Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 My people, hear my teaching;(A)
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;(B)
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.(C)
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;(D)
we will tell the next generation(E)
the praiseworthy deeds(F) of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders(G) he has done.
5 He decreed statutes(H) for Jacob(I)
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,(J)
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget(K) his deeds
but would keep his commands.(L)
8 They would not be like their ancestors(M)—
a stubborn(N) and rebellious(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(P)
turned back on the day of battle;(Q)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(R)
and refused to live by his law.(S)
11 They forgot what he had done,(T)
the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles(U) in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,(V) in the region of Zoan.(W)
13 He divided the sea(X) and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.(Y)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.(Z)
15 He split the rocks(AA) in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin(AB) against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 They willfully put God to the test(AC)
by demanding the food they craved.(AD)
19 They spoke against God;(AE)
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20 True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,(AF)
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat(AG) for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out(AH) against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God
or trust(AI) in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;(AJ)
24 he rained down manna(AK) for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind(AL) from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds(AM) like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29 They ate till they were gorged—(AN)
he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,(AO)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest(AP) among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;(AQ)
in spite of his wonders,(AR) they did not believe.(AS)
33 So he ended their days in futility(AT)
and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek(AU) him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(AV)
that God Most High was their Redeemer.(AW)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,(AX)
lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal(AY) to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;(AZ)
he forgave(BA) their iniquities(BB)
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger(BC)
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,(BD)
a passing breeze(BE) that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled(BF) against him in the wilderness(BG)
and grieved him(BH) in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test;(BI)
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.(BJ)
42 They did not remember(BK) his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,(BL)
43 the day he displayed his signs(BM) in Egypt,
his wonders(BN) in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their river into blood;(BO)
they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies(BP) that devoured them,
and frogs(BQ) that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,(BR)
their produce to the locust.(BS)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail(BT)
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock(BU) to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,(BV)
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.(BW)
50 He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,(BX)
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.(BY)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;(BZ)
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed(CA) their enemies.(CB)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand(CC) had taken.
55 He drove out nations(CD) before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;(CE)
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors(CF) they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.(CG)
58 They angered him(CH) with their high places;(CI)
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(CJ)
59 When God heard(CK) them, he was furious;(CL)
he rejected Israel(CM) completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,(CN)
the tent he had set up among humans.(CO)
61 He sent the ark of his might(CP) into captivity,(CQ)
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword;(CR)
he was furious with his inheritance.(CS)
63 Fire consumed(CT) their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;(CU)
64 their priests were put to the sword,(CV)
and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,(CW)
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.(CX)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;(CY)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,(CZ)
Mount Zion,(DA) which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary(DB) like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David(DC) his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep(DD) he brought him
to be the shepherd(DE) of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;(DF)
with skillful hands he led them.
Reward for Obedience
26 “‘Do not make idols(A) or set up an image(B) or a sacred stone(C) for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone(D) in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God.
2 “‘Observe my Sabbaths(E) and have reverence for my sanctuary.(F) I am the Lord.
3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey(G) my commands, 4 I will send you rain(H) in its season,(I) and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.(J) 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want(K) and live in safety in your land.(L)
6 “‘I will grant peace in the land,(M) and you will lie down(N) and no one will make you afraid.(O) I will remove wild beasts(P) from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies,(Q) and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five(R) of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.(S)
9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers,(T) and I will keep my covenant(U) with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new.(V) 11 I will put my dwelling place[a](W) among you, and I will not abhor you.(X) 12 I will walk(Y) among you and be your God,(Z) and you will be my people.(AA) 13 I am the Lord your God,(AB) who brought you out of Egypt(AC) so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke(AD) and enabled you to walk with heads held high.
Punishment for Disobedience
14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands,(AE) 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws(AF) and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant,(AG) 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever(AH) that will destroy your sight and sap your strength.(AI) You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.(AJ) 17 I will set my face(AK) against you so that you will be defeated(AL) by your enemies;(AM) those who hate you will rule over you,(AN) and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.(AO)
18 “‘If after all this you will not listen to me,(AP) I will punish(AQ) you for your sins seven times over.(AR) 19 I will break down your stubborn pride(AS) and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze.(AT) 20 Your strength will be spent in vain,(AU) because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit.(AV)
Instructions on Worship
2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,(A) intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority,(B) that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness(C) and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases(D) God our Savior,(E) 4 who wants(F) all people(G) to be saved(H) and to come to a knowledge of the truth.(I) 5 For there is one God(J) and one mediator(K) between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,(L) 6 who gave himself as a ransom(M) for all people. This has now been witnessed to(N) at the proper time.(O)
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom(A) and does not understand it, the evil one(B) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.(C) 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth(D) choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(E)
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