Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80
To the Chief Musician; [set to the tune of] “Lilies, a Testimony.” A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You Who lead Joseph like a flock; You Who sit enthroned upon the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth
2 Before [a]Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh! Stir up Your might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us again, O God; and cause Your face to shine [in pleasure and approval on us], and we shall be saved!
4 O Lord God of hosts, how long will You be angry with Your people’s prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears, and You have given them tears to drink in large measure.
6 You make us a strife and scorn to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us again, O God of hosts; and cause Your face to shine [upon us with favor as of old], and we shall be saved!
8 You brought a vine [Israel] out of Egypt; You drove out the [heathen] nations and planted it [in Canaan].
9 You prepared room before it, and it took deep root and it filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs of it were like the great cedars [cedars of God].
11 [Israel] sent out its boughs to the [Mediterranean] Sea and its branches to the [Euphrates] River.(A)
12 Why have You broken down its hedges and walls so that all who pass by pluck from its fruit?
13 The boar out of the wood wastes it and the wild beast of the field feeds on it.
14 Turn again, we beseech You, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven and see, visit, and have regard for this vine!
15 [Protect and maintain] the stock which Your right hand planted, and the branch (the son) that You have reared and made strong for Yourself.
16 They have burned it with fire, it is cut down; may they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
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 will we not depart from You; revive us (give us life) and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; cause Your face to shine [in pleasure, approval, and favor on us], and we shall be saved!
Psalm 77
To the Chief Musician; after the manner of Jeduthun [one of David’s three chief musicians, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of Asaph.
1 I will cry to God with my voice, even to God with my voice, and He will give ear and hearken to me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek (inquire of and desperately require) the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out [in prayer] without slacking up; I refuse to be comforted.
3 I [earnestly] remember God; I am disquieted and I groan; I muse in prayer, and my spirit faints [overwhelmed]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
4 You hold my eyes from closing; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old, the years of bygone times [of prosperity].
6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; with my heart I meditate and my spirit searches diligently:
7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?
8 Have His mercy and loving-kindness ceased forever? Have His promises ended for all time?
9 Has God [deliberately] abandoned or forgotten His graciousness? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
10 And I say, This [apparent desertion of Israel by God] is my appointed lot and trial, but I will recall the years of the right hand of the Most High [in loving-kindness extended toward us], for this is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High changes.
11 I will [earnestly] recall the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will [earnestly] remember the wonders [You performed for our fathers] of old.
12 I will meditate also upon all Your works and consider all Your [mighty] deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary [in holiness, away from sin and guilt]. Who is a great God like our God?
14 You are the God Who does wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the peoples.
15 You have with Your [mighty] arm redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
16 When the waters [at the Red Sea and the Jordan] saw You, O God, they were afraid; the deep shuddered also, for [all] the waters saw You.
17 The clouds poured down water, the skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder]; Your arrows went forth [in forked lightning].
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightnings illumined the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way [in delivering Your people] was through the sea, and Your paths through the great waters, yet Your footsteps were not traceable, but were obliterated.
20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have come into [the land of Your people] Your inheritance; Your sacred temple have they defiled; they have made Jerusalem heaps of ruins.
2 The dead bodies of Your servants they have given as food to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
3 Their blood they have poured out like water round about Jerusalem, and there was none to bury them.
4 [Because of such humiliation] we have become a taunt and reproach to our neighbors, a mocking and derision to those who are round about us.
5 How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Shall Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6 Pour out Your wrath on the Gentile nations who do not acknowledge You, and upon the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.(A)
7 For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling and his pasture.
8 O do not [earnestly] remember against us the iniquities and guilt of our forefathers! Let Your compassion and tender mercy speedily come to meet us, for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name! Deliver us, forgive us, and purge away our sins for Your name’s sake.
10 Why should the Gentile nations say, Where is their God? Let vengeance for the blood of Your servants which is poured out be known among the nations in our sight [not delaying until some future generation].
11 Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power and Your arm spare those who are appointed to die!
12 And return into the bosom of our neighbors sevenfold the taunts with which they have taunted and scoffed at You, O Lord!
13 Then we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth and publish Your praise from generation to generation.
25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the Asherah [symbol of the goddess Asherah] that is beside it;
26 And build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this stronghold with stones laid in proper order. Then take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had told him, but because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the Asherah was cut down that was beside it, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built.
29 And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And when they searched and asked, they were told, Gideon son of Joash has done this thing.
30 Then the men of the city commanded Joash, Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.
31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for Baal, let him be put to death while it is still morning. If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself because one has pulled down his altar.
32 Therefore on that day he called Gideon Jerubbaal, meaning, Let Baal contend against him, because he had pulled down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east came together and, crossing the Jordan, encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
34 But the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with Himself and took possession of him, and he blew a trumpet, and [the clan of] Abiezer was gathered to him.
35 And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and the Manassites were called to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.
36 And Gideon said to God, If You will deliver Israel by my hand as You have said,
37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that You will deliver Israel by my hand, as You have said.
38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the dew out of the fleece, he wrung from it a bowlful of water.
39 And Gideon said to God, Let not your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Let me make trial only this once with the fleece, I pray you; let it now be dry only upon the fleece and upon all the ground let there be dew.
40 And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
37 Now when they heard this they were stung (cut) to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles (special messengers), Brethren, what shall we do?
38 And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.(A)
40 And [Peter] [a]solemnly and earnestly witnessed (testified) and admonished (exhorted) with much more continuous speaking and warned (reproved, advised, encouraged) them, saying, Be saved from this crooked (perverse, wicked, unjust) generation.
41 Therefore those who accepted and welcomed his message were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.
42 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers.
43 And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).
44 And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;
45 And they sold their possessions (both their landed property and their movable goods) and distributed the price among all, according as any had need.
46 And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord’s Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts,
47 Constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].
1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [b]Himself.(A)
2 He was present originally with God.
3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
4 In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
5 And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.(B)
7 This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.
8 He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.
9 There it was—the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.(C)
10 He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].
11 He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own—His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.
12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—(D)
13 Who owe their birth neither to [c]bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]
14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.(E)
15 John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]
16 For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
17 For while the Law was given through Moses, grace ([d]unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.(F)
18 No man has ever seen God at any time; the only [e]unique Son, or [f]the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].(G)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation