DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Friday, June 24

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

Psalm 102

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;     let my cry come to you! 2 Do not hide your face from me     in the day of my distress!     Incline your ear to me;     answer me speedily in the day when I call! 3 For my days pass away like smoke,     and my bones burn like a furnace. 4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;     I forget to eat my bread. 5 Because of my loud groaning     my bones cling to my flesh. 6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,     like an owl of the waste places; 7 I lie awake;     I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. 8 All the day my enemies taunt me;     those who deride me use my name for a curse. 9 For I eat ashes like bread     and mingle tears with my drink, 10 because of your indignation and anger;     for you have taken me up and thrown me down. 11 My days are like an evening shadow;     I wither away like grass. 12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;     you are remembered throughout all generations. 13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;     it is the time to favor her;     the appointed time has come. 14 For your servants hold her stones dear     and have pity on her dust. 15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,     and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory. 16 For the Lord builds up Zion;     he appears in his glory; 17 he regards the prayer of the destitute     and does not despise their prayer. 18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,     so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: 19 that he looked down from his holy height;     from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,     to set free those who were doomed to die, 21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,     and in Jerusalem his praise, 22 when peoples gather together,     and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. 23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;     he has shortened my days. 24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away     in the midst of my days—     you whose years endure     throughout all generations!” 25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,     and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you will remain;     they will all wear out like a garment.     You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end. 28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;     their offspring shall be established before you.

 

Psalm 107:1-32

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,     for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,     whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands,     from the east and from the west,     from the north and from the south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastes,     finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty,     their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,     and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way     till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,     for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul,     and the hungry soul he fills with good things. 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,     prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,     and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;     they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,     and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,     and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,     for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze     and cuts in two the bars of iron. 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,     and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food,     and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,     and he delivered them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them,     and delivered them from their destruction. 21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,     for his wondrous works to the children of man! 22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,     and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! 23 Some went down to the sea in ships,     doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,     his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,     which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;     their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men     and were at their wits' end. 28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,     and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still,     and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,     and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,     for his wondrous works to the children of man! 32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,     and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

 

Numbers 20:1-13

1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there. 2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.” 9 And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him. 10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

 

Romans 5:12-21

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousnessleads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Matthew 20:29-34

29 And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

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