Psalms 79; Psalms 80; Romans 11:1-18

Psalms 79

1 God, nations have come against your chosen people. They have ruined your holy Temple. They have turned Jerusalem into ruins.

2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food to the wild birds. They have given the bodies of those who worship you to the wild animals.

3 They have spilled blood like water all around Jerusalem. No one was left to bury the dead.

4 We are a joke to the other nations; they laugh and make fun of us.

5 Lord, how long will this last? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like a fire?

6 Be angry with the nations that do not know you and with the kingdoms that do not honor you.

7 They have gobbled up the people of Jacob and destroyed their land.

8 Don't punish us for our past sins. Show your mercy to us soon, because we are helpless!

9 God our Savior, help us so people will praise you. Save us and forgive our sins so people will honor you.

10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Tell the other nations in our presence that you punish those who kill your servants.

11 Hear the moans of the prisoners. Use your great power to save those sentenced to die.

12 Repay those around us seven times over for their insults to you, Lord.

13 We are your people, the sheep of your flock. We will thank you always; forever and ever we will praise you.

Psalms 80

1 Shepherd of Israel, listen to us. You lead the people of Joseph like a flock. You sit on your throne between the gold creatures with wings. Show your greatness

2 to the people of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Use your strength, and come to save us.

3 God, take us back. Show us your kindness so we can be saved.

4 Lord God All-Powerful, how long will you be angry at the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed your people with tears; you have made them drink many tears.

6 You made those around us fight over us, and our enemies make fun of us.

7 God All-Powerful, take us back. Show us your kindness so we can be saved.

8 You brought us out of Egypt as if we were a vine. You forced out other nations and planted us in the land.

9 You cleared the ground for us. Like a vine, we took root and filled the land.

10 We covered the mountains with our shade. We had limbs like the mighty cedar tree.

11 Our branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, and our shoots went to the Euphrates River.

12 So why did you pull down our walls? Now everyone who passes by steals from us.

13 Like wild pigs they walk over us; like wild animals they feed on us.

14 God All-Powerful, come back. Look down from heaven and see. Take care of us, your vine.

15 You planted this shoot with your own hands and strengthened this child.

16 Now it is cut down and burned with fire; you destroyed us by your angry looks.

17 With your hand, strengthen the one you have chosen for yourself.

18 Then we will not turn away from you. Give us life again, and we will call to you for help.

19 Lord God All-Powerful, take us back. Show us your kindness so we can be saved.

Romans 11:1-18

1 So I ask: Did God throw out his people? No! I myself am an Israelite from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born, and he has not thrown his people out. Surely you know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he prayed to God against the people of Israel.

3 "Lord," he said, "they have killed your prophets, and they have destroyed your altars. I am the only prophet left, and now they are trying to kill me, too."

4 But what answer did God give Elijah? He said, "But I have left seven thousand people in Israel who have never bowed down before Baal."

5 It is the same now. There are a few people that God has chosen by his grace.

6 And if he chose them by grace, it is not for the things they have done. If they could be made God's people by what they did, God's gift of grace would not really be a gift.

7 So this is what has happened: Although the Israelites tried to be right with God, they did not succeed, but the ones God chose did become right with him. The others were made stubborn and refused to listen to God.

8 As it is written in the Scriptures: "God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand." "He closed their eyes so they could not see and their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today."

9 And David says: "Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin; let their feasts cause them to stumble and be paid back.

10 Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see and their backs be forever weak from troubles."

11 So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who are not Jews, in order to make the Jews jealous.

12 The Jews' mistake brought rich blessings for the world, and the Jews' loss brought rich blessings for the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will receive much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.

13 Now I am speaking to you who are not Jews. I am an apostle to those who are not Jews, and since I have that work, I will make the most of it.

14 I hope I can make my own people jealous and, in that way, help some of them to be saved.

15 When God turned away from the Jews, he became friends with other people in the world. So when God accepts the Jews, surely that will bring them life after death.

16 If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, then the tree's branches are holy too.

17 It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off. You non-Jewish people are like the branch of a wild olive tree that has been joined to that first tree. You now share the strength and life of the first tree, the Jews.

18 So do not brag about those branches that were broken off. If you brag, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.