Psalms 79–80; Romans 11:1–18

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Psalms 79–80

How Long, O Lord?

A Psalm of yAsaph.

O God, zthe nations have come into your ainheritance;

they have defiled your bholy temple;

they have claid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given dthe bodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your efaithful to fthe beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was gno one to bury them.

We have become ha taunt to our neighbors,

hmocked and derided by those around us.

iHow long, O Lord? Will you be angry jforever?

Will your kjealousy lburn like fire?

mPour out your anger on the nations

that ndo not know you,

and on the kingdoms

that odo not call upon your name!

For they have devoured Jacob

and laid waste his habitation.

pDo not remember against us qour former iniquities;1

let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

for we are rbrought very low.

sHelp us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and tatone for our sins,

for your uname’s sake!

10  vWhy should the nations say,

Where is their God?

Let wthe avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

be known among the nations before our eyes!

11  Let xthe groans of the prisoners come before you;

according to your great power, preserve those ydoomed to die!

12  Return zsevenfold into the alap of our neighbors

the btaunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

13  But we your people, the csheep of your pasture,

will dgive thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Restore Us, O God

To the choirmaster: according to eLilies. A Testimony. Of fAsaph, a Psalm.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead gJoseph like ha flock.

You who are ienthroned upon the cherubim, jshine forth.

Before kEphraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

lstir up your might

and mcome to save us!

nRestore us,2 O God;

olet your face shine, that we may be saved!

O pLord God of hosts,

qhow long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

You have fed them with rthe bread of tears

and given them tears to drink in full measure.

sYou make us an object of contention for our sneighbors,

and our enemies laugh among themselves.

nRestore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!

You brought ta vine out of Egypt;

you udrove out the nations and planted it.

You vcleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

10  The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches.

11  It sent out its branches to wthe sea

and its shoots to wthe River.3

12  Why then have you xbroken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

13  yThe boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.

14  Turn again, O God of hosts!

zLook down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

15  the stock that your right hand planted,

and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.

16  They have aburned it with fire; they have acut it down;

may they perish at bthe rebuke of your face!

17  But clet your hand be on the man of your right hand,

the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!

18  Then we shall not turn back from you;

dgive us life, and we will call upon your name!

19  eRestore us, O Lord God of hosts!

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!


Romans 11:1–18

The Remnant of Israel

I ask, then, hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For iI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,1 a member of the tribe of Benjamin. jGod has not rejected his people whom he kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? lLord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life. But what is God’s reply to him? mI have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So too at the present time there is na remnant, chosen by grace. oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

What then? pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest qwere hardened, as it is written,

rGod gave them a spirit of stupor,

seyes that would not see

and ears that would not hear,

down to this very day.

And David says,

tLet their table become a snare and a trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

10  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and bend their backs forever.

Gentiles Grafted In

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass usalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion2 mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and wthus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root3 of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.