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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 Century Version (NCV)
Version
Psalm 93

The Majesty of the Lord

93 The Lord is king. He is clothed in majesty.
    The Lord is clothed in majesty
    and armed with strength.
The world is set,
    and it cannot be moved.
Lord, your kingdom was set up long ago;
    you are everlasting.

Lord, the seas raise,
    the seas raise their voice.
    The seas raise up their pounding waves.
The sound of the water is loud;
    the ocean waves are powerful,
    but the Lord above is much greater.

Lord, your laws will stand forever.
    Your Temple will be holy forevermore.

Psalm 96

Praise for the Lord’s Glory

96 Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord and praise his name;
    every day tell how he saves us.
Tell the nations of his glory;
    tell all peoples the miracles he does,

because the Lord is great; he should be praised at all times.
    He should be honored more than all the gods,
because all the gods of the nations are only idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
The Lord has glory and majesty;
    he has power and beauty in his Temple.

Praise the Lord, all nations on earth;
    praise the Lord’s glory and power.
Praise the glory of the Lord’s name.
    Bring an offering and come into his Temple courtyards.
Worship the Lord because he is holy.
    Tremble before him, everyone on earth.
10 Tell the nations, “The Lord is king.”
    The earth is set, and it cannot be moved.
    He will judge the people fairly.
11 Let the skies rejoice and the earth be glad;
    let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 before the Lord, because he is coming.
    He is coming to judge the world;
he will judge the world with fairness
    and the peoples with truth.

Psalm 34

Praise God Who Judges and Saves

David’s song from the time he acted crazy so Abimelech would send him away, and David did leave.

34 I will praise the Lord at all times;
    his praise is always on my lips.
My whole being praises the Lord.
    The poor will hear and be glad.
Glorify the Lord with me,
    and let us praise his name together.

I asked the Lord for help, and he answered me.
    He saved me from all that I feared.
Those who go to him for help are happy,
    and they are never disgraced.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him from all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord camps around those who fear God,
    and he saves them.

Examine and see how good the Lord is.
    Happy is the person who trusts him.
You who belong to the Lord, fear him!
    Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may get weak and hungry,
    but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
    I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
    to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things,
    and you must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
    Look for peace and work for it.

15 The Lord sees the good people
    and listens to their prayers.
16 But the Lord is against those who do evil;
    he makes the world forget them.
17 The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him,
    and he saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
    and he saves those whose spirits have been crushed.

19 People who do what is right may have many problems,
    but the Lord will solve them all.
20 He will protect their very bones;
    not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
    those who hate good people will be judged guilty.
22 But the Lord saves his servants’ lives;
    no one who trusts him will be judged guilty.

Error: 'Sirach 51:13-22' not found for the version: New Century Version
1 Corinthians 14:1-12

Desire Spiritual Gifts

14 You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languages[a] are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort. The ones who speak in different languages are helping only themselves, but those who prophesy are helping the whole church. I wish all of you had the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, but more, I wish you would prophesy. Those who prophesy are greater than those who can only speak in different languages—unless someone is there who can explain what is said so that the whole church can be helped.

Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some new knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching. It is the same as with lifeless things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If they do not make clear musical notes, you will not know what is being played. And in a war, if the trumpet does not give a clear sound, who will prepare for battle? It is the same with you. Unless you speak clearly with your tongue, no one can understand what you are saying. You will be talking into the air! 10 It may be true that there are all kinds of sounds in the world, and none is without meaning. 11 But unless I understand the meaning of what someone says to me, we will be like foreigners to each other. 12 It is the same with you. Since you want spiritual gifts very much, seek most of all to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.

Matthew 20:1-16

A Story About Workers

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. The man agreed to pay the workers one coin[a] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o’clock and three o’clock and did the same thing. About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again and saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ They answered, ‘No one gave us a job.’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’

“At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start with the last people I hired and end with those I hired first.’

“When the workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay, each received one coin. 10 When the workers who were hired first came to get their pay, they thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one coin. 11 When they got their coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. 12 They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us who worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ 13 But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one coin. 14 So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. 15 I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’

16 “So those who are last now will someday be first, and those who are first now will someday be last.”

New Century Version (NCV)

The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.