Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
Prayer to Restore God’s Vineyard
1 For the leader; according to “Lilies.” Eduth.[b] A psalm of Asaph.
I
2 O Shepherd of Israel, lend an ear,
you who guide Joseph like a flock!
Seated upon the cherubim, shine forth(A)
3 upon Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Stir up your power, and come to save us.
4 (B)O God, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
II
5 Lord of hosts,
how long will you smolder in anger
while your people pray?(C)
6 You have fed them the bread of tears,
made them drink tears in great measure.[c](D)
7 You have left us to be fought over by our neighbors;
our enemies deride us.(E)
8 O God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
III
9 You brought a vine[d] out of Egypt;
you drove out nations and planted it.
10 You cleared out what was before it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
11 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the cedars of God by its branches.
12 It sent out its boughs as far as the sea,[e]
its shoots as far as the river.
13 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?(F)
14 The boar from the forest strips the vine;
the beast of the field feeds upon it.(G)
15 Turn back again, God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
16 the stock your right hand has planted,
and the son[f] whom you made strong for yourself.
17 Those who would burn or cut it down—
may they perish at your rebuke.
18 May your hand be with the man on your right,[g]
with the son of man whom you made strong for yourself.
19 Then we will not withdraw from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
20 Lord God of hosts, restore us;
light up your face and we shall be saved.
Psalm 146[a]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(A)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(B)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(C)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(D)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(E)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(F)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(G)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(H)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(I)
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147[b]
God’s Word Restores Jerusalem
1 Hallelujah!
I
How good to sing praise to our God;
how pleasant to give fitting praise.(J)
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the dispersed of Israel,(K)
3 Healing the brokenhearted,
and binding up their wounds.(L)
4 He numbers the stars,
and gives to all of them their names.(M)
5 Great is our Lord, vast in power,
with wisdom beyond measure.(N)
6 The Lord gives aid to the poor,
but casts the wicked to the ground.(O)
II
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
with the lyre make music to our God,(P)
8 [c]Who covers the heavens with clouds,
provides rain for the earth,
makes grass sprout on the mountains,(Q)
9 Who gives animals their food
and young ravens what they cry for.(R)
10 [d]He takes no delight in the strength of horses,
no pleasure in the runner’s stride.(S)
11 Rather the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his mercy.
III
12 Glorify the Lord, Jerusalem;
Zion, offer praise to your God,
13 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,
blessed your children within you.(T)
14 He brings peace to your borders,
and satisfies you with finest wheat.(U)
15 [e]He sends his command to earth;
his word runs swiftly!(V)
16 Thus he makes the snow like wool,
and spreads the frost like ash;(W)
17 He disperses hail like crumbs.
Who can withstand his cold?
18 Yet when again he issues his command, it melts them;
he raises his winds and the waters flow.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and laws to Israel.(X)
20 He has not done this for any other nation;
of such laws they know nothing.
Hallelujah!
13 The Lord said:
Since this people draws near with words only
and honors me with their lips alone,
though their hearts are far from me,
And fear of me has become
mere precept of human teaching,(A)
14 Therefore I will again deal with this people
in surprising and wondrous fashion:
The wisdom of the wise shall perish,
the prudence of the prudent shall vanish.(B)
15 Ah! You who would hide a plan
too deep for the Lord!
Who work in the dark, saying,
“Who sees us, who knows us?”(C)
16 Your perversity is as though the potter
were taken to be the clay:
As though what is made should say of its maker,
“He did not make me!”
Or the vessel should say of the potter,
“He does not understand.”(D)
Redemption[a]
17 Surely, in a very little while,
Lebanon shall be changed into an orchard,
and the orchard be considered a forest!(E)
18 On that day the deaf shall hear
the words of a scroll;
And out of gloom and darkness,
the eyes of the blind shall see.(F)
19 The lowly shall again find joy in the Lord,
the poorest rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.(G)
20 For the tyrant shall be no more,
the scoffer shall cease to be;
All who are ready for evil shall be cut off,(H)
21 those who condemn with a mere word,
Who ensnare the defender at the gate,
and leave the just with an empty claim.(I)
22 Therefore thus says the Lord,
the God of the house of Jacob,
who redeemed Abraham:[b]
No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
no longer shall his face grow pale.(J)
23 For when his children see
the work of my hands in his midst,
They shall sanctify my name;
they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
be in awe of the God of Israel.(K)
24 Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
those who find fault shall receive instruction.
22 [a](A)I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb. 23 [b]The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it,(B) for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light,[c] and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure.(C) 25 During the day its gates will never be shut, and there will be no night there. 26 The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, 27 but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.(D)
Chapter 22
1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,[d] sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(E) 2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life[e] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face,[f] and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.(F)
Mary Visits Elizabeth. 39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,(A) 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.(B) 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord[a] should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed[b] that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”(C)
48 For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.(A)
49 The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.(B)
50 His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.(C)
51 He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.(D)
52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.(E)
53 The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.(F)
54 He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,(G)
55 according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(H)
56 Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
The Birth of John.[a]
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