Book of Common Prayer
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
3 God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 (H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
9 You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 God of armies, do (U)turn back;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (Y)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.
Comfort in Trouble from Recalling God’s Mighty Deeds.
For the music director; [a]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
77 My voice rises to God, and I will (A)cry aloud;
My voice rises to God, and He will listen to me.
2 In the (B)day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
(C)In the night my (D)hand was stretched out and did not grow weary;
My soul (E)refused to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, then I am (F)restless;
When I (G)sigh, then (H)my spirit feels weak. Selah
4 You have held my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I (I)cannot speak.
5 I have considered the (J)days of old,
The years of long ago.
6 I will remember my (K)song in the night;
I (L)will meditate with my heart,
And my spirit [b]ponders:
7 Will the Lord (M)reject forever?
And will He (N)never be favorable again?
8 Has His (O)favor ceased forever?
Has His [c](P)promise come to an end [d]forever?
9 Has God (Q)forgotten to be gracious,
Or has He in anger [e]withdrawn His (R)compassion? Selah
10 Then I said, “(S)It is my [f]grief,
That the (T)right hand of the Most High has changed.”
11 I shall remember the (U)deeds of [g]the Lord;
I will certainly (V)remember Your wonders of old.
12 I will (W)meditate on all Your work,
And on Your deeds with thanksgiving.
13 Your way, God, is (X)holy;
(Y)What god is great like our God?
14 You are the (Z)God who works wonders;
You have (AA)made known Your strength among the peoples.
15 By Your [h]power You have (AB)redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and (AC)Joseph. Selah
16 The (AD)waters saw You, God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The ocean depths also trembled.
17 The (AE)clouds poured out water;
The skies [i](AF)sounded out;
Your (AG)arrows [j]flashed here and there.
18 The (AH)sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The (AI)lightning lit up the world;
The (AJ)earth trembled and shook.
19 Your (AK)way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints were not known.
20 You (AL)led Your people like a flock
By the hand of (AM)Moses and Aaron.
Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 God, the (A)nations have [a]invaded (B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your (C)holy temple;
They have (D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the (E)dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the sky as food,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the animals of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem;
And there was (F)no one to bury them.
4 We have become a (G)disgrace before our neighbors,
An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
5 (H)How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your (I)jealousy (J)burn like fire?
6 (K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which (L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which (M)do not call upon Your name.
7 For they have (N)devoured Jacob
And (O)laid waste his [b]settlement.
8 (P)Do not [c]hold us responsible for [d]the guilty deeds of our forefathers;
Let Your compassion come quickly to (Q)meet us,
For we have (R)become very low.
9 (S)Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of (T)Your name;
And save us and [e](U)forgive our sins (V)for the sake of Your name.
10 (W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let (X)vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed
Be known among the nations in our sight.
11 Let (Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your [f]power, let [g]those who are (Z)doomed to die remain.
12 And return to our neighbors (AA)seven times as much (AB)into their lap
Their (AC)taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
13 So we Your people and the (AD)sheep of Your [h]pasture
Will (AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will (AF)tell of Your praise.
The Devastation by Locusts
1 The (A)word of the Lord that came to (B)Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 (C)Hear this, you (D)elders,
And listen, all inhabitants of the land.
(E)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or in your fathers’ days?
3 (F)Tell your sons about it,
And have your sons tell their sons,
And their sons the next generation.
4 What the (G)gnawing locust has left, the [a]swarming locust has eaten;
And what the (H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping locust has left, the (I)stripping locust has eaten.
5 Awake, (J)you heavy drinkers, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
Because of the sweet wine,
For it has been (K)eliminated from your mouth.
6 For a (L)nation has [b]invaded my land,
Mighty and without number;
(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the jaws of a lioness.
7 It has (N)made my vine a waste
And my fig tree a stump.
It has stripped them bare and hurled them away;
Their branches have become white.
8 (O)Wail like a virgin (P)clothed with sackcloth
For the groom of her youth.
9 The (Q)grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off
From the house of the Lord.
The (R)priests mourn,
The ministers of the Lord.
10 The field is (S)ruined,
(T)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine has dried up,
Fresh oil has [c]failed.
11 (U)Be ashamed, you farm workers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the (V)harvest of the field is destroyed.
12 The (W)vine has dried up
And the fig tree has withered;
The (X)pomegranate, the (Y)palm also, and the (Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field have dried up.
Indeed, (AA)joy has dried up
From the sons of mankind.
15 The (A)merchants of (B)these things, who became rich from her, will (C)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘(D)Woe, woe, (E)the great city, she who (F)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and [a]adorned with gold, precious [b]stones, and pearls; 17 for in (G)one hour such great wealth has been laid (H)waste!’ And (I)every shipmaster and every [c]passenger and sailor, and all who [d]make their living by the sea, (J)stood at a distance, 18 and were (K)crying out as they (L)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘(M)What city is like (N)the great city?’ 19 And they threw (O)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘(P)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea (Q)became rich from her prosperity, for in (R)one hour she has been laid (S)waste!’ 20 (T)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you [e]saints and (U)apostles and prophets, because (V)God has [f]pronounced judgment for you against her.”
21 Then [g]a (W)strong angel (X)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, (Y)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and (Z)will never be found again. 22 And (AA)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the (AB)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; 23 and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the (AC)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your (AD)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived (AE)by your witchcraft. 24 And in her was found the (AF)blood of prophets and of [h]saints, and of (AG)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
12 Now He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “Whenever you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor wealthy neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you to a meal in return, and that will be your [a]repayment. 13 But whenever you give a [b]banquet, invite people who are poor, who have disabilities, who are limping, and people who are blind; 14 and you will be blessed, since they [c]do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at (A)the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 Now when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “(B)Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, “(C)A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is ready now.’ 18 And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I purchased a field and I need to go out to look at it; [d]please consider me excused.’ 19 And another one said, ‘I bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; [e]please consider me excused.’ 20 And another one said, ‘(D)I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here those who are poor, those with disabilities, those who are blind, and those who are limping.’ 22 And later the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the roads and the hedges and press upon them to come in, so that my house will be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my dinner.’”
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