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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
American Standard Version (ASV)
Version
Psalm 75-76

God abases the proud, but exalts the righteous.

For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

75 We give thanks unto thee, O God;
We give thanks, [a]for thy name is near:
Men tell of thy wondrous works.
When I shall [b]find the set time, I will judge uprightly.
[c]The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
I have [d]set up the pillars of it. Selah
I said unto the [e]arrogant, Deal not arrogantly;
And to the wicked, Lift not up the horn:
Lift not up your horn on high;
Speak not [f]with a stiff neck.
For neither from the east, nor from the west,
Nor yet [g]from the [h]south, cometh lifting up.
But God is the judge:
He putteth down one, and lifteth up another.
For in the hand of Jehovah there is a cup, and the wine [i]foameth;
It is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same:
Surely the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall drain them, and drink them.
But I will declare for ever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off;
But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

The victorious power of the God of Jacob.

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.

76 In Judah is God known:
His name is great in Israel.
In Salem also is his [j]tabernacle,
And his [k]dwelling-place in Zion.
There he brake the [l]arrows of the bow;
The shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah
Glorious art thou and excellent,
[m]From the mountains of prey.
The stouthearted are made a spoil,
They have slept their sleep;
And none of the men of might have found their hands.
At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
Thou, even thou, art to be feared;
And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared, and was still,
When God arose to judgment,
To save all the meek of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
The residue of wrath shalt thou [n]gird upon thee.
11 Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God:
Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
12 He will cut off the spirit of princes:
He is terrible to the kings of the earth.

Psalm 23

Jehovah the psalmist’s shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside [a]still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of [b]the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou hast anointed my head with oil;
My cup runneth over.
[c]Surely goodness and lovingkindness shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah [d]for ever.

Psalm 27

A psalm of fearless trust in God.

A Psalm of David.

27 Jehovah is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
Jehovah is the [a]strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil-doers came upon me to eat up my flesh,
Even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.
Though a host should encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear:
Though war should rise against me,
[b]Even then will I be confident.
One thing have I asked of Jehovah, that will I seek after:
That I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life,
To behold [c]the beauty of Jehovah,
And to [d]inquire in his temple.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion:
In the covert of his [e]tabernacle will he hide me;
He will lift me up upon a rock.
And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me;
And I will offer in his [f]tabernacle sacrifices of [g]joy;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto Jehovah.

Hear, O Jehovah, when I cry with my voice:
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,
Thy face, Jehovah, will I seek.
Hide not thy face from me;
Put not thy servant away in anger:
Thou hast been my help;
Cast me not off, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 [h]When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then Jehovah will take me up.
11 Teach me thy way, O Jehovah;
And lead me in a plain path,
Because of [i]mine enemies.
12 Deliver me not over unto the will of mine adversaries:
For false witnesses are risen up against me,
And such as breathe out cruelty.
13 I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of Jehovah
In the land of the living.
14 Wait for Jehovah:
Be strong, and let thy heart take courage;
Yea, wait thou for Jehovah.

2 Kings 2:1-18

And it came to pass, when Jehovah would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, [a]when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let [b]a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared [c]a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the [d]chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!

And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. 13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, [e]the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. 18 And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

1 Corinthians 4:1-7

Let a man so account of us, as of ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be [a]judged of you, or of man’s [b]judgment: yea, I [c]judge not mine own self. For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that [d]judgeth me is the Lord. Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God.

Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other. For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?

Matthew 5:17-20

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.