Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78[a]
God’s Goodness in the Face of Ingratitude
1 A maskil[b] of Asaph.
[c]Give ear, my people, to my teaching;
pay attention to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables[d]
and expound the mysteries of the past.
3 [e]These things we have heard and know,
for our ancestors have related them to us.
4 We will not conceal them from our children;
we will relate them to the next generation,
the glorious and powerful deeds of the Lord
and the wonders he has performed.
5 He instituted a decree in Jacob
and established a law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to make known to their descendants,
6 so that they would be known to future generations,
to children yet to be born.
In turn they were to tell their children,
7 so that they would place their trust in God,
and never forget his works
but keep his commandments.
8 Nor were they to imitate their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart[f] was not steadfast
and whose spirit was unfaithful to God.
9 [g]The Ephraimites, who were skilled archers,
fled in terror on the day of battle.[h]
10 They failed to keep God’s covenant
and refused to live in accord with his law.
11 They forgot the works he had done,
the wonders he had performed for them.
12 He worked marvels in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the Plain of Zoan.[i]
13 He divided the sea so that they could pass,
heaping up the waters as a mound.
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire by night.
15 He split open rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water to drink from limitless depths.
16 He brought forth streams from a rocky crag
and caused water to flow down in torrents.
17 [j]But they still sinned[k] against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 They tested God’s patience
by demanding the food they craved.[l]
19 They railed against God, saying:
“Can God provide a banquet in the wilderness?
20 Certainly when he struck the rock,
water gushed forth and the streams overflowed.
But can he also give us bread
or provide meat for his people?”[m]
21 When the Lord heard this, he was filled with anger;
his fire blazed forth against Jacob,
and his wrath mounted against Israel,
22 because they had no faith in God
and put no trust in his saving might.
23 Yet he issued a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat,
giving them the grain of heaven.
25 Mere mortals ate the bread of angels;[n]
he sent them an abundance of provisions.
26 He made the east wind blow in the heavens
and brought forth the south wind in force.
27 He rained down meat upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sands on the seashore.
28 He let them fall within the camp,
all around their tents.
29 They ate and were completely satisfied,
for he had given them what they desired.
30 But when they did not curb their cravings,
even while the food was in their mouths,
31 the anger of God blazed up against them;
he slew their strongest warriors
and laid low the chosen of Israel.
32 [o]Despite this, they continued to sin;
they put no faith in his wonders.
33 So he brought their days to an abrupt end
and cut off their years with sudden terror.[p]
34 When death afflicted them,
they sought him;
they searched eagerly for God.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,[q]
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36 However, while they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
37 their hearts[r] were not right with him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
38 Even so, he was compassionate toward them;
he forgave their guilt
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he held back his anger,
unwilling to stir up his rage.
39 For he remembered that they were flesh,
like a breath of wind that does not return.
40 [s]How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and pained him in the wasteland.
41 Again and again they tested God’s patience,
provoking the Holy One of Israel.[t]
42 They did not keep in mind his power
or the day when he delivered them from their oppressor,
43 when he manifested his wonders in Egypt
and his portents in the Plain of Zoan.
44 [u]He turned their rivers into blood;
they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies that devoured them
and frogs that devastated them.
46 He assigned their harvest to the caterpillars
and their produce to the locusts.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He exposed their cattle to hailstones
and their flocks to bolts of lightning.
49 He sent upon them his blazing anger,
wrath, fury, and hostility,
a band of destroying angels.[v]
50 He gave his anger free rein;
he did not spare them from death
but delivered their lives to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their manhood in the tents of Ham.[w]
52 Then he led forth his people like sheep
and guided them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 He led them in safety, and they were not afraid,
while the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 He brought them to his holy land,
to the mountain his right hand had purchased.
55 He drove out the nations before them,
apportioning a heritage for each of them
and settling the tribes of Israel in their tents.[x]
56 [y]Even so, they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High,
refusing to observe his decrees.
57 They turned away and were disloyal like their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58 They angered him with their high places[z]
and made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God saw this, he became enraged
and rejected Israel totally.[aa]
60 He forsook his dwelling in Shiloh,[ab]
the tent where he dwelt among mortals.
