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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 International Version (NIV)
Version
Psalm 61-62

Psalm 61[a]

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God;(A)
    listen to my prayer.(B)

From the ends of the earth I call to you,
    I call as my heart grows faint;(C)
    lead me to the rock(D) that is higher than I.
For you have been my refuge,(E)
    a strong tower against the foe.(F)

I long to dwell(G) in your tent forever
    and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.[b](H)
For you, God, have heard my vows;(I)
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.(J)

Increase the days of the king’s life,(K)
    his years for many generations.(L)
May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever;(M)
    appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.(N)

Then I will ever sing in praise of your name(O)
    and fulfill my vows day after day.(P)

Psalm 62[c]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

Truly my soul finds rest(Q) in God;(R)
    my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock(S) and my salvation;(T)
    he is my fortress,(U) I will never be shaken.(V)

How long will you assault me?
    Would all of you throw me down—
    this leaning wall,(W) this tottering fence?
Surely they intend to topple me
    from my lofty place;
    they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
    but in their hearts they curse.[d](X)

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;(Y)
    my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God[e];
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.(Z)
Trust in him at all times, you people;(AA)
    pour out your hearts to him,(AB)
    for God is our refuge.

Surely the lowborn(AC) are but a breath,(AD)
    the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance,(AE) they are nothing;
    together they are only a breath.
10 Do not trust in extortion(AF)
    or put vain hope in stolen goods;(AG)
though your riches increase,
    do not set your heart on them.(AH)

11 One thing God has spoken,
    two things I have heard:
“Power belongs to you, God,(AI)
12     and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”;(AJ)
and, “You reward everyone
    according to what they have done.”(AK)

Psalm 112

Psalm 112[a]

Praise the Lord.[b](A)

Blessed are those(B) who fear the Lord,(C)
    who find great delight(D) in his commands.

Their children(E) will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches(F) are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures(G) forever.
Even in darkness light dawns(H) for the upright,
    for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.(I)
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,(J)
    who conduct their affairs with justice.

Surely the righteous will never be shaken;(K)
    they will be remembered(L) forever.
They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast,(M) trusting in the Lord.(N)
Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;(O)
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.(P)
They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,(Q)
    their righteousness endures(R) forever;
    their horn[c] will be lifted(S) high in honor.

10 The wicked will see(T) and be vexed,
    they will gnash their teeth(U) and waste away;(V)
    the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.(W)

Psalm 115

Psalm 115(A)

Not to us, Lord, not to us
    but to your name be the glory,(B)
    because of your love and faithfulness.(C)

Why do the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”(D)
Our God is in heaven;(E)
    he does whatever pleases him.(F)
But their idols are silver and gold,(G)
    made by human hands.(H)
They have mouths, but cannot speak,(I)
    eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear,
    noses, but cannot smell.
They have hands, but cannot feel,
    feet, but cannot walk,
    nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
Those who make them will be like them,
    and so will all who trust in them.

All you Israelites, trust(J) in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(K) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(L) trust in the Lord
    he is their help and shield.

12 The Lord remembers(M) us and will bless us:(N)
    He will bless his people Israel,
    he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(O) the Lord
    small and great alike.

14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(P)
    both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven(Q) and earth.

16 The highest heavens belong to the Lord,(R)
    but the earth he has given(S) to mankind.
17 It is not the dead(T) who praise the Lord,
    those who go down to the place of silence;
18 it is we who extol the Lord,(U)
    both now and forevermore.(V)

Praise the Lord.[a](W)

Zephaniah 3:14-20

14 Sing, Daughter Zion;(A)
    shout aloud,(B) Israel!
Be glad and rejoice(C) with all your heart,
    Daughter Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away your punishment,
    he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;(D)
    never again will you fear(E) any harm.(F)
16 On that day
    they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
    do not let your hands hang limp.(G)
17 The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.(H)
He will take great delight(I) in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,(J)
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”(K)

18 “I will remove from you
    all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
    which is a burden and reproach for you.
19 At that time I will deal
    with all who oppressed(L) you.
I will rescue the lame;
    I will gather the exiles.(M)
I will give them praise(N) and honor
    in every land where they have suffered shame.
20 At that time I will gather you;
    at that time I will bring(O) you home.
I will give you honor(P) and praise(Q)
    among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes[a](R)
    before your very eyes,”
says the Lord.

Titus 1

Paul, a servant of God(A) and an apostle(B) of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth(C) that leads to godliness(D) in the hope of eternal life,(E) which God, who does not lie,(F) promised before the beginning of time,(G) and which now at his appointed season(H) he has brought to light(I) through the preaching entrusted to me(J) by the command of God(K) our Savior,(L)

To Titus,(M) my true son(N) in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.(O)

Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good(P)

The reason I left you in Crete(Q) was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint[a] elders(R) in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless,(S) faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe[b] and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer(T) manages God’s household,(U) he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.(V) Rather, he must be hospitable,(W) one who loves what is good,(X) who is self-controlled,(Y) upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly(Z) to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine(AA) and refute those who oppose it.

Rebuking Those Who Fail to Do Good

10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk(AB) and deception, especially those of the circumcision group.(AC) 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households(AD) by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets(AE) has said it: “Cretans(AF) are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.”[c] 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke(AG) them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith(AH) 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths(AI) or to the merely human commands(AJ) of those who reject the truth.(AK) 15 To the pure, all things are pure,(AL) but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.(AM) In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.(AN) 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.(AO) They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.(AP)

Luke 1:1-25

Introduction(A)

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled[a] among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first(B) were eyewitnesses(C) and servants of the word.(D) With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account(E) for you, most excellent(F) Theophilus,(G) so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.(H)

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

In the time of Herod king of Judea(I) there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah;(J) his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.(K) But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,(L) he was chosen by lot,(M) according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.(N) 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.(O)

11 Then an angel(P) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.(Q) 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.(R) 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid,(S) Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.(T) 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,(U) 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink,(V) and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit(W) even before he is born.(X) 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord,(Y) in the spirit and power of Elijah,(Z) to turn the hearts of the parents to their children(AA) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”(AB)

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this?(AC) I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”(AD)

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel.(AE) I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak(AF) until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs(AG) to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace(AH) among the people.”

New International Version (NIV)

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