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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 119:145-176

145 I pray to you, Lord!
Please answer me.
    I promise to obey your laws.
146 I beg you to save me,
    so I can follow your rules.
147 Even before sunrise,
    I pray for your help,
and I put my hope
    in what you have said.
148 I lie awake at night,
    thinking of your promises.
149 Show that you love me, Lord,
    and answer my prayer.
Please do the right thing
    and save my life.
150 People who disobey your Law
have made evil plans
    and want to hurt me,
151 but you are with me,
and all your commands
    can be trusted.
152 From studying your laws,
I found out long ago
    you made them to last forever.

153 I have not forgotten your Law!
Look at the trouble I am in,
    and rescue me.
154 Be my defender and protector!
Remember your promise
    and save my life.
155 Evil people won't obey you,
and so they have no hope
    of being saved.
156 You are merciful, Lord!
Please do the right thing
    and save my life.
157 I have a lot of brutal enemies,
but still I never turn
    from your laws.
158 Those unfaithful people
who refuse to obey you
    are disgusting to me.
159 Remember how I love your laws,
and show your love for me
    by keeping me safe.
160 All you say can be trusted;
your teachings are true
    and will last forever.

161 Rulers are cruel to me
    for no reason.
But with all my heart
    I respect your words,
162 because they bring happiness
    like treasures taken in war.
163 I can't stand liars,
    but I love your Law.
164 I praise you seven times a day
    because your laws are fair.
165 You give peace of mind
to all who love your Law.
    Nothing can make them fall.
166 You are my only hope
for being saved, Lord,
    and I do all you command.
167 I love and obey your laws
    with all my heart.
168 You know everything I do.
You know I respect every law
    you have given.

169 Please, Lord, hear my prayer
and give me the understanding
    that comes from your word.
170 Listen to my concerns
and keep me safe,
    just as you have promised.
171 If you will teach me your laws,
I will praise you 172 and sing
    about your promise,
because all your teachings
    are what they ought to be.
173 Be ready to protect me
because I have chosen
    to obey your laws.
174 I am waiting for you
to save me, Lord.
    Your Law makes me happy.
175 Keep me alive,
    so I can praise you,
and let me find help
    in your teachings.
176 I am your servant,
but I have wandered away
    like a lost sheep.
Please come after me,
because I have not forgotten
    your teachings.

Psalm 128-130

(A song for worship.)

The Lord Rewards His Faithful People

The Lord will bless you
if you respect him
    and obey his laws.
Your fields will produce,
and you will be happy—
    all will go well.
Your wife will be as fruitful
    as a grapevine,
and just as an olive tree
    is rich with olives,
your home will be rich
    with healthy children.
This is how the Lord will bless
    everyone who respects him.

I pray that the Lord
    will bless you from Zion
and let Jerusalem prosper
    as long as you live.
May you live long enough
    to see your grandchildren.
Let's pray for peace in Israel!

(A song for worship.)

A Prayer for Protection

Since the time I was young,
    enemies have often attacked!
Let everyone in Israel say:
“Since the time I was young,
    enemies have often attacked!
But they have not defeated me,
though my back is like a field
    that has just been plowed.”

The Lord always does right,
    and he has set me free
from the ropes
    of those cruel people.
I pray that all who hate
    the city of Zion
will be made ashamed
    and forced to turn and run.
May they be like grass
    on the flat roof of a house,
grass that dries up
    as soon as it sprouts.
Don't let them be like wheat
    gathered in bundles.
And don't let anyone
who passes by say to them,
    “The Lord bless you!
I give you my blessing
    in the name of the Lord.”

(A song for worship.)

Trusting the Lord in Times of Trouble

From a sea of troubles
    I cry out to you, Lord.
Won't you please listen
    as I beg for mercy?

If you kept record of our sins,
    no one could last long.
But you forgive us,
    and so we will worship you.

With all my heart,
I am waiting, Lord, for you!
    I trust your promises.
I wait for you more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
    waits for the dawn.
Yes, I wait more eagerly
than a soldier on guard duty
    waits for the dawn.

Israel, trust the Lord!
God is always merciful
    and has the power to save you.
(A) Israel, the Lord will save you
    from all your sins.

Ruth 2:1-13

Ruth Meets Boaz

1-3 (A) One day, Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me see if I can find someone who will let me pick up the grain left in the fields by the harvest workers.”[a]

Naomi answered, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So immediately Ruth went out to pick up grain in a field. She didn't know it was owned by Boaz, a relative of Naomi's husband Elimelech, as well as a rich and important man.

When Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and went out to his field, he said to the harvest workers, “The Lord bless you!”

They replied, “And may the Lord bless you!”

Then Boaz asked the man in charge of the harvest workers, “Who is that young woman?”

The man answered, “She is the one who came back from Moab with Naomi. She asked if she could pick up grain left by the harvest workers, and she has been working all morning without a moment's rest.”[b]

Boaz went over to Ruth and said, “I think it would be best for you not to pick up grain in anyone else's field. Stay here with the women and follow along behind them, as they gather up what the men have cut. I have warned the men not to bother you, and whenever you are thirsty, you can drink from their water jars.”

10 Ruth bowed down to the ground and said, “You know I come from another country. Why are you so good to me?”

11 Boaz answered, “I've heard how you've helped your mother-in-law ever since your husband died. You even left your own father and mother to come and live in a foreign land among people you don't know. 12 I pray that the Lord God of Israel will reward you for what you have done. And now that you have come to him for protection, I pray that he will bless you.”

13 Ruth replied, “Sir, it's good of you to speak kindly to me and make me feel so welcome. I'm not even one of your servants.”

2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17

23 God is my witness that I stayed away from Corinth, just to keep from being hard on you. 24 We are not bosses who tell you what to believe. We are working with you to make you glad, because your faith is strong.

I have decided not to make my next visit with you so painful. If I make you feel bad, who would be left to cheer me up, except the people I had made to feel bad? The reason I want to be happy is to make you happy. I wrote as I did because I didn't want to visit you and be made to feel bad, when you should make me feel happy. At the time I wrote, I was suffering terribly. My eyes were full of tears, and my heart was broken. But I didn't want to make you feel bad. I only wanted to let you know how much I cared for you.

Forgiveness

I don't want to be hard on you. But if one of you has made someone feel bad, I am not really the one who has been made to feel bad. Some of you are the ones. Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and this is punishment enough for what was done.

When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. You should make them sure of your love for them.

I also wrote because I wanted to test you and find out if you would follow my instructions. 10 I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. 11 I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.

12 (A) When I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ, I found that the Lord had already prepared the way. 13 But I was worried when I didn't find my friend Titus there. So I left the other followers and went on to Macedonia.

14 I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume. 15-16 In fact, God thinks of us as a perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads them to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads them to a horrible death.

No one really has what it takes to do this work. 17 A lot of people try to get rich from preaching God's message. But we are God's sincere messengers, and by the power of Christ we speak our message with God as our witness.

Matthew 5:21-26

Anger

21 (A) You know our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” 22 But I promise you if you are angry with someone,[a] you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell.

23 So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.

25 Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don't, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. 26 I promise you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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