DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Friday, January 5

Today's readings include passages from Psalm, Jonah, Ephesians, John, Isaiah and Romans.

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations rage     and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves,     and the rulers take counsel together,     against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart     and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;     the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,     and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King     on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree:     The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;     today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,     and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron     and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;     be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear,     and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son,     lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,     for his wrath is quickly kindled.     Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,     ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;     worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;     the God of glory thunders,     the Lord, over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;     the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;     the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,     and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;     the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth     and strips the forests bare,     and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;     the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people!     May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Psalm 98

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song,     for he has done marvelous things!     His right hand and his holy arm     have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made known his salvation;     he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness     to the house of Israel.     All the ends of the earth have seen     the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;     break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,     with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn     make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;     the world and those who dwell in it! 8 Let the rivers clap their hands;     let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the Lord, for he comes     to judge the earth.     He will judge the world with righteousness,     and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 110

1 The Lord says to my Lord:     “Sit at my right hand,     until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion     your mighty scepter.     Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely     on the day of your power,     in holy garments;     from the womb of the morning,     the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The Lord has sworn     and will not change his mind,     “You are a priest forever 5 The Lord is at your right hand;     he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations,     filling them with corpses;     he will shatter chiefs     over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way;     therefore he will lift up his head.

Jonah 2:2-9

2 saying,
    “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
    out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
    all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
    yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
    weeds were wrapped about my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
    I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
    yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
    and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
    what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

Isaiah 66:18-23

18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth     that I make     shall remain before me, says the Lord,     so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon,     and from Sabbath to Sabbath,     all flesh shall come to worship before me,     declares the Lord.

Romans 15:7-13

7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,     “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,     and sing to your name.” 10 And again it is said,     “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again,     “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,     and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says,     “The root of Jesse will come,     even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;     in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Ephesians 6:10-20

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

John 11:17-27, 38-44

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” ... 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

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