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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 50

God the judge of the righteous and the wicked.

A Psalm of Asaph.

50 The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken,
And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God hath shined forth.
Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence:
A fire devoureth before him,
And it is very tempestuous round about him.
He calleth to the heavens above,
And to the earth, that he may judge his people:
Gather my saints together unto me,
Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
And the heavens [a]shall declare his righteousness;
For God is judge himself. Selah
Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, and I will testify [b]unto thee:
I am God, even thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices;
[c]And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.
I will take no bullock out of thy house,
Nor he-goats out of thy folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
And the cattle [d]upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains;
And the wild beasts of the field are [e]mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee;
For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving;
And pay thy vows unto the Most High;
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble:
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

16 But unto the wicked God saith,
What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,
And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth,
17 Seeing that thou hatest [f]instruction,
And castest my words behind thee?
18 When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him,
And [g]hast been partaker with adulterers.
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil,
And thy tongue frameth deceit.
20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;
Thou [h]slanderest thine own mother’s son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence;
Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself:
But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22 Now consider this, ye that forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
23 Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me;
And [i]to him that ordereth his way aright
Will I show the salvation of God.

Psalm 59-60

Prayer for deliverance from enemies.

For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

59 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:
Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
And save me from the bloodthirsty men.
For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul;
The mighty gather themselves together against me:
Not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Jehovah.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault:
Awake thou to [a]help me, and behold.
Even thou, O Jehovah God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Arise to visit all the nations:
Be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah
They return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.
Behold, they belch out with their mouth;
Swords are in their lips:
For who, say they, doth hear?
But thou, O Jehovah, wilt laugh at them;
Thou wilt have all the nations in derision.
[b]Because of his strength I will give heed unto thee;
For God is my high tower.
10 My God with his lovingkindness will meet me:
God will let me see my desire upon [c]mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget:
[d]Scatter them by thy power, and bring them down,
O Lord our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips,
Let them even be taken in their pride,
And for cursing and lying which they speak.
13 Consume them in wrath, consume them, so that they shall be no more:
And let them know that God ruleth in Jacob,
Unto the ends of the earth. Selah
14 And at evening let them return, let them howl like a dog,
And go round about the city.
15 They shall wander up and down for food,
And tarry all night if they be not satisfied.
16 But I will sing of thy strength;
Yea, I will sing aloud of thy lovingkindness in the morning:
For thou hast been my high tower,
And a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing praises:
For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.

Lament over defeat in battle, and prayer for help.

For the Chief Musician; set to [e]Shushan Eduth. Michtam of David, to teach; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the Valley of Salt twelve thousand.

60 O God thou hast cast us off, thou hast broken us down;
Thou hast been angry; oh restore us again.
Thou hast made the land to tremble; thou hast rent it:
Heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
Thou hast showed thy people hard things:
Thou hast made us to drink the wine of staggering.
Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah

That thy beloved may be delivered,
Save with thy right hand, and answer [f]us.
God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult;
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the defence of my head;
Judah is my [g]sceptre.
Moab is my washpot;
[h]Upon Edom will I cast my shoe:
Philistia, shout thou because of me.
Who will bring me into the strong city?
[i]Who hath led me unto Edom?
10 [j]Hast not thou, O God, cast us off?
And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
11 Give us help against the adversary;
For vain is the [k]help of man.
12 Through God we shall do valiantly;
For he it is that will tread down our adversaries.

Psalm 118

Thanksgiving for Jehovah’s saving goodness.

118 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
Let Israel now say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
Let them now that fear Jehovah say,
That his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
Out of my distress I called upon [a]Jehovah:
[b]Jehovah answered me and set me in a large place.
Jehovah is on my side; I will not fear:
What can man do unto me?
Jehovah is on my side among them that help me:
Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to take refuge in Jehovah
Than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
12 They compassed me about like bees;
they are quenched as the fire of thorns:
In the name of Jehovah I will cut them off.
13 Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall;
But Jehovah helped me.
14 [c]Jehovah is my strength and song;
And he is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of Jehovah is exalted:
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of [d]Jehovah.
18 [e]Jehovah hath chastened me sore;
But he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto [f]Jehovah.
20 This is the gate of Jehovah;
The righteous shall enter into it.
21 I will give thanks unto thee; for thou hast answered me,
And art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Is become the head of the corner.
23 This is [g]Jehovah’s doing;
It is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which Jehovah hath made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, we beseech thee, O Jehovah:
O Jehovah, we beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that [h]cometh in the name of Jehovah:
We have blessed you out of the house of Jehovah.
27 Jehovah is God, and he hath given us light:
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will give thanks unto thee:
Thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.

Isaiah 49:13-23

13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted.

14 But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee. 16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. 17 Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee. 18 Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride. 19 For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children of thy bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath [a]begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am [b]solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. 23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; and they that wait for me shall not be put to shame.

Galatians 3:1-14

O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth crucified? This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the [a]hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, [b]are ye now perfected in the flesh? Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be indeed in vain. He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and worketh [c]miracles [d]among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the [e]hearing of faith? Even as Abraham [f]believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. [g]Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God [h]would justify the [i]Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, [j]In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, [k]Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them. 11 Now that no man is justified [l]by the law before God, is evident: for, [m]The righteous shall live by faith; 12 and the law is not of faith; but, [n]He that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us; for it is written, [o]Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Mark 6:30-46

30 And the apostles gather themselves together unto Jesus; and they told him all things, whatsoever they had done, and whatsoever they had taught. 31 And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desert place apart. 33 And the people saw them going, and many knew them, and they ran together there [a]on foot from all the cities, and outwent them. 34 And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, The place is desert, and the day is now far spent; 36 send them away, that they may go into the country and villages round about, and buy themselves somewhat to eat. 37 But he answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred [b]shillings’ worth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 And he saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he commanded them that all should [c]sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake the loaves; and he gave to the disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they all ate, and were filled. 43 And they took up broken pieces, twelve basketfuls, and also of the fishes. 44 And they that ate the loaves were five thousand men.

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he himself sendeth the multitude away. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he departed into the mountain to pray.