Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, when he was in the Judean desert.

Psalm 98

A psalm.

Psalm 103

Of David.

² Abram was very wealthy in livestock, silver, and gold. ³ Abram traveled, making and breaking camp, from the arid southern plain to Bethel and to the sacred place there, where he had first pitched his tent between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ that is, to the place at which he had earlier built the altar. There he worshipped in the Lord’s name. ⁵ Now Lot, who traveled with Abram, also had flocks, cattle, and tents. ⁶ They had so many possessions between them that the land couldn’t support both of them. They could no longer live together. ⁷ Conflicts broke out between those herding Abram’s livestock and those herding Lot’s livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites lived in the land.

⁸ Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have disputes between me and you and between our herders since we are relatives. ⁹ Isn’t the whole land in front of you? Let’s separate. If you go north, I will go south; and if you go south, I will go north.” ¹⁰ Lot looked up and saw the entire Jordan Valley. All of it was well irrigated, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar (this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah). ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself the entire Jordan Valley. Lot set out toward the east, and they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled near the cities of the valley and pitched his tent close to Sodom. ¹³ The citizens of Sodom were very evil and sinful against the Lord.

¹⁴ After Lot separated from him, the Lord said to Abram, “From the place where you are standing, look up and gaze to the north, south, east, and west, ¹⁵ because all the land that you see I give you and your descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth. If someone could count the bits of dust on the earth, then they could also count your descendants. ¹⁷ Stand up and walk around through the length and breadth of the land because I am giving it to you.” ¹⁸ So Abram packed his tent and went and settled by the oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.

Confirmation of Paul’s leadership

2 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, and I took Titus along also. ² I went there because of a revelation, and I laid out the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles for them. But I did it privately with the influential leaders to make sure that I wouldn’t be working or that I hadn’t worked for nothing. ³ However, not even Titus, who was with me and who was a Greek, was required to be circumcised. ⁴ But false brothers and sisters, who were brought in secretly, slipped in to spy on our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus, and to make us slaves. ⁵ We didn’t give in and submit to them for a single moment, so that the truth of the gospel would continue to be with you.

⁶ The influential leaders didn’t add anything to what I was preaching—and whatever they were makes no difference to me, because God doesn’t show favoritism. ⁷ But on the contrary, they saw that I had been given the responsibility to preach the gospel to the people who aren’t circumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. ⁸ The one who empowered Peter to become an apostle to the circumcised empowered me also to be one to the Gentiles. ⁹ James, Cephas, and John, who are considered to be key leaders, shook hands with me and Barnabas as equals when they recognized the grace that was given to me. So it was agreed that we would go to the Gentiles, while they continue to go to the people who were circumcised. ¹⁰ They asked only that we would remember the poor, which was certainly something I was willing to do.

A deaf man is healed

³¹ After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities. ³² Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up.” ³⁵ At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.

³⁶ Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news. ³⁷ People were overcome with wonder, saying, “He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.”