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 77[a]
Confidence in God During National Distress
1 For the leader; According to Jeduthun. A psalm of Asaph.
I
2 I cry aloud to God,
I cry to God to hear me.
3 On the day of my distress I seek the Lord;
by night my hands are stretched out unceasingly;(A)
I refuse to be consoled.
4 When I think of God, I groan;
as I meditate, my spirit grows faint.(B)
Selah
5 You have kept me from closing my eyes in sleep;
I am troubled and cannot speak.
6 I consider the days of old;
the years long past 7 I remember.(C)
At night I ponder in my heart;
and as I meditate, my spirit probes:
8 “Will the Lord reject us forever,(D)
never again show favor?
9 Has God’s mercy ceased forever?
The promise to go unfulfilled for future ages?
10 Has God forgotten how to show mercy,
in anger withheld his compassion?”
Selah
11 [b]I conclude: “My sorrow is this,
the right hand of the Most High has abandoned us.”(E)
II
12 [c]I will recall the deeds of the Lord;
yes, recall your wonders of old.(F)
13 I will ponder all your works;
on your exploits I will meditate.
14 Your way, God, is holy;
what god is as great as our God?(G)
15 You are the God who does wonders;
among the peoples you have revealed your might.(H)
16 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.(I)
Selah
17 The waters saw you, God;
the waters saw you and lashed about,
even the deeps of the sea[d] trembled.(J)
18 The clouds poured down their rains;
the thunderheads rumbled;
your arrows flashed back and forth.(K)
19 The thunder of your chariot wheels resounded;
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.(L)
20 Through the sea was your way;
your path, through the mighty waters,
though your footsteps were unseen.(M)
21 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.(N)
Psalm 79[a]
A Prayer for Jerusalem
1 A psalm of Asaph.
I
O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.(A)
2 They have left the corpses of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of those devoted to you for the beasts of the earth.(B)
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and no one is left to do the burying.(C)
4 We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.(D)
II
5 How long, Lord? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealous anger keep burning like fire?(E)
6 Pour out your wrath on nations that do not recognize you,
on kingdoms that do not call on your name,(F)
7 For they have devoured Jacob,
laid waste his dwelling place.
8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers;
let your compassion move quickly ahead of us,
for we have been brought very low.(G)
III
9 Help us, God our savior,
on account of the glory of your name.
Deliver us, pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.(H)
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(I)
Before our eyes make known to the nations
that you avenge the blood of your servants which has been poured out.(J)
IV
11 Let the groaning of the imprisoned come in before you;
in accord with the greatness of your arm
preserve those doomed to die.(K)
12 Turn back sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors
the insult with which they insulted you, Lord.(L)
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
from generation to generation
we will recount your praise.
Chapter 9
Public Confession of Sin. 1 [a](A)On the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites gathered together while fasting and wearing sackcloth, their heads covered with dust. 2 (B)Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their ancestors. 3 When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God, for a fourth of the day, and during another fourth they made their confession and bowed down before the Lord their God. 4 Standing on the platform of the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, who cried out to the Lord their God, with a loud voice. 5 (C)The Levites Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said,
“Arise, bless the Lord, your God,
from eternity to eternity!”
“And may they bless your glorious name,
which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”
6 [b]“You are the Lord, you alone;
You made the heavens,
the highest heavens and all their host,
The earth and all that is upon it,
the seas and all that is in them.
To all of them you give life,
the heavenly hosts bow down before you.
7 (D)You are the Lord God
who chose Abram,
Who brought him from Ur of the Chaldees,
who named him Abraham.
8 (E)You found his heart faithful in your sight,
you made the covenant with him
To give the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites
to him and his descendants.
You fulfilled your promises,
for you are just.
9 (F)You saw the affliction of our ancestors in Egypt,
you heard their cry by the Red Sea;
10 (G)You worked signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
against all his servants and the people of his land,
Because you knew of their insolence toward them;
thus you made for yourself a name even to this day.
