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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 105

Psalm 105

God’s Faithfulness to His People

Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name;
proclaim His deeds among the peoples.(A)
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell about all His wonderful works!(B)
Honor His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.(C)
Search for the Lord and for His strength;
seek His face always.(D)
Remember the wonderful works He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments He has pronounced,[a](E)
you offspring of Abraham His servant,
Jacob’s descendants—His chosen ones.(F)

He is the Lord our God;
His judgments govern the whole earth.(G)
He remembers His covenant forever,
the promise He ordained
for a thousand generations(H)
the covenant He made with Abraham,
swore[b] to Isaac,(I)
10 and confirmed to Jacob as a decree
and to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(J)
11 “I will give the land of Canaan to you
as your inherited portion.”(K)

12 When they were few in number,
very few indeed,
and temporary residents in Canaan,(L)
13 wandering from nation to nation
and from one kingdom to another,(M)
14 He allowed no one to oppress them;
He rebuked kings on their behalf:(N)
15 “Do not touch My anointed ones,(O)
or harm My prophets.”(P)

16 He called down famine against the land
and destroyed the entire food supply.(Q)
17 He had sent a man ahead of them—
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.(R)
18 They hurt his feet with shackles;
his neck was put in an iron collar.(S)
19 Until the time his prediction came true,
the word of the Lord tested him.(T)
20 The king sent for him and released him;
the ruler of peoples set him free.(U)
21 He made him master of his household,
ruler over all his possessions(V)
22 binding[c] his officials at will
and instructing his elders.(W)

23 Then Israel went to Egypt;
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.[d](X)
24 The Lord[e] made His people very fruitful;
He made them more numerous than their foes,(Y)
25 whose hearts He turned to hate His people
and to deal deceptively with His servants.(Z)
26 He sent Moses His servant,
and Aaron, whom He had chosen.(AA)
27 They performed His miraculous signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.[f](AB)
28 He sent darkness, and it became dark—
for did they not defy[g] His commands?(AC)
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.(AD)
30 Their land was overrun with frogs,
even in their royal chambers.(AE)
31 He spoke, and insects came(AF)
gnats throughout their country.(AG)
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning throughout their land.(AH)
33 He struck their vines and fig trees
and shattered the trees of their territory.(AI)
34 He spoke, and locusts came—
young locusts without number.
35 They devoured all the vegetation in their land
and consumed the produce of their land.(AJ)
36 He struck all the firstborn in their land,
all their first progeny.(AK)

37 Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among His tribes stumbled.(AL)
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
for the dread of Israel[h] had fallen on them.(AM)
39 He spread a cloud as a covering
and gave a fire to light up the night.(AN)
40 They asked, and He brought quail
and satisfied them with bread from heaven.(AO)
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed like a stream in the desert.(AP)
42 For He remembered His holy promise
to Abraham His servant.(AQ)
43 He brought His people out with rejoicing,
His chosen ones with shouts of joy.(AR)
44 He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they inherited
what other peoples had worked for.(AS)

45 All this happened
so that they might keep His statutes
and obey His instructions.(AT)
Hallelujah!

2 Kings 18:28-37

28 The Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew.[a] Then he spoke: “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria. 29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah deceive(A) you; he can’t deliver you from my hand.(B) 30 Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’(C)

31 “Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace[b] with me and surrender to me. Then every one of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree,(D) and every one may drink water from his own cistern 32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey(E)—so that you may live(F) and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us. 33 Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered(G) his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?[c] Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?(H) 35 Who among all the gods of the lands has delivered his land from my power? So will the Lord deliver Jerusalem?’”(I)

36 But the people kept silent; they didn’t say anything, for the king’s command was, “Don’t answer him.” 37 Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the court secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the court historian,(J) came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn(K) and reported to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

1 Corinthians 9:1-15

Paul’s Example as an Apostle

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the seal(A) of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?(B) Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a Christian wife[a] like the other apostles,(C) the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?(D) Or do Barnabas(E) and I alone have no right to refrain from working? Who ever goes to war at his own expense?(F) Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock? Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing? For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox(G) while it treads out grain.(H)[b] Is God really concerned with oxen? 10 Or isn’t He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us,(I) because he who plows ought to plow in hope,(J) and he who threshes should do so in hope of sharing the crop.(K) 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more?

However, we have not made use of this right; instead we endure everything(L) so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar(M) share in the offerings of the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.(N)

15 But I have used none of these rights, and I have not written this to make it happen that way for me. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

Matthew 7:22-29

22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons(A) in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’(B) 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers![a](C)[b]

The Two Foundations

24 “Therefore,(D) everyone who hears these words(E) of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”

28 When Jesus had finished this sermon,[c](F) the crowds were astonished at His teaching,(G) 29 because He was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.