DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Saturday, January 6

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

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,     a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,     though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam,     though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,     the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;     God will help her when morning dawns. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;     he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us;     the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,     how he has brought desolations on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;     he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;     he burns the chariots with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God.     I will be exalted among the nations,     I will be exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us;     the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Psalm 96

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;     sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;     tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations,     his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;     he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,     but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before him;     strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,     ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;     bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;     tremble before him, all the earth! 10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!     Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;     he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;     let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it!     Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord, for he comes,     for he comes to judge the earth.     He will judge the world in righteousness,     and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;     let the many coastlands be glad! 2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;     righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire goes before him     and burns up his adversaries all around. 4 His lightnings light up the world;     the earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,     before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,     and all the peoples see his glory. 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,     who make their boast in worthless idols;     worship him, all you gods! 8 Zion hears and is glad,     and the daughters of Judah rejoice,     because of your judgments, O Lord. 9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;     you are exalted far above all gods. 10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!     He preserves the lives of his saints;     he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 11 Light is sown for the righteous,     and joy for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,     and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness!     Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God!     It is he who made us, and we are his;     we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,     and his courts with praise!     Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good;     his steadfast love endures forever,     and his faithfulness to all generations.

Isaiah 49:1-7

1 Listen to me, O coastlands,     and give attention, you peoples from afar.     The Lord called me from the womb,     from the body of my mother he named my name. 2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;     in the shadow of his hand he hid me;     he made me a polished arrow;     in his quiver he hid me away. 3 And he said to me, “You are my servant,     Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;     I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;     yet surely my right is with the Lord,     and my recompense with my God.” 5 And now the Lord says,     he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,     to bring Jacob back to him;     and that Israel might be gathered to him—     for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,     and my God has become my strength— 6 he says:     “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant     to raise up the tribes of Jacob     and to bring back the preserved of Israel;     I will make you as a light for the nations,     that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7 Thus says the Lord,     the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,     to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,     the servant of rulers:     “Kings shall see and arise;     princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;     because of the Lord, who is faithful,     the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Revelation 21:22-27

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Matthew 12:14-21

14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. 15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,     my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.     I will put my Spirit upon him,     and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,     nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break,     and a smoldering wick he will not quench,     until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

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