11 (H)The sea you divided before them,
on dry ground they passed through the midst of the sea;
Their pursuers you hurled into the depths,
like a stone into the mighty waters.
12 (I)With a column of cloud you led them by day,
and by night with a column of fire,
To light the way of their journey,
the way in which they must travel.
13 (J)On Mount Sinai you came down,
you spoke with them from heaven;
You gave them just ordinances, true laws,
good statutes and commandments;
14 (K)Your holy sabbath you made known to them,
commandments, statutes, and law you prescribed for them,
by the hand of Moses your servant.
15 (L)Food from heaven you gave them in their hunger,
water from a rock you sent them in their thirst.
You told them to enter and occupy the land
which you had sworn to give them.
16 But they, our ancestors, proved to be insolent;
they were obdurate[c] and did not obey your commandments.
17 (M)They refused to obey and no longer remembered
the wonders you had worked for them.
They were obdurate and appointed a leader
in order to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But you are a forgiving God, gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and rich in mercy;
you did not forsake them.
18 (N)Though they made for themselves a molten calf,
and proclaimed, ‘Here is your God who brought you up from Egypt,’
and were guilty of great insults,
19 Yet in your great mercy
you did not forsake them in the desert.
By day the column of cloud did not cease to lead them on their journey,
by night the column of fire did not cease to light the way they were to travel.
20 (O)Your good spirit you bestowed on them,
to give them understanding;
Your manna you did not withhold from their mouths,
and you gave them water in their thirst.
21 (P)Forty years in the desert you sustained them:
they did not want;
Their garments did not become worn,
and their feet did not swell.
22 (Q)You gave them kingdoms and peoples,
which you divided among them as border lands.
They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon,
and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
23 (R)You made their children as numerous as the stars of the heavens,
and you brought them into the land
which you had commanded their ancestors to enter and possess.
24 The children went in to possess the land;
you humbled before them the Canaanite inhabitants
and gave them into their power,
Their kings and the peoples of the land,
to do with them as they wished.
25 (S)They captured fortified cities and fertile land;
they took possession of houses filled with all good things,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
and fruit trees in abundance.
They ate and had their fill,
fattened and feasted on your great goodness.
Chapter 18
The Fall of Babylon.[a] 1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth became illumined by his splendor.(A) 2 [b]He cried out in a mighty voice:
“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great.(B)
She has become a haunt for demons.
She is a cage for every unclean spirit,
a cage for every unclean bird,
[a cage for every unclean] and disgusting [beast].
3 For all the nations have drunk[c]
the wine of her licentious passion.
The kings of the earth had intercourse with her,
and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her drive for luxury.”(C)
4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say:
“Depart from her,[d] my people,
so as not to take part in her sins
and receive a share in her plagues,(D)
5 for her sins are piled up to the sky,
and God remembers her crimes.(E)
6 Pay her back as she has paid others.
Pay her back double for her deeds.
Into her cup pour double what she poured.(F)
7 To the measure of her boasting and wantonness
repay her in torment and grief;
for she said to herself,
‘I sit enthroned as queen;
I am no widow,
and I will never know grief.’(G)
8 Therefore, her plagues will come in one day,
pestilence, grief, and famine;
she will be consumed by fire.
For mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”
Chapter 15
The Tradition of the Elders.[a] 1 (A)Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 (B)“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?[b] They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” 3 He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God[c] for the sake of your tradition? 4 (C)For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 5 [d]But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” 6 need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
8 (D)‘This people honors me with their lips,[e]
but their hearts are far from me;
9 (E)in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’”
10 (F)He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” 12 Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” 13 He said in reply,[f] “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 (G)Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.” 15 Then Peter[g] said to him in reply, “Explain [this] parable to us.” 16 He said to them, “Are even you still without understanding? 17 Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? 18 (H)But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. 19 [h]For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. 20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
The Canaanite Woman’s Faith.[i]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.