Book of Common Prayer
God’s Faithfulness in Israel’s History
A maskil of Asaph.[a]
78 Listen, O my people, to my teaching.
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will offer[b] a parable with my mouth.
I will pour out riddles from long ago,
3 that we have heard and known,
and our ancestors[c] have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,[d]
telling the next generation the praises of Yahweh,
and his power and his wonders that he has done.
5 For he established a testimony in Jacob,
and appointed a law[e] in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors[f]
to teach to their children,
6 so that the next generation might know—
children yet to be born—
that they might rise up and tell their children,
7 that they might set their confidence in God,
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments,
8 and not be like their ancestors,[g]
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that did not make ready its heart,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim, armed with archers,[h]
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God
and refused to go in his law.[i]
11 They also forgot his deeds,
and his wonders that he had shown them.
12 In front of their ancestors[j] he did a wonder,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13 He split the sea and caused them to go over,
and he caused waters to stand like a heap.
14 And he led them with the cloud by day,
and all night with a fiery light.
15 He caused rocks to split in the wilderness
and provided drink abundantly as from the depths.
16 And he brought streams out of the rock
and caused water to flow down like rivers.
17 But they sinned still further against him
by rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 And they tested God in their heart
by asking food for their craving.[k]
19 And they spoke against God.
They said, “Is God able
to prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Yes, he struck the rock and water flowed
and streams gushed out,
but can he also give food
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore Yahweh heard
and he was very angry,
and a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and his anger also rose up against Israel,
22 because they did not believe God,
and they did not trust his salvation.
23 Nevertheless, he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Humankind ate the bread of angels.[l]
He sent them food enough to be satisfied.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
and drove along the south wind by his strength.
27 Then he rained meat on them like dust,
even winged birds[m] like the sand of the seas.
28 He caused them to fall in the midst of his camp,
all around his dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled,
and he brought about what they craved.
30 They had not yet turned aside from their craving,
while their food was still in their mouth,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed some of the stoutest of them,
even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down in death.
32 In spite of all this they sinned further
and did not believe his wonders.
33 And he consumed their days with futility [n]
their years with terror.[o]
34 When he killed some of them, then they sought him,
and repented and earnestly sought God.
35 And they remembered that God was their rock,
and God Most High their redeemer.
36 But they enticed him with their mouth
and lied to him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not steadfast with him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
38 But he was compassionate; he pardoned[p] their guilt
and did not destroy them.
And many times he turned back his anger
and did not stir up all his wrath,
39 for he remembered that they were flesh,
a passing wind that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and vexed him in the wasteland!
41 So they again tested God
and distressed[q] the Holy One of Israel.
42 And they did not remember his power[r]
when[s] he redeemed them from the enemy,
43 how he performed[t] his signs in Egypt
and his wonders in the region of Zoan,
44 when he turned their rivers[u] to blood
so they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent among them flies that devoured them
and frogs that destroyed them.
46 And he gave their crop to the locusts
and their labor to the locust.[v]
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with sleet.[w]
48 He also handed their cattle over to the hail
and their livestock to the lightning bolts.
49 He sent against them his fierce anger,
rage and indignation and trouble,
a band of destroying[x] angels.
50 He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them[y] from death
but handed their life over to the plague.
51 And he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first of their virility in the tents of Ham.
52 Then he led out his people like sheep
and guided them like a herd in the wilderness.
53 And he led them safely and they were not afraid,
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 So he brought them to his holy territory,[z]
this mountain his right hand acquired.[aa]
55 And he drove out nations before them
and allocated them for an inheritance by boundary line,
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56 But they tested and rebelled against God Most High
and did not keep his statutes.
57 And they turned and were treacherous like their ancestors.[ab]
They twisted like a crooked[ac] bow.
58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places,
and made him jealous with their images.
59 God heard and he was very angry
and rejected Israel utterly.
60 So he abandoned the dwelling place at Shiloh,
the tent he had placed among humankind.
61 And he gave his strength into captivity
and his splendor into the hand of the enemy.
