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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 45

A song celebrating the king’s marriage.

For the Chief Musician; set to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Maschil. A Song of loves.

45 My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter;
[b]I speak the things which I have made touching the king:
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
Thou art fairer than the children of men;
Grace is poured [c]into thy lips:
Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one,
Thy glory and thy majesty.
And in thy majesty ride on prosperously,
[d]Because of truth and meekness and righteousness:
And [e]thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp;
The peoples fall under thee;
They are in the heart of the king’s enemies.
[f]Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness:
Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee
With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad.
Kings’ daughters are among thy honorable women:
At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear;
Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house:
11 So will the king desire thy beauty;
For he is thy lord; and reverence thou him.
12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift;
The rich among the people shall entreat thy favor.
13 The king’s daughter [g]within the palace is all glorious:
Her clothing is inwrought with gold.
14 She shall be led unto the king [h]in broidered work:
The virgins her companions that follow her
Shall be brought unto thee.
15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be led:
They shall enter into the king’s palace.
16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children,
Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth.
17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations:
Therefore shall the peoples give thee thanks for ever and ever.

Psalm 47-48

God the King of the Earth.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

47 Oh clap your hands, all ye peoples;
Shout unto God with the voice of triumph.
For [a]Jehovah Most High is terrible;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He subdueth peoples under us,
And nations under our feet.
He chooseth our inheritance for us,
The glory of Jacob whom he [b]loved. Selah
God is gone up with a shout,
Jehovah with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises:
Sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth:
Sing ye praises [c]with understanding.
God reigneth over the nations:
God sitteth upon his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples are gathered together
[d]To be the people of the God of Abraham;
For the shields of the earth belong unto God:
He is greatly exalted.

The beauty and glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

48 Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised,
In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.
God hath made himself known in her palaces for a [e]refuge.
For, lo, the kings assembled themselves,
They [f]passed by together.
They saw it, then were they amazed;
They were dismayed, they [g]hasted away.
Trembling took hold of them there,
Pain, as of a woman in travail.
[h]With the east wind
Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Jehovah of hosts, in the city of our God:
God will establish it for ever. Selah
We have thought on thy lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of thy temple.
10 As is thy name, O God,
So is thy praise unto the ends of the earth:
Thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let mount Zion be glad,
Let the daughters of Judah rejoice,
Because of thy judgments.
12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her;
Number the towers thereof;
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks;
[i]Consider her palaces:
That ye may tell it to the generation following.
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever:
He will be our guide even unto death.

Exodus 32:21-34

21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought a great sin upon them? 22 And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. 24 And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off: so they gave it me; and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.

25 And when Moses saw that the people were broken loose (for Aaron had let them loose for a [a]derision among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on Jehovah’s side, let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. 27 And he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. 28 And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. 29 And Moses said, [b]Consecrate yourselves to-day to Jehovah, [c]yea, every man [d]against his son, and [e]against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto Jehovah; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin. 31 And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 34 And now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.

1 Thessalonians 1

Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.

We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and [a]patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before [b]our God and Father; knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election, [c]how that our [d]gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much [e]assurance; even as ye know what manner of men we showed ourselves toward you for your sake. And ye became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit; so that ye became an ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you hath sounded forth the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith to God-ward is gone forth; so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come.

Matthew 5:11-16

11 Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.