Book of Common Prayer
God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel
A (A)Contemplation[a] of Asaph.
78 Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a (B)parable;
I will utter [b]dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4 (C)We will not hide them from their children,
(D)Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For (E)He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That (F)they should make them known to their children;
6 (G)That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8 And (H)may not be like their fathers,
(I)A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation (J)that did not [c]set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and [d]carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 (K)They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And (L)forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
12 (M)Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, (N)in the field of Zoan.
13 (O)He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And (P)He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 (Q)In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 (R)He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought (S)streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they sinned even more against Him
By (T)rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And (U)they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 (V)Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 (W)Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard this and (X)was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they (Y)did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
(Z)And opened the doors of heaven,
24 (AA)Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the [e]bread of (AB)heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to [f]the full.
26 (AC)He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 (AD)So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not [g]deprived of their craving;
But (AE)while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this (AF)they still sinned,
And (AG)did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 (AH)Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 (AI)When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that (AJ)God was their rock,
And the Most High God (AK)their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they (AL)flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 (AM)But He, being full of (AN)compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time (AO)He turned His anger away,
And (AP)did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For (AQ)He remembered (AR)that they were but flesh,
(AS)A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they (AT)provoked[h] Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, (AU)again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His [i]power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 (AV)Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 (AW)He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And (AX)frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the (AY)locust.
47 (AZ)He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their (BA)cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery [j]lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave [k]their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the (BB)firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But He (BC)made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He (BD)led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea (BE)overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His (BF)holy border,
This mountain (BG)which His right hand had acquired.
55 (BH)He also drove out the nations before them,
(BI)Allotted them an inheritance by [l]survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 (BJ)Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But (BK)turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside (BL)like a deceitful bow.
58 (BM)For they provoked Him to anger with their (BN)high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 (BO)So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 (BP)And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 (BQ)He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And (BR)their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 (BS)Their priests fell by the sword,
And (BT)their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
(BU)Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And (BV)He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion (BW)which He loved.
69 And He built His (BX)sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 (BY)He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following (BZ)the ewes that had young He brought him,
(CA)To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (CB)integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
15 (A)Alas for the day!
For (B)the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not the food (C)cut off before our eyes,
(D)Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
18 How (E)the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep [a]suffer punishment.
19 O Lord, (F)to You I cry out;
For (G)fire has devoured the [b]open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 The beasts of the field also (H)cry out to You,
For (I)the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the [c]open pastures.
The Day of the Lord
2 Blow (J)the [d]trumpet in Zion,
And (K)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For (L)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 (M)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
(N)A people come, great and strong,
(O)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like (P)the Garden of Eden before them,
(Q)And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4 (R)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like [e]swift steeds, so they run.
5 (S)With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
(T)All faces [f]are drained of color.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break (U)ranks.
8 They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own [g]column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not [h]cut down.
9 They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They (V)enter at the windows (W)like a thief.
10 (X)The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
(Y)The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
11 (Z)The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
(AA)For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the (AB)day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
(AC)Who can endure it?
Heaven Exults over Babylon
19 After these things (A)I [a]heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! (B)Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to [b]the Lord our God! 2 For (C)true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He (D)has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” 3 Again they said, “Alleluia! (E)Her smoke rises up forever and ever!” 4 And (F)the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, (G)“Amen! Alleluia!” 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, (H)“Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, (I)both[c] small and great!”
6 (J)And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For (K)the[d] Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for (L)the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And (M)to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, (N)for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: (O)‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, (P)“These are the true sayings of God.” 10 And (Q)I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, (R)“See that you do not do that! I am your (S)fellow servant, and of your brethren (T)who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the (U)testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Leaving All to Follow Christ(A)
25 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 (B)“If anyone comes to Me (C)and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, (D)yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And (E)whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For (F)which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you (G)does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Tasteless Salt Is Worthless(H)
34 (I)“Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the [a]dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.