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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 16-17

Jehovah the psalmist’s portion in life and deliverer in death.

Michtam of David.

16 Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I take refuge.
O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art [a]my Lord:
I have no good beyond thee.
[b]As for the saints that are in the earth,
[c]They are the excellent in whom is all my delight.
Their sorrows shall be multiplied that give gifts for another god:
Their drink-offerings of blood will I not offer,
Nor take their names upon my lips.
Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:
Thou maintainest my lot.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;
Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
I will bless Jehovah, who hath given me counsel;
Yea, my [d]heart instructeth me in the night seasons.
I have set Jehovah always before me:
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth:
My flesh also shall dwell [e]in safety.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol;
Neither wilt thou suffer thy [f]holy one to see [g]corruption.
11 Thou wilt show me the path of life:
In thy presence is fulness of joy;
In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Prayer for protection against oppressors.

A Prayer of David.

17 Hear the right, O Jehovah, attend unto my cry;
Give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
Let my sentence come forth from thy presence;
[h]Let thine eyes look upon equity.
Thou hast proved my heart; thou hast visited me in the night;
Thou hast tried me, and [i]findest nothing;
I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips
I have kept me from the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to thy paths,
My feet have not slipped.
I have called upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God:
Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest [j]by thy right hand them that take refuge in thee
From those that rise up against them.
Keep me as the apple of the eye;
Hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
From the wicked that oppress me,
My deadly enemies, that compass me about.
10 [k]They are inclosed in their own fat:
With their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now compassed us in our steps;
They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.
12 He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
And as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O Jehovah,
[l]Confront him, cast him down:
Deliver my soul from [m]the wicked by thy sword;
14 From [n]men by thy hand, O Jehovah,
From men [o]of the world, whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly thou fillest with thy treasure:
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15 As for me, [p]I shall behold thy face in righteousness;
[q]I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding thy form.

Psalm 22

A cry of anguish, and a song of praise.

For the Chief Musician; set to [a]Aijeleth hash-Shahar. A Psalm of David.

22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
[b]Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou answerest not;
And in the night season, [c]and am not silent.
But thou art holy,
O thou that [d]inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in thee:
They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
They trusted in thee, and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised of the people.
All they that see me laugh me to scorn:
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
[e]Commit thyself unto Jehovah; let him deliver him:
Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him.
But thou art he that took me out of the womb;
Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb;
Thou art my God since my mother bare me.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gape upon me with their mouth,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint:
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me:
A company of evil-doers have inclosed me;
[f]They pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may count all my bones.
They look and stare upon me;
18 They part my garments among them,
And upon my vesture do they cast lots.
19 But be not thou far off, O Jehovah:
O thou my succor, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
My [g]darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth;
Yea, from the horns of the wild-oxen thou hast answered me.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
In the midst of the assembly will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear Jehovah, praise him;
All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him;
And stand in awe of him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Neither hath he hid his face from him;
But when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 Of thee cometh my praise in the great assembly:
I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied;
They shall praise Jehovah that seek after him:
Let your heart live for ever.
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah;
And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is Jehovah’s;
And he is the ruler over the nations.
29 All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship:
All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him,
Even he that cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A seed shall serve him;
It shall be [h]told of the Lord unto the next generation.
31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness
Unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done it.

1 Kings 5:1-6

And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put them under the soles of his feet. But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence. And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name. Now therefore command thou that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.

And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of [a]fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt [b]receive them; and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10 So [c]Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire. 11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [d]measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of [e]pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12 And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.

13 And king Solomon raised a [f]levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the men subject to taskwork. 15 And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains; 16 besides Solomon’s chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. 17 And the king commanded, and they [g]hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone. 18 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he [h]began to build the house of Jehovah.

1 Kings 6:7

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready [a]at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

Acts 28:1-16

28 And when we were escaped, then we knew that the island was called [a]Melita. And the barbarians showed us no common kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us all, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out [b]by reason of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous creature hanging from his hand, they said one to another, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice hath not suffered to live. Howbeit he shook off the creature into the fire, and took no harm. But they expected that he would have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but when they were long in expectation and beheld nothing amiss came to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius; who received us, and entertained us three days courteously. And it was so, that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery: unto whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands on him healed him. And when this was done, the rest also that had diseases in the island came, and were cured: 10 who also honored us with many honors; and when we sailed, they put on board such things as we needed.

11 And after three months we set sail in a ship of Alexandria which had wintered in the island, whose sign was [c]The Twin Brothers. 12 And touching at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. 13 And from thence we [d]made a circuit, and arrived at Rhegium: and after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli; 14 where we found brethren, and were entreated to tarry with them seven days: and so we came to Rome. 15 And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

16 And when we entered into Rome, [e]Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him.

Mark 14:27-42

27 And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be [a]offended: for it is written, [b]I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered abroad. 28 Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee. 29 But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be [c]offended, yet will not I. 30 And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that thou to-day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny me thrice. 31 But he spake exceeding vehemently, If I must die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner also said they all.

32 And they come unto [d]a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here, while I pray. 33 And he taketh with him Peter and [e]James and John, and began to be greatly amazed, and sore troubled. 34 And he saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death: abide ye here, and watch. 35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass away from him. 36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt. 37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest thou not watch one hour? 38 [f]Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 39 And again he went away, and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came, and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they knew not what to answer him. 41 And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, [g]Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough; the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is [h]betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Arise, let us be going: behold, he that [i]betrayeth me is at hand.