Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A psalm of Asaph.
80 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us.
You lead the people of Joseph like a flock.
You sit on your throne between the gold creatures with wings.
Show your greatness 2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Use your strength,
and come to save us.
3 God, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
4 Lord God All-Powerful,
how long will you be angry
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people with tears;
you have made them drink many tears.
6 You made those around us fight over us,
and our enemies make fun of us.
7 God All-Powerful, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
8 You brought us out of Egypt as if we were a vine.
You forced out other nations and planted us in the land.
9 You cleared the ground for us.
Like a vine, we took root and filled the land.
10 We covered the mountains with our shade.
We had limbs like the mighty cedar tree.
11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,
and our shoots went to the Euphrates River.
12 So why did you pull down our walls?
Now everyone who passes by steals from us.
13 Like wild pigs they walk over us;
like wild animals they feed on us.
14 God All-Powerful, come back.
Look down from heaven and see.
Take care of us, your vine.
15 You planted this shoot with your own hands
and strengthened this child.
16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire;
you destroyed us by your angry looks.
17 With your hand,
strengthen the one you have chosen for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.
19 Lord God All-Powerful, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
77 I cry out to God;
I call to God, and he will hear me.
2 I look for the Lord on the day of trouble.
All night long I reach out my hands,
but I cannot be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I become upset;
when I think, I become afraid. Selah
4 You keep my eyes from closing.
I am too upset to say anything.
5 I keep thinking about the old days,
the years of long ago.
6 At night I remember my songs.
I think and I ask myself:
7 “Will the Lord reject us forever?
Will he never be kind to us again?
8 Is his love gone forever?
Has he stopped speaking for all time?
9 Has God forgotten mercy?
Is he too angry to pity us?” Selah
10 Then I say, “This is what makes me sad:
For years the power of God Most High was with us.”
11 I remember what the Lord did;
I remember the miracles you did long ago.
12 I think about all the things you did
and consider your deeds.
13 God, your ways are holy.
No god is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does miracles;
you have shown people your power.
15 By your power you have saved your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 God, the waters saw you;
they saw you and became afraid;
the deep waters shook with fear.
17 The clouds poured down their rain.
The sky thundered.
Your lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
18 Your thunder sounded in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.
19 You made a way through the sea
and paths through the deep waters,
but your footprints were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by using Moses and Aaron.
The Nation Cries for Jerusalem
A psalm of Asaph.
79 God, nations have come against your chosen people.
They have ruined your holy Temple.
They have turned Jerusalem into ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the wild birds.
They have given the bodies of those who worship you to the wild animals.
3 They have spilled blood like water all around Jerusalem.
No one was left to bury the dead.
4 We are a joke to the other nations;
they laugh and make fun of us.
5 Lord, how long will this last?
Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like a fire?
6 Be angry with the nations that do not know you
and with the kingdoms that do not honor you.
7 They have gobbled up the people of Jacob
and destroyed their land.
8 Don’t punish us for our past sins.
Show your mercy to us soon,
because we are helpless!
9 God our Savior, help us
so people will praise you.
Save us and forgive our sins
so people will honor you.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Tell the other nations in our presence
that you punish those who kill your servants.
11 Hear the moans of the prisoners.
Use your great power
to save those sentenced to die.
12 Repay those around us seven times over
for their insults to you, Lord.
13 We are your people, the sheep of your flock.
We will thank you always;
forever and ever we will praise you.
David Wants to Build a Temple
7 King David was living in his palace, and the Lord had given him peace from all his enemies around him. 2 Then David said to Nathan the prophet, “Look, I am living in a palace made of cedar wood, but the Ark of God is in a tent!”
3 Nathan said to the king, “Go and do what you really want to do, because the Lord is with you.”
4 But that night the Lord spoke his word to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Will you build a house for me to live in? 6 From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have been moving around all this time with a tent as my home. 7 As I have moved with the Israelites, I have never said to the tribes, whom I commanded to take care of my people Israel, “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?”’
8 “You must tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: I took you from the pasture and from tending the sheep and made you leader of my people Israel. 9 I have been with you everywhere you have gone and have defeated your enemies for you. I will make you as famous as any of the great people on the earth. 10 Also I will choose a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them so they can live in their own homes. They will not be bothered anymore. Wicked people will no longer bother them as they have in the past 11 when I chose judges for my people Israel. But I will give you peace from all your enemies. I also tell you that I will make your descendants kings of Israel after you.
12 “‘When you die and join your ancestors, I will make one of your sons the next king, and I will set up his kingdom. 13 He will build a house for me, and I will let his kingdom rule always. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he sins, I will use other people to punish him. They will be my whips. 15 I took away my love from Saul, whom I removed before you, but I will never stop loving your son. 16 But your family and your kingdom will continue always before me. Your throne will last forever.’”
17 Nathan told David everything God had said in this vision.
Paul in Corinth
18 Later Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 Here he met a Jew named Aquila who had been born in the country of Pontus. But Aquila and his wife, Priscilla, had recently moved to Corinth from Italy, because Claudius[a] commanded that all Jews must leave Rome. Paul went to visit Aquila and Priscilla. 3 Because they were tentmakers, just as he was, he stayed with them and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath day he talked with the Jews and Greeks in the synagogue, trying to persuade them to believe in Jesus.
5 Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia and joined Paul in Corinth. After this, Paul spent all his time telling people the Good News, showing them that Jesus is the Christ. 6 But they would not accept Paul’s teaching and said some evil things. So he shook off the dust from his clothes[b] and said to them, “If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do! After this, I will go to other nations.” 7 Paul left the synagogue and moved into the home of Titius Justus, next to the synagogue. This man worshiped God. 8 Crispus was the leader of that synagogue, and he and all the people living in his house believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also listened to Paul and believed and were baptized.
9 During the night, the Lord told Paul in a vision: “Don’t be afraid. Continue talking to people and don’t be quiet. 10 I am with you, and no one will hurt you because many of my people are in this city.” 11 Paul stayed there for a year and a half, teaching God’s word to the people.
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle
11 The Pharisees came to Jesus and began to ask him questions. Hoping to trap him, they asked Jesus for a miracle from God. 12 Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Why do you people ask for a miracle as a sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to you.” 13 Then Jesus left the Pharisees and went in the boat to the other side of the lake.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings
14 His followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. 15 Jesus warned them, “Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed? 18 You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen. Remember when 19 I divided five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Twelve.”
20 “And when I divided seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.