DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Sunday, December 31

Psalm 34

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;     his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord;     let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me,     and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me     and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant,     and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him     and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps     around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!     Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,     for those who fear him have no lack! 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;     but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 11 Come, O children, listen to me;     I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 What man is there who desires life     and loves many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil     and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Turn away from evil and do good;     seek peace and pursue it. 15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous     and his ears toward their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,     to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears     and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted     and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,     but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones;     not one of them is broken. 21 Affliction will slay the wicked,     and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;     none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 90

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place     in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth,     or ever you had formed the earth and the world,     from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust     and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight     are but as yesterday when it is past,     or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,     like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;     in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger;     by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you,     our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath;     we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 10 The years of our life are seventy,     or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble;     they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger,     and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12 So teach us to number our days     that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O Lord! How long?     Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,     that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,     and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants,     and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,     and establish the work of our hands upon us;     yes, establish the work of our hands!

Psalm 93

1 The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty;     the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.     Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old;     you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord,     the floods have lifted up their voice;     the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters,     mightier than the waves of the sea,     the Lord on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy;     holiness befits your house,     O Lord, forevermore.

Psalm 96

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;     sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name;     tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations,     his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;     he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,     but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him;     strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,     ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;     bring an offering, and come into his courts! 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.

1 Samuel 1:1-2, 7b-28

1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. ... 7b As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” 12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. 19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lordremembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.” 21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.

Isaiah 65:15-25

15 You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,     and the Lord God will put you to death,     but his servants he will call by another name, 16 so that he who blesses himself in the land     shall bless himself by the God of truth,     and he who takes an oath in the land     shall swear by the God of truth;     because the former troubles are forgotten     and are hidden from my eyes. 17 “For behold, I create new heavens     and a new earth,     and the former things shall not be remembered     or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever     in that which I create;     for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,     and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem     and be glad in my people;     no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping     and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it     an infant who lives but a few days,     or an old man who does not fill out his days,     for the young man shall die a hundred years old,     and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;     they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit;     they shall not plant and another eat;     for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,     and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain     or bear children for calamity,     for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,     and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer;     while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;     the lion shall eat straw like the ox,     and dust shall be the serpent's food.     They shall not hurt or destroy     in all my holy mountain,”     says the Lord.

Colossians 1:9-20

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Revelation 21:1-6

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Luke 2:22-40

22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,     according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,     and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 

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