DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Monday, December 19

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Revelation and John.

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God,     listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you     when my heart is faint.     Lead me to the rock     that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge,     a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever!     Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah For you, O God, have heard my vows;     you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. Prolong the life of the king;     may his years endure to all generations! May he be enthroned forever before God;     appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! So will I ever sing praises to your name,     as I perform my vows day after day.

 

Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence;     from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation,     my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. How long will all of you attack a man     to batter him,     like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.     They take pleasure in falsehood.     They bless with their mouths,     but inwardly they curse. Selah For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,     for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation,     my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory;     my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people;     pour out your heart before him;     God is a refuge for us. Selah Those of low estate are but a breath;     those of high estate are a delusion;     in the balances they go up;     they are together lighter than a breath. 10 Put no trust in extortion;     set no vain hopes on robbery;     if riches increase, set not your heart on them. 11 Once God has spoken;     twice have I heard this:     that power belongs to God, 12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.     For you will render to a man     according to his work.

 

Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord!     Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,     who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land;     the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house,     and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;     he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;     who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved;     he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news;     his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,     until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;     his righteousness endures forever;     his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;     he gnashes his teeth and melts away;     the desire of the wicked will perish!

 

Psalm 115

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,     for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say,     “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens;     he does all that he pleases. Their idols are silver and gold,     the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak;     eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear;     noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel;     feet, but do not walk;     and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them;     so do all who trust in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord!     He is their help and their shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!     He is their help and their shield. 11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!     He is their help and their shield. 12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;     he will bless the house of Israel;     he will bless the house of Aaron; 13 he will bless those who fear the Lord,     both the small and the great. 14 May the Lord give you increase,     you and your children! 15 May you be blessed by the Lord,     who made heaven and earth! 16 The heavens are the Lord's heavens,     but the earth he has given to the children of man. 17 The dead do not praise the Lord,     nor do any who go down into silence. 18 But we will bless the Lord     from this time forth and forevermore.     Praise the Lord!

 

Isaiah 11:1-9

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,     and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,     the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,     the Spirit of counsel and might,     the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.     He shall not judge by what his eyes see,     or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,     and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;     and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,     and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,     and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,     and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,     and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;     and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze;     their young shall lie down together;     and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,     and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy     in all my holy mountain;     for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord     as the waters cover the sea.

 

Revelation 20:1-10

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

John 5:30-47

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

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