DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, November 16

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

Psalm 23

1 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 83

1 O God, do not keep silence;     do not hold your peace or be still, O God! 2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;     those who hate you have raised their heads. 3 They lay crafty plans against your people;     they consult together against your treasured ones. 4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;     let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” 5 For they conspire with one accord;     against you they make a covenant— 6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,     Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,     Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 8 Asshur also has joined them;     they are the strong arm of the children of Lot. Selah 9 Do to them as you did to Midian,     as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who were destroyed at En-dor,     who became dung for the ground. 11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,     all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves     of the pastures of God.” 13 O my God, make them like whirling dust,     like chaff before the wind. 14 As fire consumes the forest,     as the flame sets the mountains ablaze, 15 so may you pursue them with your tempest     and terrify them with your hurricane! 16 Fill their faces with shame,     that they may seek your name, O Lord. 17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;     let them perish in disgrace, 18 that they may know that you alone,     whose name is the Lord,     are the Most High over all the earth.

 

Psalm 85

1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;     you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;     you covered all their sin. Selah 3 You withdrew all your wrath;     you turned from your hot anger. 4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,     and put away your indignation toward us! 5 Will you be angry with us forever?     Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 6 Will you not revive us again,     that your people may rejoice in you? 7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,     and grant us your salvation. 8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,     for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;     but let them not turn back to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,     that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;     righteousness and peace kiss each other. 11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,     and righteousness looks down from the sky. 12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,     and our land will yield its increase. 13 Righteousness will go before him     and make his footsteps a way.

 

Psalm 86

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,     for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;     save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,     for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant,     for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,     abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;     listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,     for you answer me. 8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,     nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come     and worship before you, O Lord,     and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things;     you alone are God. 11 Teach me your way, O Lord,     that I may walk in your truth;     unite my heart to fear your name. 12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,     and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;     you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;     a band of ruthless men seeks my life,     and they do not set you before them. 15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,     slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;     give your strength to your servant,     and save the son of your maidservant. 17 Show me a sign of your favor,     that those who hate me may see and be put to shame     because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

 

Revelation 19:1-10

1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” 4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.” 6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

Matthew 16:1-12

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed. 5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

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