DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, June 23

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

Psalm 105

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;     make known his deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;     tell of all his wondrous works! 3 Glory in his holy name;     let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 4 Seek the Lord and his strength;     seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,     his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,     children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He is the Lord our God;     his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He remembers his covenant forever,     the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,     his sworn promise to Isaac, 10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,     to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan     as your portion for an inheritance.” 12 When they were few in number,     of little account, and sojourners in it, 13 wandering from nation to nation,     from one kingdom to another people, 14 he allowed no one to oppress them;     he rebuked kings on their account, 15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,     do my prophets no harm!” 16 When he summoned a famine on the land     and broke all supply of bread, 17 he had sent a man ahead of them,     Joseph, who was sold as a slave. 18 His feet were hurt with fetters;     his neck was put in a collar of iron; 19 until what he had said came to pass,     the word of the Lord tested him. 20 The king sent and released him;     the ruler of the peoples set him free; 21 he made him lord of his house     and ruler of all his possessions, 22 to bind his princes at his pleasure     and to teach his elders wisdom. 23 Then Israel came to Egypt;     Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. 24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful     and made them stronger than their foes. 25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,     to deal craftily with his servants. 26 He sent Moses, his servant,     and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27 They performed his signs among them     and miracles in the land of Ham. 28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;     they did not rebel against his words. 29 He turned their waters into blood     and caused their fish to die. 30 Their land swarmed with frogs,     even in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,     and gnats throughout their country. 32 He gave them hail for rain,     and fiery lightning bolts through their land. 33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,     and shattered the trees of their country. 34 He spoke, and the locusts came,     young locusts without number, 35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land     and ate up the fruit of their ground. 36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,     the firstfruits of all their strength. 37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,     and there was none among his tribes who stumbled. 38 Egypt was glad when they departed,     for dread of them had fallen upon it. 39 He spread a cloud for a covering,     and fire to give light by night. 40 They asked, and he brought quail,     and gave them bread from heaven in abundance. 41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;     it flowed through the desert like a river. 42 For he remembered his holy promise,     and Abraham, his servant. 43 So he brought his people out with joy,     his chosen ones with singing. 44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,     and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil, 45 that they might keep his statutes     and observe his laws.     Praise the Lord!

 

Numbers 17:1-11

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. And Moses deposited the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the Lord to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff. 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” 11 Thus did Moses; as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

 

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

Matthew 20:17-28

17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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