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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.
Duration: 861 days
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Psalm 18

Psalm 18[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

I love you, Lord, my strength.(B)

The Lord is my rock,(C) my fortress(D) and my deliverer;(E)
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,(F)
    my shield[b](G) and the horn[c] of my salvation,(H) my stronghold.

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(I)
    and I have been saved from my enemies.(J)
The cords of death(K) entangled me;
    the torrents(L) of destruction overwhelmed me.
The cords of the grave coiled around me;
    the snares of death(M) confronted me.

In my distress(N) I called to the Lord;(O)
    I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;(P)
    my cry came(Q) before him, into his ears.
The earth trembled(R) and quaked,(S)
    and the foundations of the mountains shook;(T)
    they trembled because he was angry.(U)
Smoke rose from his nostrils;(V)
    consuming fire(W) came from his mouth,
    burning coals(X) blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;(Y)
    dark clouds(Z) were under his feet.
10 He mounted the cherubim(AA) and flew;
    he soared(AB) on the wings of the wind.(AC)
11 He made darkness his covering,(AD) his canopy(AE) around him—
    the dark rain clouds of the sky.
12 Out of the brightness of his presence(AF) clouds advanced,
    with hailstones(AG) and bolts of lightning.(AH)
13 The Lord thundered(AI) from heaven;
    the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]
14 He shot his arrows(AJ) and scattered the enemy,
    with great bolts of lightning(AK) he routed them.(AL)
15 The valleys of the sea were exposed
    and the foundations(AM) of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke,(AN) Lord,
    at the blast of breath from your nostrils.(AO)

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.(AP)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,(AQ)
    from my foes, who were too strong for me.(AR)
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,(AS)
    but the Lord was my support.(AT)
19 He brought me out into a spacious place;(AU)
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.(AV)

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;(AW)
    according to the cleanness of my hands(AX) he has rewarded me.(AY)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;(AZ)
    I am not guilty of turning(BA) from my God.
22 All his laws are before me;(BB)
    I have not turned away from his decrees.
23 I have been blameless(BC) before him
    and have kept myself from sin.
24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,(BD)
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful(BE) you show yourself faithful,(BF)
    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
26 to the pure(BG) you show yourself pure,
    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.(BH)
27 You save the humble(BI)
    but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.(BJ)
28 You, Lord, keep my lamp(BK) burning;
    my God turns my darkness into light.(BL)
29 With your help(BM) I can advance against a troop[e];
    with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:(BN)
    The Lord’s word is flawless;(BO)
    he shields(BP) all who take refuge(BQ) in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(BR)
    And who is the Rock(BS) except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength(BT)
    and keeps my way secure.(BU)
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;(BV)
    he causes me to stand on the heights.(BW)
34 He trains my hands for battle;(BX)
    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
    and your right hand sustains(BY) me;
    your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path(BZ) for my feet,
    so that my ankles do not give way.(CA)

37 I pursued my enemies(CB) and overtook them;
    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them(CC) so that they could not rise;(CD)
    they fell beneath my feet.(CE)
39 You armed me with strength(CF) for battle;
    you humbled my adversaries(CG) before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs(CH) in flight,
    and I destroyed(CI) my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them(CJ)
    to the Lord, but he did not answer.(CK)
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;(CL)
    I trampled them[f] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
    you have made me the head of nations.(CM)
People I did not know(CN) now serve me,
44     foreigners(CO) cower before me;
    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;(CP)
    they come trembling(CQ) from their strongholds.(CR)

46 The Lord lives!(CS) Praise be to my Rock!(CT)
    Exalted be God(CU) my Savior!(CV)
47 He is the God who avenges(CW) me,
    who subdues nations(CX) under me,
48     who saves(CY) me from my enemies.(CZ)
You exalted me above my foes;
    from a violent man(DA) you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;(DB)
    I will sing(DC) the praises of your name.(DD)

50 He gives his king great victories;
    he shows unfailing love to his anointed,(DE)
    to David(DF) and to his descendants forever.(DG)

Amos 4:6-13

“I gave you empty stomachs in every city
    and lack of bread in every town,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(A)

“I also withheld(B) rain from you
    when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
    but withheld it from another.(C)
One field had rain;
    another had none and dried up.
People staggered from town to town for water(D)
    but did not get enough(E) to drink,
    yet you have not returned(F) to me,”
declares the Lord.(G)

“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
    destroying them with blight and mildew.(H)
Locusts(I) devoured your fig and olive trees,(J)
    yet you have not returned(K) to me,”
declares the Lord.

10 “I sent plagues(L) among you
    as I did to Egypt.(M)
I killed your young men(N) with the sword,
    along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(O) of your camps,
    yet you have not returned to me,”(P)
declares the Lord.(Q)

11 “I overthrew some of you
    as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(R)
You were like a burning stick(S) snatched from the fire,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(T)

12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
    and because I will do this to you, Israel,
    prepare to meet your God.”

13 He who forms the mountains,(U)
    who creates the wind,(V)
    and who reveals his thoughts(W) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
    and treads on the heights of the earth(X)
    the Lord God Almighty is his name.(Y)

2 Peter 3:11-18

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward(A) to the day of God and speed its coming.[a](B) That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.(C) 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth,(D) where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless(E) and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience(F) means salvation,(G) just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.(H) 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable(I) people distort,(J) as they do the other Scriptures,(K) to their own destruction.

17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard(L) so that you may not be carried away by the error(M) of the lawless(N) and fall from your secure position.(O) 18 But grow in the grace(P) and knowledge(Q) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.(R) To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.(S)

Matthew 21:33-46

The Parable of the Tenants(A)

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(B) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(C) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(D) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(E) to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(F) 36 Then he sent other servants(G) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.(H) Come, let’s kill him(I) and take his inheritance.’(J) 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,”(K) they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(L) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’[a]?(M)

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(N) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”[b](O)

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.(P)

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