62 He also handed his people over to the sword,
and he was very angry with his inheritance.
63 Fire devoured his young men,
and his young women[ad] were not praised.
64 His priests fell by the sword,
and his widows did not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke like one who had been asleep,
awoke like a warrior who had been drunk with wine.[ae]
66 And he beat back his enemies;
he gave them over to perpetual scorn.
67 And he rejected the tent of Joseph,
and did not chose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion[af] that he loved.
69 And he built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 And he chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 He brought him from following nursing ewes
to shepherd Jacob, his people,
and Israel, his inheritance.
72 And he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart,
and led them by the skillfulness of his hands.
26 “But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law[a] behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies. 27 Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemy, and they brought trouble to them. Then in the time of their trouble they cried out to you, and you heard from the heavens, and according to your great compassions, you gave them saviors, and you saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But when they had rest they returned to doing evil before you, and you abandoned them in the hand of their enemies, and they ruled over them. Then they returned and cried out to you, and from the heavens you heard and many times rescued them according to your compassions. 29 You warned them so that they would return to your law.[b] Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commandments but sinned against your judgments that a person must do so that they may live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not listen. 30 You were patient toward them for many years, and you have warned them by your spirit through the hand of your prophets, but they did not listen. So you gave them into the hand of the nations of the lands. 31 But in your great compassions you did not put an end to them, and you did not abandon them. For you are a gracious and compassionate God.
32 “And now our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God who keeps his covenant and loyal love, do not belittle in your presence all of the hardship that is found in us, our kings, our officials, our priests, our prophets, our ancestors,[c] and all of our people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until this day. 33 You are righteous in everything that has come on us, for you dealt faithfully, and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our officials, our priests, and our ancestors[d] did not keep your law[e] and did not listen to your commandments and statutes that you declared to them. 35 And in their kingdom and in the greatness you gave to them, and in the wide and fertile land that you gave before them, they did not serve you and did not turn from their evil deeds. 36 Behold, we are slaves to this day, and the land that you have given to our ancestors[f] to eat its fruits and enjoy its goodness—behold, we are slaves in it! 37 Its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have given over us because of our sins, and they are ruling over our dead bodies and our livestock at their pleasure. We are in great trouble.
38 [g] “Now because of all of this we make a binding written agreement and are writing on the sealed documents the names of our commanders, our Levites, and our priests.”
9 And the kings of the earth will weep and mourn over her, those who committed sexual immorality and lived sensually with her, when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing far off[a] because of the fear of her torment, saying,
“Woe, woe, the great city,
Babylon the powerful city,
because in one hour your judgment has come!”
11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— 12 cargo of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple cloth and silk and scarlet cloth and all kinds of scented wood and all kinds of ivory goods and all kinds of goods of precious wood and bronze and iron and marble 13 and cinnamon and amomum[b] and incense and ointment and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine wheat flour and wheat and domesticated animals and sheep and horses and carriages and slaves[c] and human lives.
14 “And the fruit your soul desires[d] has departed from you,
and all the luxury and the splendor has perished from you,
and they will never find them any more.”
15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from them, will stand far off[e], weeping and mourning because of the fear of her torment, 16 saying,
“Woe, woe, the great city,
dressed in fine linen and purple cloth and scarlet cloth,
and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
17 because in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!”
And every shipmaster and every seafarer[f] and sailors and all those who labor on the sea stood far off[g] 18 and began to cry out when they[h] saw the smoke of her burning, saying, “Who is like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying,
“Woe, woe, the great city,
in which all those who had ships on the sea
became rich from her prosperity,
because in one hour she has been laid waste!”
20 Rejoice over her, heaven
and the saints and the apostles and the prophets,
because God has pronounced your judgment on her!”
A Canaanite Woman’s Great Faith
21 And departing from there, Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came and cried out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and[a] asked him, saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us!” 24 But he answered and[b] said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and[c] knelt down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And he answered and[d] said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it[e] to the dogs!” 27 So she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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