Book of Common Prayer
An instruction[a] of Asaph
Remembering God in Times of Trouble
78 Listen, my people, to my instruction.
Hear[b] the words of my mouth.
2 I will tell[c] a parable,
speaking riddles from long ago—
3 things that we have heard and known
and that our ancestors related to us.
4 We will not withhold them from their descendants;
we’ll declare to the next generation the praises of the Lord—
his might and awesome deeds that he has performed.
5 He established a decree in Jacob,
and established the Law in Israel,
that he commanded our ancestors
to reveal to their children
6 in order that the next generation—
children yet to be born—
will know them and
in turn teach them to their children.
7 Then they will put their trust in God
and they will not forget his awesome deeds.
Instead, they will keep his commandments.
8 They will not be like the rebellious generation of their ancestors,
a rebellious generation,
whose heart was not steadfast,
and whose spirits were unfaithful to God.
9 The descendants of Ephraim were sharp shooters with the bow,
but they retreated in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God’s covenant,
and refused to live by his Law.
11 They have forgotten what he has done,
his awesome deeds that they witnessed.
12 He performed marvelous things
in the presence of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt—
in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea so that they were able to cross;
he caused the water to stand in a single location.
14 He led them with a cloud during the day,
and during the night with light from the fire.
15 He caused the rocks to split in the wilderness,
and gave them water[d] as from an abundant sea.
16 He brought streams from rock,
causing water to flow like a river.
17 But time and again, they sinned against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 To test God was in their minds,
when they demanded food to satisfy their cravings.[e]
19 They spoke against God by asking,
“Is God able to prepare a feast[f] in the desert?
20 It’s true that[g] Moses[h] struck the rock so that water flowed forth
and torrents of water gushed out,
but is he also able to give bread
or to supply meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard this, he was angry,
and fire broke out against Jacob.
Moreover, his anger flared against Israel,
22 because they didn’t believe in God
and didn’t trust in his deliverance.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and the doors of the heavens to open,
24 so that manna rained down on them for food
and he sent them the grain of heaven.
25 Mortal men[i] ate the food of angels;
he sent provision to them in abundance.
26 He stirred up the east wind in the heavens
and drove the south wind by his might.
27 He caused meat to rain on them like dust
and winged birds as the sand of the sea.
28 He caused these to fall in the middle of the camp
and all around their tents.
29 So they ate and were very satisfied,
because he granted their desire.
30 However, before they had fulfilled their desire,
while their food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God flared against them,
and he killed the strongest men
and humbled Israel’s young men.
32 In spite of all of this, they kept on sinning
and didn’t believe in his marvelous deeds.
33 So he made their days end in futility,
and their years with sudden terror.
34 When he struck them, they sought him;
they repented, and eagerly sought God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,
and the Most High God was their deliverer.
36 But they deceived him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 For their hearts weren’t committed to him,
and they weren’t faithful to his covenant.
38 But he, being merciful, forgave their iniquity
and didn’t destroy them;
He restrained his anger
and didn’t vent all his wrath.
39 For he remembered that they were only flesh,
a passing wind that doesn’t return.
40 How they rebelled against him in the desert,
grieving him in the wilderness!
41 They tested God again and again,
provoking the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power—
the day he delivered them from their adversary,
43 when he set his signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the plain of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood
and made their streams undrinkable.
45 He sent swarms of insects to bite them
and frogs to destroy them.
46 He gave their crops to caterpillars
and what they worked for to locusts.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore[j] trees with frost.
48 He delivered their beasts to hail
and their livestock to lightning bolts.
49 He inflicted his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
sending destroying angels among them.
50 He blazed a path for his anger;
he did not stop short from killing them,
but handed them over to pestilence.
51 He struck every firstborn in Egypt,
the first fruits of their manhood in the tents of Ham.
52 Yet he led out his people like sheep,
guiding them like a flock in the desert.
53 He led them to safety so they would not fear.
As for their enemies, the sea covered them.
54 He brought the people[k] to the border of his holy mountain,
which he acquired by his might.
55 He drove out nations before them
and allotted their tribal inheritance,
settling the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 But they tested the Most High God by rebelling against him,
and they did not obey his statutes.
57 They fell away and were as disloyal as their ancestors.
They became unreliable, like a defective bow;
58 they angered him with their high places
and with their carved images they made him jealous.
59 God heard and became furious,
and he completely rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned the tent at Shiloh,
the tent that he established among mankind.
61 Then he sent his might[l] into captivity
and his glory into the control of the adversary.
62 He delivered his people over to the sword
and was angry with his possession.
63 The young men were consumed by fire,
and the virgins had no marriage celebrations.[m]
64 The priests fell by the sword,
yet their widows couldn’t weep.
65 The Lord awoke as though from sleep,
like a mighty warrior stimulated by wine.
66 He beat back his adversaries,
permanently disgracing them.
