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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 66-67

Praise for God’s mighty deeds and for his answer to prayer.

For the Chief Musician. A Song, a Psalm.

66 Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth:
Sing forth the glory of his name:
Make his praise glorious.
Say unto God, How terrible are thy works!
Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies [a]submit themselves unto thee.
All the earth shall worship thee,
And shall sing unto thee;
They shall sing to thy name. Selah
Come, and see the works of God;
He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.
He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot:
There [b]did we rejoice in him.
He ruleth by his might for ever;
His eyes observe the nations:
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
Oh bless our God, ye peoples,
And make the voice of his praise to be heard;
Who [c]holdeth our soul in life,
And suffereth not our feet to be moved.
10 For thou, O God, hast proved us:
Thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
11 Thou broughtest us into the net;
Thou layedst a sore burden upon our loins.
12 Thou didst cause men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But thou broughtest us out into [d]a wealthy place.
13 I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings;
I will pay thee my vows,
14 Which my lips uttered,
And my mouth spake, when I was in distress.
15 I will offer unto thee burnt-offerings of fatlings,
With the incense of rams;
I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah
16 Come, and hear, all ye that fear God,
And I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
17 I cried unto him with my mouth,
And [e]he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I [f]regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord [g]will not hear:
19 But verily God hath heard;
He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who hath not turned away my prayer,
Nor his lovingkindness from me.

The nations exhorted to praise God.

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm, a Song.

67 God be merciful unto us, and bless us,
And cause his face to shine [h]upon us; Selah
That thy way may be known upon earth,
Thy salvation among all nations.
Let the peoples [i]praise thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise thee.
Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy;
For thou wilt judge the peoples with equity,
And [j]govern the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise thee.
The earth hath yielded its increase:
God, even our own God, will bless us.
God will bless us;
And all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Psalm 19

The works and the Word of God.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

19 The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night showeth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them hath he set a [a]tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
His going forth is from the end of the heavens,
And his circuit unto the ends of it;
And there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul:
The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever:
The ordinances of Jehovah are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned:
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Clear thou me from hidden faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also [b]from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me:
Then shall I be upright,
And I shall be clear from great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in thy sight,
O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer.

Psalm 46

God the refuge of his people.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah; set to Alamoth. A Song.

46 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth do change,
And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains tremble with the [a]swelling thereof. Selah

There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God will help her, [b]and that right early.
The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved:
He uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Jehovah of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our [c]refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of Jehovah,
[d]What desolations he hath made in the earth.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
He burneth the chariots in the fire.
10 [e]Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 Jehovah of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our [f]refuge. Selah

Habakkuk 1:1-2

The [a]burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.

O Jehovah, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear? I cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save. Why dost thou show me iniquity, and [b]look upon perverseness? for destruction and violence are before me; and there is strife, and contention riseth up. Therefore the law is slacked, and justice [c]doth never go forth; for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore justice goeth forth perverted.

Behold ye among the nations, and look, and wonder marvellously; for [d]I am working a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you. For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, that march through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling-places that are not theirs. [e]They are terrible and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen [f]press proudly on: yea, their horsemen come from far; they fly as an eagle that hasteth to devour. They come all of them for violence; [g]the set of their faces is [h]forwards; and they gather captives as the sand. 10 [i]Yea, he scoffeth at kings, and princes are a derision unto him; he derideth every stronghold; for he heapeth up dust, and taketh it. 11 [j]Then shall he sweep by as a wind, and shall [k]pass over, and be guilty, even he whose might is his god.

12 Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction. 13 Thou that art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness, wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy peace when the wicked swalloweth up the man that is more righteous than he; 14 and makest men as the fishes of the sea, as the creeping things, that have no ruler over them? 15 He taketh up all of them with the angle, he catcheth them in his net, and gathereth them in his drag: therefore he rejoiceth and is glad. 16 Therefore he sacrificeth unto his net, and burneth incense unto his drag; because by them his portion is fat, and his food [l]plenteous. 17 Shall he therefore empty his net, and spare not to slay the nations continually?

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the [m]tower, and will look forth to see what he will speak [n]with me, and what I shall answer concerning my complaint.

Philippians 3:13-4:1

13 Brethren, I count not myself [a]yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14 I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the [b]high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are [c]perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you: 16 only, whereunto we have attained, by that same rule let us walk.

17 Brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us for an ensample. 18 For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. 20 For our [d]citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself.

Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved.

Matthew 23:13-24

13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye shut the kingdom of heaven [a]against men: for ye enter not in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering in to enter.[b]

15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he is become so, ye make him twofold more a son of [c]hell than yourselves.

16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the [d]temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the [e]temple, he is [f]a debtor. 17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the [g]temple that hath sanctified the gold? 18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, he is [h]a debtor. 19 Ye blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 21 And he that sweareth by the [i]temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 22 And he that sweareth by the heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and [j]anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. 24 Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel!