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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Version
Psalm 140

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

(G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah

I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
[d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

“As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”

12 I know that the Lord will (Y)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And (Z)justice for the poor.
13 Certainly the (AA)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The (AB)upright will dwell in Your presence.

Psalm 142

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.

142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
When (E)my spirit felt weak within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.

I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
(M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
(P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”

Psalm 141

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
(H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.

May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.

For my (R)eyes are toward You, [e]God, the Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not [f]leave me defenseless.
Keep me from the [g](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of those who do wrong.
10 May the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [h](X)safely.

Psalm 143

Prayer for Help and Guidance.

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.

I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah

(O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
(X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge in You.

10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.

Zechariah 14:1-11

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Enemies

14 Behold, a (A)day is coming for the Lord when (B)the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. For I will (C)gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the (D)houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and (E)fight against those nations, as [a]when He fights on a day of battle. On that day His feet will (F)stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be (G)split [b]in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled from the (H)earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. (I)Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with [c]Him!

On that day there will be (J)no light; the [d]luminaries will die out. For it will be (K)a unique day which is (L)known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the (M)time of evening there will be light.

And on that day (N)living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

And the Lord will be (O)King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only (P)one, and His name the only one.

10 All the land will change into a plain from (Q)Geba to (R)Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but [e]Jerusalem will (S)rise and (T)remain on its site from (U)Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the (V)Corner Gate, and from the (W)Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will (X)no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will (Y)live in security.

Romans 15:7-13

Therefore, [a](A)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted [b]us, for the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to (B)the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm (C)the promises given to the fathers, and for (D)the Gentiles to (E)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written:

(F)Therefore I will [c]give praise to You among the Gentiles,
And I will sing praises to Your name.”

10 Again he says,

(G)Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.”

11 And again,

(H)Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him.”

12 Again Isaiah says,

(I)There shall come (J)the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
(K)In Him will the Gentiles hope.”

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all (L)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope (M)by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 19:28-40

Triumphal Entry

28 After Jesus said these things, He (A)was going on ahead, (B)going up to Jerusalem.

29 (C)When He approached Bethphage and (D)Bethany, near the [a]mountain that is called (E)Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village [b]ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘[c]The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent left and found it just as He had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its [d]owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “[e]The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, (F)and they threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 Now as He was going, they were spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 And as soon as He was approaching, near the descent of (G)the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to (H)praise God [f]joyfully with a loud voice for all the [g]miracles which they had seen, 38 [h]shouting:

(I)Blessed is the (J)King, the One who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and (K)glory in the highest!”

39 (L)And yet some of the Pharisees [i]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” 40 Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these stop speaking, (M)the stones will cry out!”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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