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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Version
Psalm 30

Psalm 30

Joy in the Morning

A psalm; a dedication song for the house. Davidic.

I will exalt You, Lord,
because You have lifted me up(A)
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.(B)
Lord my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.(C)
Lord, You brought me up from Sheol;(D)
You spared me from among those
going down[a] to the Pit.(E)

Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones,
and praise His holy name.(F)
For His anger lasts only a moment,
but His favor, a lifetime.
Weeping may spend the night,
but there is joy in the morning.(G)

When I was secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”(H)
Lord, when You showed Your favor,
You made me stand like a strong mountain;(I)
when You hid Your face, I was terrified.(J)
Lord, I called to You;
I sought favor from my Lord:(K)
“What gain is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your truth?(L)
10 Lord, listen and be gracious to me;
Lord, be my helper.”(M)

11 You turned my lament into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,(N)
12 so that I can sing to You and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise You forever.(O)

Psalm 32

Psalm 32

The Joy of Forgiveness

Davidic. A Maskil.

How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!(A)
How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin(B)
and in whose spirit is no deceit!(C)

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.(D)
For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;(E)
my strength was drained[a]
as in the summer’s heat.(F)Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin.(G)Selah

Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.[b](H)
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.(I)
You are my hiding place;(J)
You protect me from trouble.(K)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.Selah

I will instruct you and show you the way to go;(L)
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.(M)
Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.(N)

10 Many pains come to the wicked,(O)
but the one who trusts in the Lord
will have faithful love surrounding him.(P)
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.(Q)

Psalm 42-43

BOOK II
(Psalms 42–72)

Psalm 42

Longing for God

For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.

As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for You, God.(A)
I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?(B)
My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”(C)
I remember this as I pour out my heart:(D)
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.(E)

Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.(F)
I[a] am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.(G)
Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.(H)
The Lord will send His faithful love by day;(I)
His song will be with me in the night—
a prayer to the God of my life.

I will say to God, my rock,(J)
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”(K)
10 My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”(L)
11 Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.(M)

Psalm 43[b]

Vindicate me, God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man.(N)
For You are the God of my refuge.
Why have You rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?(O)

Send Your light and Your truth; let them lead me.(P)
Let them bring me to Your holy mountain,
to Your dwelling place.(Q)
Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.(R)
I will praise You with the lyre,
God, my God.(S)

Why am I so depressed?
Why this turmoil within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him,
my Savior and my God.(T)

Haggai 2:1-9

Encouragement and Promise

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,(A) the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people: Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you?[a](B) Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel”—this is the Lord’s declaration.(C) “Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Work! For I am with you”(D)—the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt,(E) and My Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.”

For the Lord of Hosts says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth,(F) the sea and the dry land.(G) I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,”(H) says the Lord of Hosts. “The silver and gold belong to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “The final glory of this house[b] will be greater than the first,”(I) says the Lord of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place”(J)—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

Revelation 3:1-6

The Letter to Sardis

“Write to the angel of the church in Sardis:

“The One who has the seven spirits of God(A) and the seven stars says: I know your works; you have a reputation[a] for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and strengthen[b] what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before My God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; keep it, and repent. But if you are not alert, I will come[c] like a thief, and you have no idea at what hour I will come against you.[d] But you have a few people[e] in Sardis who have not defiled[f] their clothes, and they will walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. In the same way, the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life(B) but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels.

“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

Matthew 24:1-14

Destruction of the Temple Predicted

24 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple complex,(A) His disciples(B) came up and called His attention to the temple buildings. Then He replied to them, “Don’t you see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!”

Signs of the End of the Age

While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”(C)

Then Jesus replied to them: “Watch out that no one deceives(D) you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.(E) You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines[a](F) and earthquakes in various places.(G) All these events are the beginning of birth pains.(H)

Persecutions Predicted

“Then they will hand you over for persecution,[b] and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name.(I) 10 Then many will take offense, betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets(J) will rise up and deceive many. 12 Because lawlessness(K) will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.[c] 14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world[d] as a testimony to all nations.(L) And then the end will come.(M)