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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Version
Psalm 8

(A psalm by David for the music leader.[a])

The Wonderful Name of the Lord

Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
    everywhere on earth!
You let your glory be seen[b]
    in the heavens above.
(A) With praises from children
and from tiny infants,
    you have built a fortress.
It makes your enemies silent,
and all who turn against you
    are left speechless.

I often think of the heavens
    your hands have made,
and of the moon and stars
    you put in place.
(B) Then I ask, “Why do you care
    about us humans?
Why are you concerned
    for us weaklings?”
(C) You made us a little lower
    than you yourself,[c]
and you have crowned us
    with glory and honor.

(D) You let us rule everything
    your hands have made.
And you put all of it
    under our power—
the sheep and the cattle,
    and every wild animal,
the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
    and all ocean creatures.

Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
    everywhere on earth!

Psalm 47

(A psalm by the clan of Korah and for the music leader.)

God Rules the Nations

All of you nations,
clap your hands and shout
    joyful praises to God.
The Lord Most High is fearsome,
    the ruler of all the earth.
God has put every nation
    under our power,
and he chose for us the land
that was the pride of Jacob,
    his favorite.

God goes up to his throne,
as people shout
    and trumpets blast.
Sing praises to God our King,
the ruler of all the earth!
    Praise God with songs.

God rules the nations
    from his sacred throne.
Their leaders come together
and are now the people
    of Abraham's God.
All rulers on earth
surrender their weapons,
    and God is greatly praised!

Psalm 24

(A psalm by David.)

Who Can Enter the Lord's Temple?

(A) The earth and everything on it,
including its people,
    belong to the Lord.
The world and its people
    belong to him.
The Lord placed it all
    on the oceans and rivers.

Who may climb the Lord's hill[a]
    or stand in his holy temple?
(B) Only those who do right
    for the right reasons,
and don't worship idols
    or tell lies under oath.
The Lord God, who saves them,
    will bless and reward them,
because they worship and serve
    the God of Jacob.[b]
Open the ancient gates,
so that the glorious king
    may come in.

Who is this glorious king?
He is our Lord, a strong
    and mighty warrior.

Open the ancient gates,
so that the glorious king
    may come in.

10 Who is this glorious king?
He is our Lord,
    the All-Powerful!

Psalm 96

Sing a New Song to the Lord

Sing a new song to the Lord!
Everyone on this earth,
    sing praises to the Lord,
    sing and praise his name.

Day after day announce,
    “The Lord has saved us!”
Tell every nation on earth,
“The Lord is wonderful
    and does marvelous things!
The Lord is great and deserves
    our greatest praise!
He is the only God
    worthy of our worship.
Other nations worship idols,
but the Lord created
    the heavens.
Give honor and praise
    to the Lord,
whose power and beauty
    fill his holy temple.”

(A) Tell everyone of every nation,
“Praise the glorious power
    of the Lord.
He is wonderful! Praise him
and bring an offering
    into his temple.
Everyone on earth, now tremble
and worship the Lord,
    majestic and holy.”

10 Announce to the nations,
    “The Lord is King!
The world stands firm,
    never to be shaken,
and he will judge its people
    with fairness.”

11 Tell the heavens and the earth
    to be glad and celebrate!
Command the ocean to roar
    with all its creatures
12 and the fields to rejoice
    with all their crops.
Then every tree in the forest
will sing joyful songs
13     to the Lord.
He is coming to judge
all people on earth
    with fairness and truth.

Daniel 7:9-14

Judgment

Daniel wrote:

(A) Thrones were set up
    while I was watching,
and the Eternal God[a]
    took his place.
His clothing and his hair
    were white as snow.
His throne was a blazing fire
    with fiery wheels,
10 (B) and flames were dashing out
    from all around him.
Countless thousands
were standing there
    to serve him.
The time of judgment began,
    and the books[b] were opened.

11 I watched closely to see what would happen to this smaller horn because of the arrogant things it was saying. Then before my very eyes, the fourth beast was killed and its body destroyed by fire. 12 The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer.[c] 13 (C) As I continued to watch the vision that night,

I saw what looked like
    a son of man[d]
coming with the clouds of heaven,
and he was presented
    to the Eternal God.[e]
14 (D) He was crowned king
    and given power and glory,
so that all people
of every nation and race
    would serve him.
He will rule forever,
and his kingdom is eternal,
    never to be destroyed.

Hebrews 2:5-18

The One Who Leads Us To Be Saved

We know that God did not put the future world under the power of angels. (A) Somewhere in the Scriptures someone says to God,

“What makes you care
    about us humans?
Why are you concerned
    for weaklings such as we?
You made us lower
than the angels
    for a while.
Yet you have crowned us
    with glory and honor.[a]
And you have put everything
    under our power!”

God has put everything under our power and has not left anything out of our power. But we still don't see it all under our control. What we do see is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels. Because of God's gift of undeserved grace, Jesus died for everyone. And now that Jesus has suffered and died, he is crowned with glory and honor!

10 Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power. So God did the right thing when he made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God's children to be saved and to share in his glory. 11 Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. This is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 (B) He even said to God,

“I will tell them your name
    and sing your praises
when they come together
    to worship.”

13 (C) He also said,

“I will trust God.”

Then he said,

“Here I am with the children
    God has given me.”

14 We are people of flesh and blood. This is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. 15 But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. 16 (D) Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham's descendants. 17 He had to be one of us, so he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. 18 And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.

Matthew 28:16-20

What Jesus' Followers Must Do

(Mark 16.14-18; Luke 24.36-49; John 20.19-23; Acts 1.6-8)

16 (A) Jesus' eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. 17 They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

18 Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19 (B) Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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