Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer to Restore Israel
For the music director, according to The Lilies.
A testimony. Of Asaph. A psalm.[a]
80 Give ear, O shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock.
Shine forth, you who sits enthroned above the cherubim.
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
stir up your power
and come for our salvation.
3 O God, restore us,
and cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
4 O Yahweh God of hosts,
how long will you be angry[b]
against the prayer of your people?
5 You have fed them the bread of tears;
you have given them tears to drink in full measure.[c]
6 You have made us an object of strife to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock among themselves.
7 O God of hosts, restore us
and cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You prepared a place before it,
and it took deep root[d] and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its boughs.
11 It spread its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the river.
12 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass on the road pluck fruit from it?
13 Swine from the forests devour[e] it
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 Please return, O God of hosts.
Observe from heaven and see,
and pay attention to this vine,
15 eventhe stalk that your right hand planted,
and concerning the shoot[f] you strengthened for yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, cut down.
They perish at the rebuke of your face.
17 Let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
on the son of humankind whom you made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from you.
Restore us to life, and we will proclaim your name.
19 O Yahweh God of hosts, restore us;
cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
Remembering God’s Help for Israel
For the music director, on Jeduthun.[a]
Of Asaph. A psalm.[b]
77 I cry out with my voice to God;
with my voice to God, that he may hear me.
2 In the day I have trouble, I seek[c] the Lord.
At night my hand stretches out continually;[d]
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 I remember God and I groan loudly;
I meditate and my spirit grows faint.
4 You hold open my eyelids.
I am troubled and cannot speak.
5 I think about the days from long ago,
the years of ancient times.
6 I remember my song in the night.
With my heart I meditate,
and my spirit searches to understand.
7 Will the Lord reject us forever,
and will he never be pleased with us again?
8 Has his loyal love ceased forever?
Is his promise[e] ended throughout generations?
9 Has God forgotten to have compassion?
Or has he closed off his mercies in anger? Selah
10 So I said, “This pierces me—[f]
the right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I will remember the deeds of Yah.[g]
Surely I will remember your wonders[h] from long ago.
12 I will also muse on all your work,
and meditate on your deeds.
13 O God, your way is distinctive.[i]
Who is a great god like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;[j]
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 With your arm you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 Waters saw you, O God;
waters saw you and they trembled.
Surely the deeps shook.
17 The clouds poured out water.
The skies thundered.[k]
Your arrows also flew about.[l]
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;[m]
lightnings lit the world;
the earth shook and quaked.
19 Your way was through the sea,
and your path[n] through many waters.
Yet your footprints were not discerned.[o]
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
A Lament for Jerusalem after Its Destruction
A psalm of Asaph.[a]
79 O God, the nations have entered your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have reduced Jerusalem to ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the heavens,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was none to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
a derision and a scorn to those around us.
5 How long, O Yahweh? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name,
7 because they[b] have devoured Jacob
and have laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us former iniquities;
let your mercies meet us quickly
because we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
and deliver us and forgive[c] our sins
for the sake of your name.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let it[d] be known among the nations before our eyes,
by the avenging of the blood of your servants
that was poured out.
11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before you.
According to the greatness of your power,[e]
spare[f] the children appointed to death.
12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold upon them[g]
their taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord.
13 Then we, your people and the flock of your pasture,
we will give thanks to you forever.
Generation after generation[h]
we will tell of your praise.
25 Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, “Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah[a] that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah[b] that you will cut down. 27 Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him;[c] and because he was too afraid of his father’s family[d] and the men of the city to do it during the day, he did it during night.
Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal
28 When the men of the city got up early in the morning, look, the altar of Baal and the Asherah[e] that was beside it were cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 And they said to one another,[f] “Who did this thing?” So they searched and inquired, and they said, “Gideon son of Jehoash did this thing.” 30 And the men of the city said to Jehoash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that was beside it.” 31 But Jehoash said to all who stood against him,[g] “Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself because his altar has been pulled down.”[h] 32 Thus, on that day he[i] was called Jerub-Baal, which means,[j] “Let Baal contend against him,” because he had pulled down his altar.
33 Then all the Midianites,[k] Amalekites,[l] and the people of the east gathered together and crossed the Jordan; and they camped in the valley of Jezreel. 34 So the Spirit of Yahweh took possession of[m] Gideon, and he blew on the trumpet, and the Abiezrites[n] were called to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they were also called to follow him; and he sent messengers throughout Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them.
Gideon Tests Yahweh With the Fleece
36 Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said, 37 I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and all of the ground is dry, I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, just as you have said.” 38 And it was so. He arose early the next day and squeezed the fleece, and he wrung out dew from the fleece, a full drinking bowl of water. 39 And Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn[o] against me; let me speak once more. Please let me test once more with the fleece; let the fleece be dry, and let there be dew on the ground.” 40 And God did so that night; only the fleece was dry, and dew was on all the ground.
The Response to Peter’s Sermon
37 Now when they[a] heard this,[b] they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What should we do, men and brothers?” 38 And Peter said[c] to them, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he solemnly urged and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this crooked generation!” 41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.
The Fellowship of the First Believers
42 And they were devoting themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. 43 And fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were being performed by the apostles. 44 And all who believed were in the same place, and had everything in common. 45 And they began selling[d] their[e] possessions and property, and distributing these things to all, to the degree that anyone had need. 46 And every day, devoting themselves to meeting[f] with one purpose in the temple courts[g] and breaking bread from house to house, they were eating their food with joy and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding every day to the total of those who were being saved.
The Prologue to John’s Gospel
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that[a] has come into being. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.[b] 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome[c] it.
6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was[d] John. 7 This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him. 8 That one was not the light, but came[e] in order that he could testify about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to every person, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world did not recognize[f] him. 11 He came to his own things, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But as many as received him—to those who believe in his name—he gave to them authority to become children of God, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a husband, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about him and cried out, saying, “This one was he about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’” 16 For from his fullness we have all received, and grace after grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him[g] known.
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