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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
Version
Psalm 20-21

Psalm 20

A Prayer for Victory for the King

Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.

The People’s Prayer

May the Lord answer you in the day of distress.
May the name of the God of Jacob lift you up.
May he send you help from the holy place.
May he support you from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrificial gifts. Interlude
May he accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you whatever your heart desires.
May he fulfill all your plans.
We will shout joyfully when God saves you.
In the name of our God we will lift up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your prayers.

The King’s Response

Now I know that the Lord saves his Anointed.[a]
He answers him from his holy heavens
    with powerful acts of salvation from his right hand.

The People’s Prayer

Some rely on chariots, and some on horses,
but we rely on the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
Lord, save the king! Answer us in the day we call!

Psalm 21

Thanksgiving for Victory

Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.

The People Thank the Lord for Victory

O Lord, the king rejoices in your strength.
He joyfully celebrates salvation from you.
You have granted him what his heart desired. Interlude
You have not denied the request from his lips.
Yes, you meet him to give him great blessings.
You place a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, forever and ever.
He receives great glory through the salvation you gave.
You bestow splendor and majesty on him.
Surely you grant him blessings forever.
You make him glad with joy in your presence.
Surely the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High he will not be shaken.

The People Assure the King of Future Victory

Your hand will reach all your enemies.
Your right hand will reach those who hate you.
At the time when you appear, O Lord,
you will make them like a blazing furnace.
In his anger he will swallow them.
Fire will consume them.
10 You will cause their fruit to perish from the earth,
their seed[b] from among the children of Adam.
11 Indeed, they intend[c] evil against you.
They plan wicked schemes,
but they will not succeed,
12     because you will make them turn and run
    when you get ready to aim your arrows at them.

The People Praise the Lord

13 Rise up, O Lord, in your strength.
We will sing and make music because of your might.

Psalm 110

Psalm 110

The Lord’s Decree to My Lord

Heading
By David. A psalm.

The First Decree of the Lord

The decree of the Lord to my lord:[a]
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies
    a footstool under your feet.”

Description of King Messiah’s Rule

The Lord will stretch out your strong scepter from Zion.
Rule in the midst of your enemies.
Your people will be willing on the day of your power.
In majesty of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.[b]

The Second Decree of the Lord

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the manner of Melchizedek.”

Description of King Messiah’s Rule

The Lord is at your right hand.
He will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations.
He will fill valleys with corpses.[c]
He will crush heads over the wide world.[d]
He will drink from a stream beside the way;
therefore, he will lift up his head.

Psalm 116-117

Psalm 116

Deliverance From Death

Overview

I love the Lord, because he hears my voice.
He hears my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call to him all my days.
The ropes of death entangled me.
The walls of the grave hemmed me in.[a]
I found distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Ah, Lord, please save my life!”
The Lord is gracious and righteous,
and our God is compassionate.
The Lord protects the inexperienced.[b]
In my weakness he saves me too.

Past Deliverance

Return, my soul, to your rest,
for the Lord has accomplished his purpose for you.
Indeed, you have delivered my soul from death,
my eye from weeping, my foot from stumbling,
so that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I believed. Therefore, I have spoken:
“I am greatly afflicted.”
11 In my haste I said:
“All people are deceptive.”

Future Devotion

12 How can I repay the Lord for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation,
and I will call on[c] the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord,
now in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his favored ones.
16 Ah, Lord, truly I am your servant.
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You opened my chains.
17 To you I will sacrifice a thank offering,
and I will call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
    here in the presence of all his people,
19     in the courtyards of the house of the Lord,
    in the middle of Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Worship him, every race of people.[d]
For his mercy overwhelms us,
and the faithfulness[e] of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.

2 Kings 25:8-12

Jerusalem Destroyed and the People Deported

In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard,[a] an officer of the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem. He burned the Lord’s house and the king’s palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. He burned down every large building. 10 The whole Chaldean army, which was under the captain of the guard, tore down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, exiled the rest of the people who remained in the city along with those who had previously surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the crowds.[b] 12 But the captain of the guard left the poorest people of the land to tend the vineyards and farms.

2 Kings 25:22-26

The People Left in the Land

22 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over the people who remained in the land, because he had left some people behind. 23 All the commanders of the army and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, so they went to Gedaliah at Mizpah. They were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seriah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Ja’azaniah son of the Ma’akathite, and their men.

24 Then Gedaliah swore an oath to them and to their men and said, “Don’t be afraid of the officials of the Chaldeans. Return to the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”

25 But in the seventh month Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal descent, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and killed him along with the men of Judah and the Chaldeans who were with him in Mizpah. 26 Then all the people from the least to the greatest and the commanders of the army set out and went to Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

1 Corinthians 15:12-29

12 Now if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is pointless, and your faith is pointless too. 15 Then we are even guilty of giving false testimony about God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if it were true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then it also follows that those who fell asleep in Christ perished. 19 If our hope in Christ applies only to this life, we are the most pitiful people of all.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came by a man, the resurrection of the dead also is going to come by a man. 22 For as in Adam they all die, so also in Christ they all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ as the firstfruits and then Christ’s people, at his coming. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has done away with every other ruler and every other authority and power. 25 For he must reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”[a] 26 Death is the last enemy to be done away with. 27 Certainly, “he has put all things in subjection under his feet.”[b] Now when it says that all things have been put in subjection, obviously that does not include the one who subjected all things to him. 28 But when all things have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected[c] to the one who subjected all things to him, in order that God may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, what will those people do who get baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why do they even get baptized for them?

Matthew 11:7-15

As these two were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the crowds about John. “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? No, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you! And he is much more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’[a] 11 Amen I tell you: Among those born of women there has not appeared anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been advancing forcefully[b] and forceful people are seizing it. 13 In fact, all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 If you are willing to receive it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears to hear,[c] let him hear.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.