Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer to Bring Israel Back
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies of the Agreement.” A song 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.
Come and save us.
3 God, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
4 Lord God of heaven’s armies,
how long will you be angry
at the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed your people tears.
You have made them drink many tears.
6 You made those around us fight over us.
Our enemies make fun of us.
7 God of heaven’s armies, 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 land 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 of heaven’s armies, come back.
Look down from heaven and see.
Take care of us, your vine.
15 You planted this shoot with your own hands.
You raised and strengthened this child.
16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire.
You destroyed us by your angry looks.
17 Help the man you have chosen.
Make this human being strong for your service.
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.
19 Lord God of heaven’s armies, take us back.
Show us your kindness so we can be saved.
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.
77 I cry out loud to God.
I call to God, and he will hear me.
2 I looked for the Lord on the day of trouble.
All night long I reached out my hands.
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 said, “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.
I think about what you have done.
13 God, your ways are holy.
No god is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who did miracles.
You showed 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.
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 of sheep.
You led them by using Moses and Aaron.
The Nation Cries for Jerusalem
A song of Asaph.
79 God, nations have come against your 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 bad 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.
Be angry with the kingdoms that do not honor you.
7 They have destroyed the people of Jacob.
Those nations have destroyed the people’s land.
8 Don’t punish us for the sins of our ancestors.
Show your mercy to us soon.
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.
Israel Confesses Sins
9 It was on the twenty-fourth day of that same month. The people of Israel gathered together. They did not eat. And they put on rough cloth and put dust on their heads. This was to show their sadness. 2 Those people whose ancestors were from Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins and their ancestors’ sins. 3 For a fourth of the day they stood where they were. And they read from the Book of the Teachings of the Lord their God. Then they spent another fourth of the day confessing their sins. And they worshiped the Lord their God. 4 These Levites were standing on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kanani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. 5 And these Levites spoke: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God. He lives forever and ever.”
The People’s Prayer
“Blessed be your wonderful name.
It is more wonderful than all blessing and praise.
6 You are the only Lord.
You made the heavens, even the highest heavens.
You made all the stars.
You made the earth and everything that is on it.
You made the seas and everything that is in them.
You give life to everything.
The heavenly army worships you.
7 “You are the Lord God.
You chose Abram.
You brought him out of Ur of the Babylonians.
You named him Abraham.
8 You found that he was faithful to you.
So you made an agreement with him.
You promised to give his descendants the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.
You have kept your promise.
You are fair.
9 “You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt.
You heard them cry out at the Red Sea.
10 You did signs and miracles against the king of Egypt.
And you did them against all his officers and all the people of Egypt.
You knew how proud they were.
You made everyone know your name.
And it is still known today.
11 You divided the sea in front of our ancestors.
They walked through it on dry ground.
But you threw the people chasing them into the deep water.
They were like a stone being thrown into mighty waters.
12 You led our ancestors with a pillar of cloud in the daytime.
And you led them with a pillar of fire at night.
It lit the way
they were supposed to go.
13 You came down to Mount Sinai.
You talked to our ancestors from heaven.
You gave them fair rules and true teachings.
You gave them good orders and commands.
14 You told them about your holy Sabbath.
You gave commands, orders and teachings to them
through your servant Moses.
15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven.
When they were thirsty, you brought them water from the rock.
You told them to go into the land and take it over.
You had promised to give it to them.
16 “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn.
They did not obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen.
They forgot the miracles you did for them.
They became stubborn and turned against you.
They chose a leader to lead them back to their slavery.
But you are a forgiving God.
You are kind and full of mercy.
You do not become angry quickly. And you have great love.
So you did not leave them.
18 Our ancestors even made an idol of a calf for themselves.
They said, ‘This is your god, Israel.
It brought you up out of Egypt.’
They spoke against you.
19 “You have great mercy.
So you did not leave them in the desert.
During the day the pillar of cloud guided them on their way.
And the pillar of fire led them at night.
It lit the way they were supposed to go.
20 You gave your good Spirit to teach them.
You gave them manna to eat.
And you gave them water when they were thirsty.
21 You took care of them for 40 years in the desert.
They needed nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out.
And their feet did not swell.
22 “You gave them kingdoms and nations.
You gave them more land.
They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon.
And they took over the country of Og king of Bashan.
23 You made their children as many as the stars in the sky.
And you brought them into the land.
This was where you had told their ancestors to enter and take over.
24 So their children went into the land and took over.
The Canaanites lived there.
But you defeated them for our ancestors.
You handed over to them the Canaanites, their kings and the people of the land.
Our ancestors could do what they wanted with them.
25 Our ancestors captured strong, walled cities and fertile land.
They took over houses full of good things.
They took over wells that were already dug.
They took vineyards, olive trees and many fruit trees.
They ate until they were full and became fat.
They enjoyed your great goodness.
Babylon Is Destroyed
18 Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power. The angel’s glory made the earth bright. 2 The angel shouted in a powerful voice:
“The great city of Babylon is destroyed!
She has become a home for demons.
She has become a city for every evil spirit,
a city for every unclean and hated bird.
3 All the peoples of the earth have drunk
the strong wine of her sexual immorality.
The kings of the earth have sinned sexually with her,
and the businessmen of the world have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Come out of that city, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins.
Then you will not receive the terrible things that will happen to her.
5 The city’s sins are piled up as high as the sky.
God has not forgotten the wrongs she has done.
6 Give that city the same as she gave to others.
Pay her back twice as much as she did.
Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong
as the wine she prepared for others.
7 She gave herself much glory and rich living.
Give her that much suffering and sadness.
She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne.
I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’
8 So these terrible things will come to her in one day:
death, crying, and great hunger.
She will be destroyed by fire,
because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why do your followers not obey the rules given to us by the great people who lived before us? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those rules you have? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’[a] And God also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 6 You teach that person not to honor his father. You teach that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow the rules you have. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’” Isaiah 29:13
10 Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11 It is not what a person puts into his mouth that makes him unclean. It is what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean.”
12 Then his followers came to Jesus and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Stay away from the Pharisees. They are blind leaders.[c] And if a blind man leads another blind man, then both men will fall into a ditch.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the story to us.”
16 Jesus said, “You still have trouble understanding? 17 Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then that food goes out of the body. 18 But what a person says with his mouth comes from the way he thinks. And these are the things that make him unclean. 19 Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, lying, and saying bad things against other people. 20 These things make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.