Print Page Options
Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

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 63

The thirsting soul satisfied in God.

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63 O God, thou art my God; earnestly will I seek thee:
My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee,
In a dry and weary land, where no water is.
So have I looked upon thee in the sanctuary,
To see thy power and thy glory.
Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise thee.
So will I bless thee while I live:
I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with [a]marrow and fatness;
And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips;
When I remember thee upon my bed,
[b]And meditate on thee in the night-watches.
For thou hast been my help,
And in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee:
Thy right hand upholdeth me.
But those that seek my soul, [c]to destroy it,
Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall be [d]given over to the power of the sword:
They shall be a portion for [e]foxes.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God:
Every one that sweareth by him shall glory;
For the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Psalm 98

A call to praise Jehovah for his righteousness.

A Psalm.

98 Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song;
For he hath done marvellous things:
His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him.
Jehovah hath made known his salvation:
His righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the nations.
He hath remembered his lovingkindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel:
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Make a joyful noise unto Jehovah, all the earth:
Break forth and sing for joy, yea, sing praises.
Sing praises unto Jehovah with the harp;
With the harp and the voice of melody.
With trumpets and sound of cornet
Make a joyful noise before the King, Jehovah.
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
The world, and they that dwell therein;
Let the floods clap their hands;
Let the hills sing for joy together
Before Jehovah; for he cometh to judge the earth:
He will judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with equity.

Psalm 103

Praise for Jehovah’s mercies.

A Psalm of David.

103 Bless Jehovah, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless Jehovah, O my soul,
And forget not all his benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities;
Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from [a]destruction;
Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth [b]thy desire with good things,
So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle.
Jehovah executeth righteous acts,
And judgments for all that are oppressed.
He made known his ways unto Moses,
His doings unto the children of Israel.
Jehovah is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.
He will not always chide;
Neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins,
Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is his lovingkindness toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children,
So Jehovah pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame;
He remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone;
And the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the lovingkindness of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
And his righteousness unto children’s children;
18 To such as keep his covenant,
And to those that remember his precepts to do them.
19 Jehovah hath established his throne in the heavens;
And his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless Jehovah, ye his angels,
That are mighty in strength, that fulfil his word,
Hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless Jehovah, all ye his hosts,
Ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless Jehovah, all ye his works,
In all places of his dominion:
Bless Jehovah, O my soul.

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

The words of [a]the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath man of all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits. All the [b]rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again. [c]All things are full of weariness; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. 11 There is no remembrance of the former generations; neither shall there be any remembrance of the latter generations that are to come, among those that shall come after.

Acts 8:26-40

26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go [a]toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship; 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture which he was reading was this,

[b]He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,
So he openeth not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
His generation who shall declare?
For his life is taken from the earth.

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other? 35 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, [c]preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?[d] 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he [e]preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Luke 11:1-13

11 And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, that when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, [a]Father, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. [b] Give us day by day [c]our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we ourselves also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And bring us not into temptation[d].

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee? I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will arise and give him [e]as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11 And of which of you that is a father shall his son ask [f]a loaf, and he give him a stone? or a fish, and he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?