DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Sunday, February 18

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Daniel, Hebrews and John.

Psalm 63

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;     my soul thirsts for you;     my flesh faints for you,     as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,     beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,     my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live;     in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,     and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed,     and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help,     and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you;     your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek to destroy my life     shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;     they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God;     all who swear by him shall exult,     for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Psalm 98

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song,     for he has done marvelous things!     His right hand and his holy arm     have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made known his salvation;     he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness     to the house of Israel.     All the ends of the earth have seen     the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;     break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,     with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn     make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;     the world and those who dwell in it! 8 Let the rivers clap their hands;     let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the Lord, for he comes     to judge the earth.     He will judge the world with righteousness,     and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 103

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,     and all that is within me,     bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,     and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity,     who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit,     who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good     so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The Lord works righteousness     and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses,     his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,     slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide,     nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,     nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,     so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west,     so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children,     so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame;     he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass;     he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,     and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,     and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant     and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,     and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,     you mighty ones who do his word,     obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,     his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works,     in all places of his dominion.     Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Daniel 9:3-10

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Hebrews 2:10-18

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.” 14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. 16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

John 12:44-50

44 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”

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