Book of Common Prayer
The Unfaithfulness of God’s People
106 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord,
since he is good,
for his gracious love exists forever.
2 Who can fully describe the mighty acts of the Lord
or proclaim all his praises?
3 How happy are those who enforce justice,
who live righteously all the time.
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show favor to your people.
Visit us with your deliverance,
5 to witness the prosperity of your chosen ones,
to rejoice in your nation’s joy,
to glory in your inheritance.
6 We have sinned, along with our ancestors;
we have committed iniquity and wickedness.
7 In Egypt, our ancestors neither comprehended your awesome deeds
nor remembered your abundant gracious love.
Instead, they rebelled beside the sea, the Reed[a] Sea.
8 He delivered for the sake of his name,[b]
to make his power known.
9 He shouted at the Reed[c] Sea and it dried up;
and led them through the sea as though through a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power of their foe;
redeeming them from the power of their enemy.
11 The water overwhelmed their enemies,
so that not one of them survived.[d]
12 Then they believed his word
and sung his praise.
13 But they quickly forgot his deeds
and did not wait for his counsel.
14 They were overwhelmed with craving in the wilderness,
so God tested them in the wasteland.
15 God granted them their request,
but sent leanness into their lives.
16 They were envious of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
closing over Abiram’s clan.
18 Then a fire burned among their company,
a flame that set the wicked ablaze.
19 They fashioned a calf at Horeb
and worshipped a carved image.
20 They exchanged their glory[e]
with the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who performed great things in Egypt—
22 awesome deeds in the land of Ham,[f]
astonishing deeds at the Reed[g] Sea.
23 He would have destroyed them
but for Moses, his chosen one,
who stood in the breach before him
to avert[h] his destructive wrath.
24 They rejected the desirable land,
and they didn’t trust his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
and didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 So he swore an oath concerning them—
that he would cause them to die in the wilderness,
27 to cause their children to perish among the nations
and be scattered among many[i] lands.
28 For they adopted the worship[j] of Baal Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 They had provoked anger by their deeds,
so that a plague broke out against them.
30 But Phinehas intervened and prayed
so that the plague was restrained.
31 And it was credited to him as a righteous act,
from generation to generation—to eternity.
32 They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[k] on account of them.
33 For they rebelled against him,[l]
so that he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They never destroyed the people,
as the Lord had commanded them.
35 Instead, they mingled among the nations
and learned their ways.[m]
36 They worshipped[n] their idols,
and this became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters—
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
thereby polluting the land with blood.
39 Therefore, they became unclean because of what they did;
they have acted like whores by their evil deeds.
40 The Lord’s anger burned against his people,
so that he despised his own inheritance.
41 He turned them over to domination by nations
where those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
so that they were humiliated by their power.
43 He delivered them many times,
but they demonstrated rebellion by their evil plans;
therefore they sunk deep in their sins.
44 Yet when he saw their distress
and heard their cries for help,[o]
45 he remembered his covenant with them,
and so relented
according to the greatness of his gracious love.
46 He caused all their captors to show compassion toward them.
47 Deliver us, Lord our God,
gather us from among the nations
so we may praise your holy name
and rejoice in praising you.
48 Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel,
from eternity to eternity;
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Hallelujah!
The Lord’s Care for Judah
10 “Ask the Lord for rain in the spring[a]—
the Lord who fashions lightning thunderstorms,
giving rain showers to mankind[b]
along with grain in the fields.[c]
2 Truly the family idols[d] talk nonsense
and the diviners discern lies,
describing delusional dreams.
Since their comfort is vacuous,
they wander off on their own like sheep,
because there is no shepherd.
3 “Against the shepherds my anger rises—
I am punishing the leaders[e] also,
because the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has visited his flock, the house of Judah,
appointing them as his royal war horse for battle.
4 From them arises[f] the cornerstone and tent peg,
from them the battle bow,
from them arise all sorts of oppressive rulers.
5 They will be like mighty soldiers
who trample mud in the streets during battle.
They will fight because the Lord is with them,
and the opposing[g] horsemen will be confused.
6 “I will fortify the house of Judah,
and the house of Joseph I will save.
I will surely bring them back,
because I care about them.
They will be as if I had never cast them away.
Since I am the Lord their God,
I will answer them.
7 “The people of Ephraim will become like mighty soldiers;
they will be glad, like those who have wine.
Their children will see this and rejoice;
their hearts will find joy in the Lord.
8 I will whistle for them, gathering them together,
because I have redeemed them,
and they will multiply as they were before.[h]
9 I will scatter them among the nations,
and so they will remember me in distant countries.
They will rear their children,
and they will return.
10 I will bring them once again out of the land of Egypt,
gathering them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
but there will not be enough space for them.
11 They[i] will pass through the sea of affliction,
and they[j] will strike the waves[k] in that sea.
All of the depths of the Nile will evaporate,
Assyria’s arrogance will be brought down low,
and the ruling power[l] of Egypt will disappear.
12 “I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they will march here and there in his name,”
declares the Lord.
Help Each Other
6 Brothers, if a person is caught doing something wrong, those of you who are spiritual should restore that person gently. Watch out for yourself so that you are not tempted as well. 2 Practice carrying each other’s burdens. In this way you will fulfill the law of the Messiah.[a] 3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is really nothing, he is only fooling himself. 4 Each person must examine his own actions, and then he can boast about his own accomplishments and not about someone else. 5 For everyone must carry his own load.
6 The person who is taught the word should share all his goods with his teacher. 7 Stop being[b] deceived; God is not to be ridiculed. A person harvests whatever he plants: 8 The person who sows through human means will harvest decay from human means, but the person who sows in the Spirit will harvest eternal life from the Spirit. 9 Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let’s practice doing good to everyone, especially to the family of faith.
Jesus Blesses the Little Children(A)
15 Now some people[a] were even bringing their infants to Jesus[b] to have him touch them. But when the disciples saw this, they sternly told the people[c] not to do that. 16 Jesus, however, called for the children[d] and said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom of God belongs to people like these. 17 I tell all of you[e] with certainty, whoever doesn’t receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never get into it at all.”
A Rich Man Comes to Jesus(B)
18 Then an official asked Jesus,[f] “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Nobody is good except for one—God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Never commit adultery.[g] Never murder.[h] Never steal.[i] Never give false testimony.[j] Honor your father and mother.’”[k]
21 The official[l] replied, “I have kept all of these since I was a young man.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still need to do one thing. Sell everything you have and give the money[m] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” 23 But when the official[n] heard this he became sad, because he was very rich.
Salvation and Reward(C)
24 So when Jesus saw how sad he was, he[o] said, “How hard it is for rich people to get into the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who were listening to Jesus[p] asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus[q] replied, “The things that are impossible for people are possible for God.”
28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left everything we have and followed you.”
29 Jesus[r] told them, “I tell all of you[s] with certainty, there is no one who has left his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children because of the kingdom of God 30 who will not receive many times as much in this world, as well as eternal life in the age to come.”
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