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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 146-147

Praise to Jehovah the abundant Helper.

[a]146 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise Jehovah, O my soul.
While I live will I praise Jehovah:
I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
Put not your trust in princes,
Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;
In that very day his [b]thoughts perish.
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that in them is;
Who keepeth truth for ever;
Who executeth justice for the oppressed;
Who giveth food to the hungry.
Jehovah looseth the prisoners;
Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind;
Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down;
Jehovah loveth the righteous;
Jehovah preserveth the sojourners;
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked he [c]turneth upside down.
10 Jehovah will reign for ever,
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations.
[d]Praise ye Jehovah.

Praise for Jerusalem’s restoration and prosperity.

[e]147 Praise ye Jehovah;
[f]For it is good to sing praises unto our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is comely.
Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem;
He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
He healeth the broken in heart,
And bindeth up their [g]wounds.
He counteth the number of the stars;
He calleth them all by their names.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
Jehovah upholdeth the meek:
He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.
Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving;
Sing praises upon the harp unto our God,
Who covereth the heavens with clouds,
Who prepareth rain for the earth,
Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
He giveth to the beast his food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse:
He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man.
11 Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
In those that hope in his lovingkindness.
12 Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem;
Praise thy God, O Zion.
13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates;
He hath blessed thy children within thee.
14 He maketh [h]peace in thy borders;
He filleth thee with the [i]finest of the wheat.
15 He sendeth out his commandment upon earth;
His word runneth very swiftly.
16 He giveth snow like wool;
He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels:
Who can stand before his cold?
18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them:
He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
19 He showeth his word unto Jacob,
His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.
20 He hath not dealt so with any nation;
And as for his ordinances, they have not known them.
[j]Praise ye Jehovah.

Psalm 111-113

Jehovah praised for his goodness.

[a]111 Praise ye Jehovah.
I will give thanks unto Jehovah with my whole heart,
In the council of the upright, and in the congregation.
The works of Jehovah are great,
Sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
His work is honor and majesty;
And his righteousness endureth for ever.
He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered:
Jehovah is gracious and merciful.
He hath given [b]food unto them that fear him:
He will ever be mindful of his covenant.
He hath showed his people the power of his works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of his hands are truth and justice;
All his precepts are sure.
They are established for ever and ever;
They are [c]done in truth and uprightness.
He hath sent redemption unto his people;
He hath commanded his covenant for ever:
Holy and reverend is his name.
10 The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom;
[d]A good understanding have all they that do [e]his commandments:
His praise endureth for ever.

Prosperity of him that fears Jehovah.

[f]112 Praise ye Jehovah.
Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah,
That delighteth greatly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon earth:
The generation of the upright shall be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house;
And his righteousness endureth for ever.
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness:
He is gracious, and merciful, and righteous.
Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth;
He shall maintain his cause in judgment.
For he shall never be moved;
The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:
His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.
His heart is established, he shall not be afraid,
Until he see his desire upon his adversaries.
He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy;
His righteousness endureth for ever:
His horn shall be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved;
He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away:
The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Jehovah praised for exalting the humble.

[g]113 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise, O ye servants of Jehovah,
Praise the name of Jehovah.
Blessed be the name of Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same
Jehovah’s name is to be praised.
Jehovah is high above all nations,
And his glory above the heavens.
Who is like unto Jehovah our God,
That hath his seat on high,
That humbleth himself [h]to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
And lifteth up the needy from the dunghill;
That he may set him with princes,
Even with the princes of his people.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house,
And to be a joyful mother of children.
[i]Praise ye Jehovah.

Isaiah 40:1-11

40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye [a]comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her [b]warfare is accomplished, that her [c]iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah’s hand double for all her sins.

The voice of one [d]that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.

[e]O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; [f]O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! 10 Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young.

Hebrews 1:1-12

God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in [a]his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the [b]worlds; who being the effulgence of his glory, and [c]the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become by so much better than the angels, as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time,

[d]Thou art my Son,
This day have I begotten thee?

and again,

[e]I will be to him a Father,
And he shall be to me a Son?

[f]And when he again [g]bringeth in the firstborn into [h]the world he saith, [i]And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith,

[j]Who maketh his angels winds,
And his ministers a flame of fire:

but of the Son he saith,

[k][l]Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever;
And the sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of [m]thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

10 And,

[n]Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the works of thy hands:
11 They shall perish; but thou continuest:
And they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
12 And as a mantle shalt thou roll them up,
As a garment, and they shall be changed:
But thou art the same,
And thy years shall not fail.

John 1:1-7

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him; and without him [a]was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness [b]apprehended it not. There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.

John 1:19-20

19 And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.

John 1:29-34

29 On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that [a]taketh away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was [b]before me. 31 And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing [c]in water. 32 And John bare witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize [d]in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth [e]in the Holy Spirit. 34 And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.