DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Saturday, October 21

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, 2 Kings, 1 Corinthians and Matthew.

Psalm 20

1 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!     May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary     and give you support from Zion! May he remember all your offerings     and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah May he grant you your heart's desire     and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation,     and in the name of our God set up our banners!     May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;     he will answer him from his holy heaven     with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses,     but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall,     but we rise and stand upright. O Lord, save the king!     May he answer us when we call.

 

Psalm 21

1 O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices,     and in your salvation how greatly he exults! You have given him his heart's desire     and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah For you meet him with rich blessings;     you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. He asked life of you; you gave it to him,     length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through your salvation;     splendor and majesty you bestow on him. For you make him most blessed forever;     you make him glad with the joy of your presence. For the king trusts in the Lord,     and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand will find out all your enemies;     your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a blazing oven     when you appear.     The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,     and fire will consume them. 10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,     and their offspring from among the children of man. 11 Though they plan evil against you,     though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. 12 For you will put them to flight;     you will aim at their faces with your bows. 13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!     We will sing and praise your power.

 

Psalm 110

1 The Lord says to my Lord:     “Sit at my right hand,     until I make your enemies your footstool.” The Lord sends forth from Zion     your mighty scepter.     Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely     on the day of your power,     in holy garments;     from the womb of the morning,     the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord has sworn     and will not change his mind,    “You are a priest forever     after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand;     he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations,     filling them with corpses;     he will shatter chiefs     over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way;     therefore he will lift up his head.

 

Psalm 116

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard     my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me,     therefore I will call on him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me;     the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;     I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord:     “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;     our God is merciful. The Lord preserves the simple;     when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest;     for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death,     my eyes from tears,     my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the Lord     in the land of the living. 10 I believed, even when I spoke:     “I am greatly afflicted”; 11 I said in my alarm,     “All mankind are liars.” 12 What shall I render to the Lord     for all his benefits to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation     and call on the name of the Lord, 14 I will pay my vows to the Lord     in the presence of all his people. 15 Precious in the sight of the Lord     is the death of his saints. 16 O Lord, I am your servant;     I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.     You have loosed my bonds. 17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving     and call on the name of the Lord. 18 I will pay my vows to the Lord     in the presence of all his people, 19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,     in your midst, O Jerusalem.     Praise the Lord!

 

Psalm 117

1 Praise the Lord, all nations!     Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us,     and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.     Praise the Lord!

 

2 Kings 25:8-12, 22-26

In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. ... 22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans.

 

1 Corinthians 15:12-29

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

 

Matthew 11:7-15

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet?Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,     “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,     who will prepare your way before you.’ 11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

 

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