61 He surrendered his might into captivity
and his glory[ac] into the hands of the enemy.
62 He abandoned his people to the sword
and vented his wrath on his own heritage.
63 Fire devoured their young men,
and their maidens had no wedding song.
64 Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows sang no lamentation.
65 [ad]Then the Lord awakened as from sleep,
like a warrior flushed from the effects of wine.
66 He struck his enemies and routed them,
inflicting perpetual shame on them.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Rather, he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion,[ae] which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
and like the earth[af] that he founded forever.
70 He chose David[ag] to be his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 From tending sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his heritage.
72 He shepherded them with an unblemished heart
and guided them with a knowing hand.[ah]
18 King David’s Prayer. Then King David went in and, sitting in the presence of the Lord, he said:
“Who am I, Lord God, and what is my lineage, that you have brought me this far? 19 Yet you regarded this as too insignificant an honor, Lord God, for you have also deigned to extend your protective care to the house of your servant for a long time to come. Who can truly consider himself sufficiently worthy to be the recipient of such love, Lord God?
20 “What more can David say to you, Lord God, since you know everything about your servant? 21 For the sake of your promise and in accordance with the purpose you have in mind, you have decided to reveal all this to your servant.
22 “How great you are, Lord God! There is no one like you, and there is no God except you alone, as everything that we have heard confirms. 23 And what other nation on earth can be compared to your people Israel, whom you sent forth to redeem for yourself from Egypt by awe-inspiring deeds as you drove out other nations and their gods. 24 You have established your people Israel as your own forever, and you, Lord, became their God.
25 “And now, Lord God, in regard to the promise that you have made concerning your servant and his house, do what you have promised, 26 so that your name will be exalted forever, and people will say: ‘the Lord of hosts is the God of Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you, 27 since you, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, made this revelation to your servant: ‘I shall build a house for you.’ Therefore, your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to you.
28 “And now, Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. You have made this generous promise to your servant.[a] 29 Therefore, bless the house of your servant, so that it may remain ever before you. For you, Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”
12 Accusations before Gallio. However, when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the Law.”
14 Just as Paul was about to refute them, Gallio said to the Jews, “If you were accusing this man of some crime or fraudulent act, O Jews, I would be more than willing to listen to your complaint. 15 But since your argument is about words and names and your own Law, settle it yourselves. I have no intention of making judgments about such matters.” 16 With that, he dismissed them from the tribunal. 17 Then they all attacked Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio remained unconcerned about their action.
18 Return to Antioch in Pisidia.[a] After he remained in Corinth for some considerable time, Paul took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae, he had his hair cut because he had taken a vow.
19 When they reached Ephesus,[b] he left them there. He himself went into the synagogue and had discussions with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, 21 but on taking leave of them he promised, “I will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the Church,[c] and then he went down to Antioch.
Ephesus[d]
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey[e]
23 Paul Strengthens the Churches. After spending some time there, he departed and traveled through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
24 Apollos.[f] Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria and an eloquent speaker, came to Ephesus. He was well-versed in the Scriptures, 25 and he had been instructed in the Way of the Lord. Filled with spiritual fervor, he spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, although he had experienced only the baptism of John.
26 He then began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him more accurately the Way. 27 And when he expressed a wish to cross over to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there, asking that they make him welcome. From the time of his arrival, he was of great help to those who by the grace of God had become believers. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
22 Jesus Heals a Blind Man.[a] They arrived at Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged that he touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then, putting saliva on his eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything?” 24 Looking up, the man responded, “I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.” 25 Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and the man looked around intently. His sight was restored, and he was able to see everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him away to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”
27 Peter’s Confession That Jesus Is the Messiah.[b] Then Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 They responded, “[Some say] John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But you,” he asked, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 Then he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.
The Mystery of Jesus Is Revealed[c]
The Way of the Son of Man[d]
31 Jesus Predicts His Passion.[e] After that, he began to teach them that the Son of Man must endure great suffering, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,[f] and be put to death, and rise again after three days. 32 He told them these facts in plain words.
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 At this, Jesus turned and, looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as men do.”
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