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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 Catholic Bible (NCB)
Version
Psalm 30

Psalm 30[a]

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death

A psalm. A song for the dedication of the temple. Of David.

I will exalt you, O Lord,
    for you have raised me out of the depths[b]
    and have not let my enemies exult over me.
Lord, my God,
    I called to you and you healed me.[c]
Lord, you lifted me up from the netherworld;[d]
    you saved me from sinking into the pit.
Sing praise to the Lord, O you his saints;[e]
    give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts for only a moment,
    while his goodwill endures for a lifetime.
Weeping may last throughout the night,[f]
    but at daybreak there is rejoicing.
In time of good fortune, I said,
    “Nothing can ever sway me.”[g]
Lord, in your goodness
    you established me as an impregnable mountain;
however, when you hid your face,
    I was filled with terror.
[h]To you, O Lord, I cried out,
    and I implored my God for mercy:
10 “What advantage would my death provide
    if I descend into the pit?
Can the dust praise you?
    Can it proclaim your faithfulness?
11 Listen, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
    Lord, be my helper.”
12 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    you have taken away my sackcloth[i]
    and clothed me with joy.
13 My heart[j] will therefore sing
    in unceasing praise to you;
Lord, my God,
    I will praise you forever.

Psalm 32

Psalm 32[a]

The Joy of Being Forgiven

Of David. A maskil.[b]

[c]Blessed is the one whose offense is forgiven,
    whose sin is erased.
Blessed is the one to whom the Lord charges no guilt
    and in whose spirit there is no guile.
As long as I remained silent,[d]
    my body wasted away
    as the result of my groaning throughout the day.
For day and night
    your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength withered steadily
    as though consumed by the summer heat.[e] Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I made no attempt to conceal my guilt.
I said, “I will confess my offenses[f] to the Lord,”
    and you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore, let everyone who is faithful pray to you
    where you may be found.[g]
Even if great floods threaten,
    they will never reach him.
You are a place of refuge for me;
    you preserve me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.[h] Selah
I will instruct you
    and guide you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you
    and keep my eyes upon you.
Do not behave without understanding
    like a horse or a mule;
if its temper is not curbed with bit and bridle,
    it will not come near you.
10 The wicked has a multitude of troubles,
    but the man who trusts in the Lord
    is surrounded by kindness.[i]
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
    shout for joy, all you upright of heart.[j]

Psalm 42-43

Book II—Psalms 42–72[a]

Psalm 42[b]

Prayer of Longing for God

For the director.[c] A maskil of the sons of Korah.

As a deer longs for running streams,
    so my soul longs for you, O God.[d]
My soul[e] thirsts for God, the living God.
    When shall I come to behold the face of God?
My tears have become my food
    day and night,
while people taunt me all day long, saying,
    “Where is your God?”
As I pour out my soul,
    I recall those times
when I journeyed with the multitude
    and led them in procession to the house of God,
amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving
    on the part of the crowd keeping festival.
Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God,
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.[f]
My soul is disheartened within me;
    therefore, I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.[g]
The depths of the sea resound
    in the roar of your waterfalls;[h]
all your waves and your breakers
    sweep over me.
During the day the Lord grants his kindness,
    and at night his praise is with me,
    a prayer to the living God.[i]
10 I say to God, my Rock,[j]
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in mourning
    while my enemy oppresses me?”
11 It crushes my bones
    when my foes taunt me,
jeering at me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”[k]
12 Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.[l]

Psalm 43[m]

Prayer To Worship God Anew

Grant me your justice, O God,
    and plead my cause against a godless nation;
    rescue me from those who are deceitful and unjust.
You, O God, are my refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in mourning,
    while my enemy oppresses me?
Send forth your light and your truth;[n]
    they will serve as my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place of your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to the God of my joy and delight,
and I will praise you[o] with the harp,
    O God, my God.
Why are you so disheartened, O my soul?
    Why do you sigh within me?
Place your hope in God;
    for I will once again praise him,
    my Savior and my God.[p]

Exodus 25:1-22

Instruction on the Sanctuary and Its Ministers

Chapter 25

Moses Receives the Command to Establish a Sanctuary. The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the children of Israel to gather an offering for me. Let each one raise up as an offering what his heart tells him is right. This is what you shall gather from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, fine linen, goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed red, sheep skins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, balsam for anointing oil and for fragrant incense, onyx stones and stones for setting in the ephod and the breastplate.

“They are to build a sanctuary for me and I will live in their midst. Build it just as I will show you, following the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture.

10 The Ark of the Covenant.“They are to make an Ark out of acacia wood. It is to be two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.[a] 11 You are to cover it with gold inside and out, and they are to put a gold molding on it. 12 You are to cast four golden rings for it and attach them to its four legs, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 You are to make poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the two sides of the Ark so that you may carry the Ark with them. 15 The poles must remain in the rings of the Ark; they are not to be taken out of them.

16 “You will place the Testimony that I will give you in the Ark.

17 “You shall make a seat[b] of atonement of pure gold. It shall be two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 18 You will make two cherubim[c] out of gold. Make them as hammered works, placing them on the two sides of the seat of atonement.

19 “Make one cherubim at one end and the other cherubim at the other end. Make the cherubim all of one piece at the two ends of the seat of atonement. 20 The cherubim shall have two wings spread out covering the seat of atonement. They shall be facing each other, and the faces of the cherubim will be turned toward the seat of atonement.

21 “You will place the seat of atonement on top of the Ark and place the Testimony that I will give you inside the Ark.

22 “I will meet you there. I will speak with you from the seat of atonement that is between the two cherubim upon the Ark of Testimony concerning all that I will command the children of Israel.

Colossians 3:1-17

Exhortation To Live as Christians

Chapter 3

Seek the Things That Are Above.[a] Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Fix your thoughts on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

A New Self.[b] And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry).[c] Because of these practices, the wrath of God will fall on those who are disobedient. In the life you formerly lived, you used to do these things. But now you must cast them all aside—anger, rage, malice, slander, and foul language out of your lips.

Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Now there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,[d] slave and free man. Rather, Christ is all and in all.

12 Characteristics of Life in Common.[e] As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you.

14 Over all these put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it was for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ[f] with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Matthew 4:18-25

18 Jesus Calls the First Disciples.[a] As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the water, for they were fishermen. 19 He said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately, they abandoned their nets and followed him.

21 As he proceeded farther, he saw two more brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately, they left their boat and their father and followed him.

23 Jesus Proclaims the Message and Heals the Sick.[b] Jesus traveled all throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every type of disease and illness among the people. 24 His reputation spread throughout Syria,[c] and they brought to him all those who were sick, afflicted with various diseases, racked with pain, or possessed by demons, as well as those who were stricken with epilepsy or paralyzed, and he healed them. 25 Great throngs from Galilee, the Decapolis,[d] Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan, followed him.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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