Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer for the Persecuted People
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Eduth. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]Listen to us, O shepherd of Israel,[d]
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
As you sit enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
3 over Ephraim,[e] Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power
and come to save us.
4 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine[f] upon us,
and we will be saved.
5 O Lord of hosts,[g]
how long will you be angry
at your people’s prayers?
6 You have fed them with the bread of tears
and made them drink tears beyond measure.
7 You have made us an object of contention to our neighbors,
a source of mockery to our enemies.
8 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
9 [h]You brought a vine[i] out of Egypt;
you dispersed the nations and planted it.
10 You prepared the ground for it;
then it took root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered with its shade
and the cedars of God[j] with its shoots.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the Sea,[k]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 [l]Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pluck its grapes?[m]
14 The boars from the forest ravage it,
and wild beasts of the field feed on it.
15 Turn once again to us, O Lord of hosts;[n]
look down from heaven and see;
take care of this vine,
16 this shoot[o] that your right hand has planted,
the son that you yourself made strong.
17 Let those who would burn it or cut it down
perish when confronted by your rebuke.
18 Let your hand rest upon the man at your right,[p]
the son of man that you yourself made strong.
19 Then we will never again turn away from you;
give us life and we will call upon your name.[q]
20 Restore us, O Lord of hosts;
let your face shine upon us,
and we will be saved.
Psalm 77[a]
Lament and Consolation in Distress
1 For the director.[b] For Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
2 [c]I cry aloud to God,
for when I cry out to God, he hears me.[d]
3 In the time of my distress I seek the Lord;
at night I stretch out my hands unceasingly,
and my soul refuses to be consoled.
4 [e]I groan as I think of God;
my spirit grows faint as I meditate on him. Selah
5 You keep my eyes from closing in sleep;
I am much too distraught to speak.
6 I reflect on the days of old
and recall the years long past.
7 At night I meditate in my heart,[f]
and as I reflect, my spirit questions:
8 [g]“Will the Lord cast us off forever
and never again show us his favor?
9 Has his kindness[h] vanished forever?
Has his promise ceased for all time?
10 Has God forgotten how to be merciful?
Has he shut up his compassion in anger?” Selah
11 [i]And I say: “This is my grief—
that the right hand[j] of the Most High has changed.”
12 I will remember the works of the Lord;
I will call to mind your wonders in the past.
13 I will reflect on all your deeds
and ponder your wondrous works.[k]
14 O God, your way is holy.[l]
What god is as great as our God?
15 You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might to the nations.
16 With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.[m] Selah
17 [n]When the waters[o] beheld you, O God,
when the waters beheld you, they writhed;
the very depths trembled.
18 The clouds poured forth their water,
the skies thundered,
your arrows[p] flashed back and forth.
19 The crash of your thunder resounded in the heavens;
your flashes of lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.[q]
20 Your path led through the sea,
your way, through the mighty waters,
though none could trace your footsteps.[r]
21 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.[s]
Psalm 79[a]
Prayer for Restoration
1 A psalm of Asaph.[b]
[c]O God, the nations have invaded your heritage;
they have profaned your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of the air,
the flesh of your saints
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and no one is left to bury them.[d]
4 We have become the scorn of our neighbors,
mocked and derided by those around us.[e]
5 [f]How long, O Lord?[g] Will you be angry forever?
How long will your rage continue to blaze like a fire?
6 [h]Pour out your wrath on the nations
that refuse to acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that fail to call on your name.[i]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and ravaged his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of our ancestors;
let your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate straits.[j]
9 [k]Help us, O God, our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and wipe away our sins
for your name’s sake.[l]
10 Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes make it clearly known among those nations
that you avenge[m] the blood of your servants.
11 Let the groans of the captives come before you;
through your great power
save those who have been sentenced to death.[n]
12 Repay our neighbors sevenfold[o] in their breasts, O Lord,
for the insults with which they taunted you.
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will offer thanks to you[p] forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
Mourning and Repentance in Judea
Chapter 1
The Countryside Is Ravaged.[a] 1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 Hear this, you elders!
Listen to me, all you inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell your children about it,
and let them relate it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten.
And what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Lament, all you winedrinkers!
For the juice of the grape
will be snatched from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded my land,
powerful and too vast to count,
possessing teeth like those of a lion,
and the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vines
and destroyed my fig trees,
stripping off their bark
and leaving their branches white.
8 Lament like a virgin garbed in sackcloth
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
The priests, the ministers of the Lord,
are in mourning.
10 The fields are destroyed;
the earth mourns.
The grain has been ruined;
the wine has dried up;
the oil has failed.
11 Despair, you farmers,
and wail, you vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley;
the harvest of the fields is lost.
12 The vine has withered;
the fig tree droops.
The pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree—
all the trees of the field have dried up.
And the joy of the people
has also withered away.
Announce a Holy Fast; Proclaim a Solemn Assembly[b]
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests!
Wail, you ministers of the altar!
Come, pass the entire night in sackcloth,
you ministers of my God!
For the house of your God is deprived
of grain offerings and libations.
15 “The merchants of these things who made a fortune from her will stand far off, weeping and mourning aloud, and terrified as they behold her torment:
16 “ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold, jewels, and precious stones!
17 Within one hour
all this wealth has been destroyed.’
“All the ship captains and voyagers, all the sailors and those who make their living by trading upon the sea, will stand far off 18 and exclaim as they see the smoke caused by her immolation, ‘Has there ever been a city to compare with this great city?’ 19 Then they will throw dust on their heads and with mourning and weeping cry out:
“ ‘Woe, woe, O great city,
where all who had ships at sea
became rich through her wealth!
Within one hour
she has been brought to ruin.
20 Rejoice over her, O heaven,
you holy ones, apostles, and prophets!
For God has passed judgment on her for you.’ ”
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying:
“This is how
the great city of Babylon will be thrown down,
never to be found again.
22 The sound of harpists and minstrels,
flute players and trumpeters,
will never be heard in you again.
Craftsmen of every trade
never will be found in you again.
The sound of a millstone
will never be heard in you again.
23 The light from a lamp
will never be seen in you again.
The voices of a bridegroom and bride
will never be heard in you again.
Since your merchants were the world’s great men,
all the nations were led astray by your enticements.
24 In you[a] was found the blood of the Prophets,
of the saints,
and of all who have been slain on the earth.”
12 Invite the Needy.[a] Then he said to the one who had invited him, “When you host a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest they invite you back and thus repay you. 13 Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then indeed will you be blessed because they have no way to repay you. But you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 The Parable of the Great Supper.[b] On hearing this, one of the dinner guests said to him, “Blessed is the man who will dine in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus said in reply, “A man gave a sumptuous banquet, to which he invited many. 17 When the hour for the banquet drew near, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited: ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have bought a parcel of land, and I must go out to inspect it. Please accept my apologies.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them out. Please accept my regrets.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have just gotten married, and therefore I am unable to come.’
21 “When the servant returned, he reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became enraged, and he said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Shortly afterward, the servant told him, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, and some room is still available.’ 23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the open roads and along the hedgerows and compel people to come,[c] so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ ”
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