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.
11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 (A)lest—when you have eaten and are [a]full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are [b]multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 (B)when your heart [c]is lifted up, and you (C)forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 who (D)led you through that great and terrible wilderness, (E)in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; (F)who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with (G)manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, (H)to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, (I)for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, (J)that He may [d]establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, (K)I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, (L)so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 (A)Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, (B)with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 (C)Of His own will He brought us forth by the (D)word of truth, (E)that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19 [a]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, (F)slow to speak, (G)slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Doers—Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore (H)lay aside all filthiness and [b]overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, (I)which is able to save your souls.
22 But (J)be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For (K)if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But (L)he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, (M)this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone [c]among you thinks he is religious, and (N)does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 (O)Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: (P)to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, (Q)and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
The Model Prayer(A)
11 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
(B)Our[a] Father [b]in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
[c]Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And (C)forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
[d]But deliver us from the evil one.”
A Friend Comes at Midnight
5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? 8 I say to you, (D)though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking(E)
9 (F)“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; (G)seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 (H)If a son asks for [e]bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give (I)good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.