67 He rejected the clan[n] of Joseph;
and the tribe of Ephraim he did not choose.
68 But he chose the tribe of Judah,
the mountain of Zion, which he loves.
69 He built his sanctuary, high as the heavens,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 Then he chose his servant David,
whom he took from the sheepfold.
71 He brought him from birthing sheep
to care for Jacob, his people,
Israel, his possession.
72 David[o] shepherded them with a devoted heart,
and led them with skillful hands.
A Lament about the Day of the Lord
15 Oh, no! For the Day of the Lord approaches,
and like destruction from the Almighty, it will come!
16 Isn’t our food supply cut off right in front of us,[a]
along with joy and gladness from the Temple of our God?
17 Seeds shrivel within their furrows,
the storehouses lie empty,
and granaries stand in ruins
because the grain has withered.
18 Oh, how the livestock groan!
The herds of cattle[b] wander about
because they have no pasture.
Even flocks of sheep suffer!
19 To you, Lord, I cry out,
because fire has devoured the open pastures,
and has set all the cultivated trees[c] ablaze.
20 The livestock also cries out to you,
because their water sources have evaporated
and because fire has consumed the open pastures.
The Warning of God
2 “Sound the ram’s horn in Zion!
Sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Tremble, all of you[d] inhabitants of the land,
because the Day of the Lord is coming.
Oh, how near it is!
2 A day of doom and gloom,
a day of clouds and shadows[e]
like the dawn spreads out to cover the mountains—
a people strong and robust.
Never has there been anything like it,
neither will anything follow to compare with[f] it,
even through the lifetime of generation upon generation.”[g]
Joel’s Description of the Approaching Army
3 “A fire blazes in their presence,
and behind them a conflagration rages.
Before they come, the land is like the garden in Eden;
after they leave, there is only a barren wasteland.
Indeed, nothing escapes them.
4 As to their form, they’re like horses;
and like chariot horses, how they can[h] run!
5 They leap like the rumbling of chariots echoing from mountain tops,
like the roar of wild fire that devours the chaff,
as an army[i] firmly established in battle array.
6 The people are terrified in their presence;
every face grows pale.[j]
7 They run like elite soldiers,
climbing ramparts like men trained for war.
Each man advances in proper order,
never breaking rank.
8 Neither does a man crowd his fellow soldier;[k]
each one marches in his own path.
When they fall by the sword
they are not injured.
9 They swarm through the city,
running upon its ramparts.
Climbing atop the houses,
they enter through windows like a thief.”
Great is the Day of the Lord
10 “The land quivers in their presence;
even the heavens shake.
The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will stop shining.
11 The Lord will shout in the presence of his forces,
because his encampment is very great;
for powerful is he who carries out his message.
Truly the Day of the Lord is great, and very terrifying.
Who will be able to survive[l] it?”
The Vision of Worship
19 After these things, I heard what sounded like the loud voice of a large crowd in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah!
Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.
2 His judgments are true and just.
He has condemned the notorious prostitute
who corrupted the world with her immorality.
He has taken revenge on her
for the blood of his servants.”
3 A second time they said,
“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”
4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures bowed down and worshipped God, who was sitting on the throne. They said, “Amen! Hallelujah!” 5 A voice came from the throne, saying,
“Praise our God,
all who serve and fear him,
from the least important
to the most important.”
The Vision of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
6 Then I heard what sounded like the voice of a large crowd, like the sound of raging waters, and like the sound of powerful thunderclaps, saying,
“Hallelujah!
The Lord our God, the Almighty, is reigning.
7 Let us rejoice, be glad, and give him glory,
because the marriage of the lamb has come
and his bride has made herself ready.
8 She has been given the privilege of wearing fine linen,
dazzling and pure.”
(The fine linen represents the righteous deeds of the saints.)
9 Then the angel[a] told me, “Write this: ‘How blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb!’” He also told me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 I bowed down at his feet to worship him, but he told me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who rely on what Jesus is saying. Worship God, because what Jesus is saying is the spirit of prophecy!”
The Cost of Discipleship(A)
25 Now large crowds were traveling with Jesus.[a] He turned and told them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, as well as his own life, he can’t be my disciple. 27 Whoever doesn’t carry his cross and follow me can’t be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. He will first sit down and estimate the cost to see whether he has enough money to finish it, won’t he? 29 Otherwise, if he lays a foundation and can’t finish the building,[b] everyone who watches will begin to ridicule him 30 and say, ‘This person started a building but couldn’t finish it.’
31 “Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He will first sit down and consider whether with 10,000 men he can fight the one coming against him with 20,000 men, won’t he? 32 If he can’t, he will send a delegation to ask for terms of peace while the other king[c] is still far away. 33 In the same way, none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up all his possessions.”
Tasteless Salt(B)
34 “Now, salt is good. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can its flavor be restored? 35 It’s suitable neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People[d] throw it away. Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
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