DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Sunday, April 7

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Exodus, 1 John and John.

Psalm 111

1 Praise the Lord!     I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,     in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2 Great are the works of the Lord,     studied by all who delight in them. 3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,     and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;     the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5 He provides food for those who fear him;     he remembers his covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works,     in giving them the inheritance of the nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;     all his precepts are trustworthy; 8 they are established forever and ever,     to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He sent redemption to his people;     he has commanded his covenant forever.     Holy and awesome is his name! 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;     all those who practice it have a good understanding.     His praise endures forever!

Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord!     Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,     who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;     the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house,     and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;     he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;     who conducts his affairs with justice. 6 For the righteous will never be moved;     he will be remembered forever. 7 He is not afraid of bad news;     his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,     until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 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 113

1 Praise the Lord!     Praise, O servants of the Lord,     praise the name of the Lord! 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord     from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,     the name of the Lord is to be praised! 4 The Lord is high above all nations,     and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the Lord our God,     who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down     on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust     and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes,     with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home,     making her the joyous mother of children.     Praise the Lord!

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord!    Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;     I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes,     in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;     on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,     whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth,     the sea, and all that is in them,     who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed,     who gives food to the hungry.     The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.     The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;     the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;     he upholds the widow and the fatherless,     but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever,     your God, O Zion, to all generations.    Praise the Lord!

Psalm 147

1 Praise the Lord!     For it is good to sing praises to our God;     for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;     he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted     and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars;     he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;     his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The Lord lifts up the humble;     he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;     make melody to our God on the lyre! 8 He covers the heavens with clouds;     he prepares rain for the earth;     he makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the beasts their food,     and to the young ravens that cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,     nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,     in those who hope in his steadfast love. 12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!     Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;     he blesses your children within you. 14 He makes peace in your borders;     he fills you with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sends out his command to the earth;     his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool;     he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;     who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them;     he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. 19 He declares his word to Jacob,     his statutes and rules to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;     they do not know his rules.     Praise the Lord!

Exodus 14:5-22

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

1 John 1:1-7

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

John 14:1-7

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

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