Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 63^[a]

Ardent Longing for God

¹ A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.^(A)

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II

III

Psalm 98^[a]

The Coming of God

¹ A psalm.

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III

Psalm 103^[a]

Praise of Divine Goodness

¹ Of David.

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IV

^2 [a]Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold.^{(A) 3} From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, ⁴ the site where he had first built the altar; and there Abram invoked the Lord by name.^(B)

⁵ Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, ⁶ so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not live together. ⁷ There were quarrels between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred. ⁹ Is not the whole land available? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot looked about and saw how abundantly watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord’s own garden, or like Egypt. This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. ¹¹ Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. ¹³ Now the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.^(C)

¹⁴ After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west;^{(D) 15} all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever.^{(E) 16} I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted.^{(F) 17} Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. ¹⁸ Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.^(G)

Chapter 2

The Council of Jerusalem.^{[a] 1} Then after fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas,^[b] taking Titus along also.^{(A) 2} I went up in accord with a revelation,^[c] and I presented to them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles—but privately to those of repute—so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.^{(B) 3} Moreover, not even^[d] Titus, who was with me, although he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised,^{(C) 4} but because of the false brothers^[e] secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus,^(D) that they might enslave us— ⁵ to them we did not submit even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel^[f] might remain intact for you.^{(E) 6} But from those who were reputed to be important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those of repute made me add nothing.^{(F) 7 [g]}On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised,^{(G) 8} for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, ⁹ and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John,^[h] who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.^{(H) 10} Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,^[i] which is the very thing I was eager to do.^(I)

Peter’s Inconsistency at Antioch.^[j]

The Healing of a Deaf Man. ^31 (A)Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. ³² And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³ He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; ³⁴ then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) ³⁵ And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. ^36 [a]He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. ³⁷ They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”^(B)