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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Modern English Version (MEV)
Version
Psalm 16-17

Psalm 16

A Miktam of David.

Preserve me, O God,
    for in You I take refuge.

I have said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    my welfare has no existence outside of You.”
For the holy ones who are in the land,
    they are the majestic ones; in them is all my delight.
Those who chase after other gods,
    their sorrows will be multiplied;
their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
    nor lift their names on my lips.

The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup;
    You support my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    yes, an inheritance is beautiful for me.
I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
    my affections also instruct me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
    because He is at my right hand,
    I will not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
    my flesh also will rest in security.
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
    nor will You suffer Your godly one to see corruption.
11 You will make known to me the path of life;
    in Your presence is fullness of joy;
    at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.

Hear a just cause, O Lord,
    attend to my cry;
give ear to my prayer
    that is not spoken from deceitful lips.
May my sentence go out from Your presence;
    may Your eyes see rightly.

You have examined my heart; You have visited me in the night;
    You have tried me and found nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
Concerning the works of men,
    by the word of Your lips
I have avoided
    the paths of the violent,
placing my steps in Your paths,
    that my footsteps do not slip.

I called on You, for You will answer me, O God;
    incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech.
Show marvelously Your lovingkindness,
    O Deliverer of those who seek refuge
    by Your right hand from those who arise in opposition.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
    hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
from the wicked who bring ruin to me,
    from my deadly enemies who surround me.

10 They close their hard hearts;
    with their mouth they speak proudly.
11 They have now encircled us in our steps;
    they have set their eyes to bend down to the earth;
12 it is like a lion that is anxious to rip its prey,
    and as a young lion lurking in secrecy.

13 Arise, O Lord! Confront him, cast him down!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword,
14 from men by Your hand, O Lord,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their belly with Your treasure;
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
    I will be satisfied when I awake with Your likeness.

Psalm 22

Psalm 22

For the Music Director. To the melody of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
    Why are You so far from delivering me,
    and from my roaring words of distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer;
    and at night, but I have no rest.

But You are holy,
    O You who inhabits the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
    they trusted, and You did deliver them.
They cried to You and were delivered;
    they trusted in You and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm, and not a man;
    a reproach of men and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn;
    they sneer with the lip, they shake the head, saying,
“Trust in the Lord,
    let Him deliver him;
let Him rescue him,
    seeing He delights in him.”

But You are He who took me out of the womb;
    You caused me to trust
    while I was on my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast on You from birth;
    You are my God from my mother’s womb.

11 Be not far from me
    for trouble is near,
    for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encircle me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13 They open their mouths against me,
    as a preying and 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 inside my body.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
    and You have set me toward the dust of death.

16 For dogs have encompassed me;
    the assembly of the wicked has enclosed me;
    like a lion they pin my hands and my feet;
17 I can count all my bones;
    they look and stare on me.
18 They part my garments among them
    and cast lots for my clothes.

19 But do not be far from me, O Lord;
    O my Help, hasten to my aid.
20 Rescue my soul from the sword,
    my only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
    and from the horns of the wild ox, answer me!

22 I will declare Your name to my community;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
    all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
    and stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted;
nor has He hid His face from him;
    but when he cried to Him, He heard.

25 From You my praise will be in the great congregation;
    I will pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The meek will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
    May your hearts live forever.

27 All the ends of the world
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will worship before You.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
    and He rules among the nations.

29 All the prosperous ones of the earth will eat and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
    even he who cannot keep his own soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him;
    it will be told to generations about the Lord;
31 they will come and declare His righteousness
    to a people yet to be born,
    that He has acted.

Deuteronomy 31:7-13

Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will enable them to inherit it. The Lord, He goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Do not fear, nor be dismayed.”

Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of the cancellation of debts, at the Feast of Tabernacles, 11 when all Israel has come to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He will choose, you must read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men, women, children, and your foreigner who is within your towns, so that they may hear and learn and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law. 13 Their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.”

Deuteronomy 31:24-32:4

24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book, until they were completed, 25 then Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, 26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it inside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. Even now, while I am yet alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death? 28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you, and disaster will befall you in the latter days, because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”

The Song of Moses

30 Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the hearing of all the assembly of Israel:

32 Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak;
    hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
My teaching will drop like the rain,
    my sayings will distill as the dew,
as the droplets on the grass,
    and as the showers on the herb.

For I will proclaim the name of the Lord:
    Ascribe greatness to our God!
He is the Rock; His work is perfect;
    for all His ways are just.
He is a God of faithfulness and without injustice;
    righteous and upright is He.

Romans 10:1-13

10 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness for every one who believes.

Salvation for All

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is based on the law: “The man who does those things shall live by them.”[a] But the righteousness which is based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ”[b] (that is, to bring Christ down), or, ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ”  [c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”[d] This is the word of faith that we preach: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed.”[e] 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is generous toward all who call upon Him. 13 For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”[f]

Matthew 24:15-31

The Great Tribulation(A)

15 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’[a] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 Let him who is in the field not return to take his clothes. 19 Woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse in those days! 20 Pray that your escape will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.

22 “Unless those days were shortened, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Listen, I have told you beforehand.

26 “So, if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert,’ do not go there; or, ‘Look, He is in the private chambers,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man(B)

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days,

‘the sun will be darkened,
    the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
    and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’[b]

30 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Modern English Version (MEV)

The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.