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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.

Amos 5:18-27

The Day of the Lord Brings Darkness

18 Woe to those who long for the Day of the Lord!
    What good will the Day of the Lord be for you?
    It will be darkness and not light.
19 It will be as if a man flees from a lion,
    but a bear meets him,
    or he enters a house and rests his hand on a wall,
    but a snake bites him.
20 Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness and not light,
    gloom without a trace of brightness?

The Lord Hates Faithless Worship

21 I hate, I reject, your festivals!
    I do not delight in the aroma of the sacrifices at your sacred convocations.
22 Even if you offer up to me your whole burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.
    I will not pay any attention to your fellowship offerings of fattened calves.
23 Get the noise of your songs away from me!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll like the waters,
    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel?
26 You lifted up images of Sakkuth, your king,
    and of Kiyyun, your star god, which you made for yourselves.[a]
27 So I will exile you beyond Damascus,
    says the Lord, whose name is the God of Armies.

Jude 17-25

Keep Yourselves in God’s Love

17 But you, dear friends, remember the words that were spoken earlier by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers who follow their own ungodly lusts.”[a] 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are worldly because they do not have the Spirit.

20 But you, dear friends, continue to build yourselves up in your most holy faith as you keep praying in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you continue to wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which results in eternal life. 22 Show mercy to those who are wavering.[b] 23 Save others by snatching them out of the fire. Show mercy to still others with fear,[c] hating even the clothing that is stained by the flesh.

24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only[d] God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity. Amen.

Matthew 22:15-22

Paying Taxes to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. 17 So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.”

They brought him a denarius.

20 He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied to him.

Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

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