Book of Common Prayer
Restore Us, O God
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Lilies. A Testimony. Of (B)Asaph, a Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead (C)Joseph like (D)a flock.
You who are (E)enthroned upon the cherubim, (F)shine forth.
2 Before (G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
(H)stir up your might
and (I)come to save us!
4 O (L)Lord God of hosts,
(M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with (N)the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 (O)You make us an object of contention for our (P)neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 (Q)Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought (R)a vine out of Egypt;
you (S)drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You (T)cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (U)the sea
and its shoots to (V)the River.[b]
12 Why then have you (W)broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 (X)The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
(Y)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have (Z)burned it with fire; they have (AA)cut it down;
may they perish at (AB)the rebuke of your face!
17 But (AC)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
(AD)give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19 (AE)Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of (B)Asaph.
77 I (C)cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 (D)In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in (E)the night my (F)hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul (G)refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I (H)moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so (I)troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider (J)the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said,[a] “Let me remember my (K)song in the night;
let me (L)meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord (M)spurn forever,
and never again (N)be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his (O)promises at an end for all time?
9 (P)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
(Q)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will (S)remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your (T)work,
and meditate on your (U)mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is (V)holy.
(W)What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who (X)works wonders;
you have (Y)made known your might among the peoples.
15 You (Z)with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When (AA)the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies (AB)gave forth thunder;
your (AC)arrows flashed on every side.
18 (AD)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
(AE)your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth (AF)trembled and shook.
19 Your (AG)way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints (AH)were unseen.[c]
20 You (AI)led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
How Long, O Lord?
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
79 O God, (B)the nations have come into your (C)inheritance;
they have defiled your (D)holy temple;
they have (E)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given (F)the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the heavens for food,
the flesh of your (G)faithful to (H)the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was (I)no one to bury them.
4 We have become (J)a taunt to our neighbors,
(K)mocked and derided by those around us.
5 (L)How long, O Lord? Will you be angry (M)forever?
Will your (N)jealousy (O)burn like fire?
6 (P)Pour out your anger on the nations
that (Q)do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that (R)do not call upon your name!
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8 (S)Do not remember against us (T)our former iniquities;[a]
let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
for we are (U)brought very low.
9 (V)Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and (W)atone for our sins,
for your (X)name's sake!
10 (Y)Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let (Z)the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes!
11 Let (AA)the groans of the prisoners come before you;
according to your great power, preserve those (AB)doomed to die!
12 Return (AC)sevenfold into the (AD)lap of our neighbors
the (AE)taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13 But we your people, the (AF)sheep of your pasture,
will (AG)give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
Kindness for Poor Brothers
35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, (A)you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 (B)Take no interest from him or profit, but (C)fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 (D)You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 (E)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
39 (F)“If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 (G)Then he shall go out from you, (H)he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return (I)to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are (J)my servants,[a] whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 (K)You shall not rule over him (L)ruthlessly but (M)shall fear your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. 45 (N)You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel (O)you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
Redeeming a Poor Man
47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and (P)your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may (Q)redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he (R)grows rich he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be (S)rated as the time of a hired worker. 51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. 52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. 53 He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. (T)He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then (U)he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. 55 For it is (V)to me that the people of Israel are servants.[b] They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
9 And so, (A)from the day we heard, (B)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that (C)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all (D)spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as (E)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, (F)fully pleasing to him: (G)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 (H)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for (I)all endurance and patience (J)with joy; 12 (K)giving thanks[a] to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in (L)the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He (M)has delivered us from (N)the domain of darkness and transferred us to (O)the kingdom of (P)his beloved Son, 14 (Q)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house (A)and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, (B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And (C)he told them many things in parables, saying: (D)“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but (E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, (F)they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among (G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some (H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 (I)He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, (J)“To you it has been given to know (K)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (L)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, (M)even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because (N)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, (O)nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
(P)“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears (Q)they can barely hear,
and (R)their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and (S)understand with their heart
and (T)turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But (U)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.