DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Saturday, November 11

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Ezra, Revelation and Matthew.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.     He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul.     He leads me in paths of righteousness     for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,     I will fear no evil,     for you are with me;     your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me     in the presence of my enemies;     you anoint my head with oil;     my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me     all the days of my life,    and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord     forever.

 

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;     whom shall I fear?     The Lord is the stronghold of my life;     of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evildoers assail me     to eat up my flesh,     my adversaries and foes,     it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me,     my heart shall not fear;     though war arise against me,     yet I will be confident. 4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,     that will I seek after:     that I may dwell in the house of the Lord     all the days of my life,     to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord     and to inquire in his temple. 5 For he will hide me in his shelter     in the day of trouble;     he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;     he will lift me high upon a rock. 6 And now my head shall be lifted up     above my enemies all around me,     and I will offer in his tent     sacrifices with shouts of joy;     I will sing and make melody to the Lord. 7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;     be gracious to me and answer me! 8 You have said, “Seek my face.”     My heart says to you,     “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 9 Hide not your face from me.     Turn not your servant away in anger,     O you who have been my help.     Cast me not off; forsake me not,     O God of my salvation! 10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me,     but the Lord will take me in. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord,     and lead me on a level path     because of my enemies. 12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;     for false witnesses have risen against me,     and they breathe out violence. 13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord     in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the Lord;     be strong, and let your heart take courage;     wait for the Lord!

 

Psalm 75

1 We give thanks to you, O God;     we give thanks, for your name is near.     We recount your wondrous deeds. 2 “At the set time that I appoint     I will judge with equity. 3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,     it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah 4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’     and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn; 5 do not lift up your horn on high,     or speak with haughty neck.’” 6 For not from the east or from the west     and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment,     putting down one and lifting up another. 8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup     with foaming wine, well mixed,     and he pours out from it,     and all the wicked of the earth     shall drain it down to the dregs. 9 But I will declare it forever;     I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,     but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

 

Psalm 76

1 In Judah God is known;     his name is great in Israel. 2 His abode has been established in Salem,     his dwelling place in Zion. 3 There he broke the flashing arrows,     the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah 4 Glorious are you, more majestic     than the mountains full of prey. 5 The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;     they sank into sleep;     all the men of war     were unable to use their hands. 6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,     both rider and horse lay stunned. 7 But you, you are to be feared!     Who can stand before you     when once your anger is roused? 8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;     the earth feared and was still, 9 when God arose to establish judgment,     to save all the humble of the earth. Selah 10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;     the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt. 11 Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;     let all around him bring gifts     to him who is to be feared, 12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,     who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

 

Ezra 9

1 After these things had been done, the officials approached me and said, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with their abominations, from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost.” As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. 4 Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the faithlessness of the returned exiles, gathered around me while I sat appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 And at the evening sacrifice I rose from my fasting, with my garment and my cloak torn, and fell upon my knees and spread out my hands to the Lord my God, 6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today. 8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection in Judea and Jerusalem. 10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness. 12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.”

 

Revelation 17:1-14

1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

 

Matthew 14:22-36

22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.”So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.