Book of Common Prayer
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)keep His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back in the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He wrought wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking (AK)food according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 “Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He provide [g](AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man did eat the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained [n]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of [o]their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
30 [p]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)stoutest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in [s]futility
And their years in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And returned and searched (BE)diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)deceived Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, [t](BL)forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He [u](BM)restrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus (BN)He remembered that they were but (BO)flesh,
A [v](BP)wind that passes and does not return.
40 How often they (BQ)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (BR)grieved Him in the (BS)desert!
41 Again and again they [w](BT)tempted God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [x]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He performed His (BY)signs in Egypt
And His (BZ)marvels in the field of Zoan,
44 And (CA)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of (CB)flies which devoured them,
And (CC)frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He [y]destroyed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their (CG)cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
[z]A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But (CI)gave over their life to the plague,
51 And (CJ)smote all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first issue of their virility in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness (CN)like a flock;
53 He led them (CO)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (CP)the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 So (CQ)He brought them to His holy [aa]land,
To this [ab](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had gained.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations before them
And (CU)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [ac](CV)tempted and (CW)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (CX)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (CY)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (CZ)provoked Him with their (DA)high places
And (DB)aroused His jealousy with their (DC)graven images.
59 When God heard, He [ad]was filled with (DD)wrath
And greatly (DE)abhorred Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [ae]which He had pitched among men,
61 And gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His glory (DI)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (DJ)delivered His people to the sword,
And [af]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [ag]His young men,
And [ah]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ai]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [aj]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
Like a (DP)warrior [ak]overcome by wine.
66 He [al](DQ)drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also (DR)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (DS)Zion which He loved.
69 And He (DT)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also (DU)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From [am](DV)the care of the [an]ewes (DW)with suckling lambs He brought him
To (DX)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (DY)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (DZ)integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
Gideon’s 300 Chosen Men
7 Then (A)Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him, rose early and camped beside [a]the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north side of [b]them by the hill of (B)Moreh in the valley.
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands, (C)for Israel [c]would become boastful, saying, ‘My own [d]power has delivered me.’ 3 Now therefore [e]come, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘(D)Whoever is afraid and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So 22,000 people returned, but 10,000 remained.
4 (E)Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink.” 6 Now the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men; but all the rest of the people kneeled to drink water. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, “I will deliver you (F)with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your hands; so let all the other people go, each man to his [f]home.” 8 So [g]the 300 men took the people’s provisions and their trumpets into their hands. And [h]Gideon sent all the other men of Israel, each to his tent, but retained the 300 men; and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9 Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, (G)for I have given it into your hands. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, 11 and you will hear what they say; and (H)afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant down to the [i]outposts of the army that was in the camp. 12 Now the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the sons of the east were lying in the valley (I)as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, (J)as numerous as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was relating a dream to his friend. And he said, “Behold, I [j]had a dream; [k]a loaf of barley bread was tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and struck it so that it fell, and turned it [l]upside down so that the tent lay flat.” 14 His friend replied, “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and all the camp (K)into his hand.”
15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the camp of Midian into your hands.” 16 He divided the 300 men into three [m]companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17 He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, [n]do as I do. 18 When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon.’”
Healing the Lame Beggar
3 Now (A)Peter and John were going up to the temple at the [a]ninth hour, (B)the hour of prayer. 2 And (C)a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they (D)used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, (E)in order to beg [b]alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw (F)Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, (G)fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: (H)In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 [c](I)With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And (J)all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to (K)sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter’s Second Sermon
11 While he was clinging to (L)Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called [d](M)portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
The Testimony of John
19 This is (A)the testimony of John, when (B)the Jews sent to him priests and Levites (C)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “(D)I am not [a]the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you (E)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you (F)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (G)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [b]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (H)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “(I)I baptize [c]in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 It is (J)He who comes after me, the (K)thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (L)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
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