DAILY OFFICE

Psalm 45

¹ My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
² You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
³ Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your splendor and majesty!
⁴ In your majesty ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
⁵ Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king’s enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.
⁶ Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
⁷ you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
    Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
⁸ your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
    From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
⁹ daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
¹⁰ Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father’s house,
¹¹  and the king will desire your beauty.
    Since he is your lord, bow to him.
¹²  The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
    the richest of the people.
¹³ All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
¹⁴  In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
¹⁵ With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.
¹⁶ In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
    you will make them princes in all the earth.
¹⁷ I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
    therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

Psalm 47

¹ Clap your hands, all peoples!
    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
² For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
    a great king over all the earth.
³ He subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
⁴ He chose our heritage for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
⁵ God has gone up with a shout,
    the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing praises with a psalm!
⁸ God reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
⁹ The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
    For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

Psalm 48

¹ Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
    in the city of our God!
    His holy mountain, ² beautiful in elevation,
    is the joy of all the earth,
    Mount Zion, in the far north,
    the city of the great King.
³ Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.
⁴ For behold, the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
⁵ As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
⁶ Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish as of a woman in labor.
⁷ By the east wind you shattered
    the ships of Tarshish.
⁸ As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the Lord of hosts,
    in the city of our God,
    which God will establish forever.
⁹ We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
¹⁰ As your name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
    Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹  Let Mount Zion be glad!
    Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!
¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
¹³ consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
    that you may tell the next generation
¹⁴ that this is God,
    our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.

Isaiah 9:1-7

¹  But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
² The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
    those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
³ You have multiplied the nation;
    you have increased its joy;
    they rejoice before you
    as with joy at the harvest,
    as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
⁴ For the yoke of his burden,
    and the staff for his shoulder,
    the rod of his oppressor,
    you have broken as on the day of Midian.
⁵ For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
    and every garment rolled in blood
    will be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
    and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
    on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
    with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
    The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Luke 22:54-69

⁵⁴ Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. ⁵⁵ And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. ⁵⁶ Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” ⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” ⁵⁸ And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” ⁵⁹ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” ⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly. ⁶³ Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. ⁶⁴ They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him. ⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, ⁶⁷ “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸ and if I ask you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”

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