DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Friday, September 9

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Job, Acts and John.

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;     he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,     out of the miry bog,     and set my feet upon a rock,     making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth,     a song of praise to our God.     Many will see and fear,     and put their trust in the Lord. 4 Blessed is the man who makes     the Lord his trust,     who does not turn to the proud,     to those who go astray after a lie! 5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,     your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;     none can compare with you!     I will proclaim and tell of them,     yet they are more than can be told. 6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,     but you have given me an open ear.     Burnt offering and sin offering     you have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;     in the scroll of the book it is written of me: 8 I delight to do your will, O my God;     your law is within my heart.” 9 I have told the glad news of deliverance     in the great congregation;     behold, I have not restrained my lips,     as you know, O Lord. 10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;     I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;     I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness     from the great congregation. 11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain     your mercy from me;     your steadfast love and your faithfulness will     ever preserve me! 12 For evils have encompassed me     beyond number;     my iniquities have overtaken me,     and I cannot see;     they are more than the hairs of my head;     my heart fails me. 13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!     Lord, make haste to help me! 14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether     who seek to snatch away my life;     let those be turned back and brought to dishonor     who delight in my hurt! 15 Let those be appalled because of their shame     who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16 But may all who seek you     rejoice and be glad in you;     may those who love your salvation     say continually, “Great is the Lord!” 17 As for me, I am poor and needy,     but the Lord takes thought for me.     You are my help and my deliverer;     do not delay, O my God!

 

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God,     according to your steadfast love;     according to your abundant mercy     blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,     and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions,     and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned     and done what is evil in your sight,     so that you may be justified in your words     and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,     and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,     and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness;     let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins,     and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,     and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence,     and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,     and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,     O God of my salvation,     and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips,     and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;     you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;     a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;     build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,     in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;     then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

Psalm 54

1 O God, save me by your name,     and vindicate me by your might. 2 O God, hear my prayer;     give ear to the words of my mouth. 3 For strangers have risen against me;     ruthless men seek my life;     they do not set God before themselves. Selah 4 Behold, God is my helper;     the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5 He will return the evil to my enemies;     in your faithfulness put an end to them. 6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;     I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good. 7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,     and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

 

Job 29:1, 31:24-40

1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: ... 31:24 “If I have made gold my trust     or called fine gold my confidence, 25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant     or because my hand had found much, 26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone,     or the moon moving in splendor, 27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,     and my mouth has kissed my hand, 28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,     for I would have been false to God above. 29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,     or exulted when evil overtook him 30 (I have not let my mouth sin     by asking for his life with a curse), 31 if the men of my tent have not said,     ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?’ 32 (the sojourner has not lodged in the street;     I have opened my doors to the traveler), 33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do     by hiding my iniquity in my heart, 34 because I stood in great fear of the multitude,     and the contempt of families terrified me,     so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors— 35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!     (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)     Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary! 36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;     I would bind it on me as a crown; 37 I would give him an account of all my steps;     like a prince I would approach him. 38 “If my land has cried out against me     and its furrows have wept together, 39 if I have eaten its yield without payment     and made its owners breathe their last, 40 let thorns grow instead of wheat,     and foul weeds instead of barley.”

 

Acts 15:12-21

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 “‘After this I will return,     and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;     I will rebuild its ruins,      and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,     and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,      says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’ 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

 

John 11:30-44

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 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.