Listen to the prisoners who are in pain!
They are calling out for help.
Use your great power to make them free,
before their enemies kill them.
12 Lord, those countries near to us
have insulted you.
Punish them as they deserve,
seven times over!
Give them as much trouble as they have given to you.
13 Then we will continue to thank you for ever.
You take care of us,
as the sheep in your field.
We will tell our children and grandchildren to praise you,
as you deserve.
People who have a lot of money must lend it to the poor people
35 An Israelite may become poor. He may not be able to feed his family. You must help him. You would help a visitor or a foreigner in the same way. You must help the man so that he can continue to live among you. 36 The man must not pay back more than you gave to him. You must obey your God. 37 The person who is feeding the man might give money or food to him. He must not ask for more back than he gave. 38 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt. I brought you into this land to be your God.
39 If an Israelite becomes poor, he might sell himself to you. But he must not work for you as a slave. You must pay him to work as your servant. 40 He must work for you until the next Jubilee year. 41 In the Jubilee year, you will make him free. He and his children can go back to his own home and family. 42 Israel's people belong to God. I took them out of Egypt. They must not be slaves. 43 You must be kind to all Israelites. Remember to obey your God.
44 Israel's people can buy male and female slaves. Those slaves must come from other countries. 45 And Israelites can buy people from other countries who live among them. They may have children who were born in your land. You can buy them. They will become slaves. 46 You can give the slaves to your children when you die. But you must rule Israel's people in a kind way.
47 A person from another country may become rich. Then he might buy an Israelite who became poor. But the poor man can buy himself back at any time. 48 A person from the family of the poor man can buy him back. 49 A brother or a cousin of the poor man can buy him back. If the poor man becomes rich, he can pay to make himself free. 50 The man and the person who bought him must count the time until the Jubilee year. The man must pay the right amount of money to be free. 51 The Jubilee year may be many years away. If it is, the man must pay a lot of money to be free. 52 There may be a few years until the Jubilee year. If there are, he has to pay only a small amount of money to be free. 53 The person who has bought the man must pay him each year. You must cause the rich man to be kind to the man.
54 Perhaps nobody will pay any money for the man. But the man who bought him must make him free in the Jubilee year. 55 Israel's people belong to me. I brought them out of Egypt. They are my servants. I am the Lord.
Paul prays that they will know God more and more
9 Because of all that, we have not stopped praying for you, ever since the day that we heard about you. We ask God that his Spirit will make you truly wise. He will help you to know clearly what he wants you to do. You will understand his true message. 10 Then you will be able to live in a way that the Lord wants you to live. Everything that you do will please him. We pray that all these good things will have good results. We pray that you will know God better and better. 11 God rules from heaven with great power. We pray that he will make you strong with every kind of strength. Then, when troubles come, you can still be patient and strong. 12 You will be able to thank God, our Father, and be happy. God has prepared good things for his people to receive in heaven. Because God has included you among his people, you will also share those good things in the kingdom of light. 13 God has saved us from the dark kingdom where Satan rules.[a] He has brought us into the kingdom of his Son, whom he loves. 14 God's Son, Jesus, paid the price for our sins and made us free. Yes, God has forgiven us.[b]
Jesus tells a story about a farmer who planted seeds
13 On that same day, Jesus left the house and he went to Lake Galilee. He sat down near the edge of the lake to teach people. 2 The crowd that came to listen to him was very large. So he went and sat in a boat that was on the water. The big crowd of people stood on the shore. 3 Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said to them: ‘Listen to me! A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field. 4 While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. The birds came and they ate those seeds. 5 Other seeds fell on ground which had rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, it burned the young plants. They soon died because they had not grown down well into the soil. 7 Some other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. 8 But some seeds fell on good soil and strong plants grew from those seeds. Some plants made 100 new seeds. Some plants made 60 new seeds and some plants made 30 new seeds.’ 9 Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’
Jesus explains to his disciples why he teaches with stories
10 Then Jesus' disciples came to him. They asked him, ‘Why do you use stories to speak to the crowd?’
11 Jesus replied, ‘God has let you know what these stories mean. You understand how God rules in the lives of his people. But these other people do not understand what the stories mean. 12 A person who has received some things will receive even more. He will have lots of good things. Some other people have nothing. Those people will lose even the little bit that they do have. 13 The reason I use stories to talk to other people is this:
These people look. But they do not really see clearly.
They hear the words. But they do not really understand.[a]
14 Long ago, the prophet Isaiah spoke a message from God about those people.[b] Now it has become true. God said:
“You will listen and listen. But you will not understand.
You will look and look. But you will not see anything.
15 These people do not really want to understand.
They are like people who have shut their ears.
They are like people who have shut their eyes.
If they did want to look, then they would really see.
If they did want to listen, then they would really hear.
They would understand my message.
They would turn back to obey me.
Then I would forgive them and I would make them well.” ’
16 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘But as for you, be happy because God has helped you to see. He has helped you to hear and understand his message.
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