DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Friday, May 10

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, 1 Samuel, Ephesians and Matthew.

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

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.

Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High     will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,     my God, in whom I trust.” 3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler     and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his pinions,     and under his wings you will find refuge;     his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night,     nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,     nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side,     ten thousand at your right hand,     but it will not come near you. 8 You will only look with your eyes     and see the recompense of the wicked. 9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—     the Most High, who is my refuge— 10 no evil shall be allowed to befall you,     no plague come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you     to guard you in all your ways. 12 On their hands they will bear you up,     lest you strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;     the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 14 “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;     I will protect him, because he knows my name. 15 When he calls to me, I will answer him;     I will be with him in trouble;     I will rescue him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him     and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 92

1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,     to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,     and your faithfulness by night, 3 to the music of the lute and the harp,     to the melody of the lyre. 4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;     at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5 How great are your works, O Lord!     Your thoughts are very deep! 6 The stupid man cannot know;     the fool cannot understand this: 7 that though the wicked sprout like grass     and all evildoers flourish,     they are doomed to destruction forever; 8 but you, O Lord, are on high forever. 9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord,     for behold, your enemies shall perish;     all evildoers shall be scattered. 10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;     you have poured over me fresh oil. 11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;     my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree     and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;     they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age;     they are ever full of sap and green, 15 to declare that the Lord is upright;     he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

1 Samuel 2:1-10

1 And Hannah prayed and said,     “My heart exults in the Lord;     my horn is exalted in the Lord.     My mouth derides my enemies,     because I rejoice in your salvation. 2 “There is none holy like the Lord:     for there is none besides you;     there is no rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly,     let not arrogance come from your mouth;     for the Lord is a God of knowledge,     and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty are broken,     but the feeble bind on strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,     but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.     The barren has borne seven,     but she who has many children is forlorn. 6 The Lord kills and brings to life;     he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;     he brings low and he exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust;     he lifts the needy from the ash heap     to make them sit with princes     and inherit a seat of honor.     For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,     and on them he has set the world. 9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,     but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,     for not by might shall a man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;     against them he will thunder in heaven.     The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;     he will give strength to his king     and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Ephesians 2:1-10

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Matthew 7:22-27

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

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