DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, January 5

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Joshua, Isaiah, Romans, Hebrews and John.

Psalm 2

1 Why do the nations rage     and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves,     and the rulers take counsel together,     against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart     and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;     the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,     and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King     on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree:     The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;     today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,     and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron     and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;     be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear,     and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son,     lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,     for his wrath is quickly kindled.     Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,     ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;     worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;     the God of glory thunders,     the Lord, over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;     the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;     the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,     and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;     the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth     and strips the forests bare,     and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” 10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;     the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 11 May the Lord give strength to his people!     May the Lord bless his people with peace!

 

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 110

1 The Lord says to my Lord:     “Sit at my right hand,     until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion     your mighty scepter.     Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 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. 4 The Lord has sworn     and will not change his mind,     “You are a priest forever     after the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand;     he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations,     filling them with corpses;     he will shatter chiefs     over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way;     therefore he will lift up his head.

 

Joshua 1:1-9

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

Isaiah 66:18-23

18 “For I know their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord. 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth     that I make     shall remain before me, says the Lord,     so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon,     and from Sabbath to Sabbath,     all flesh shall come to worship before me,     declares the Lord.

 

Romans 15:7-13

7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,     “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,     and sing to your name.” 10 And again it is said,     “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again,     “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,     and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says,     “The root of Jesse will come,     even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;     in him will the Gentiles hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Hebrews 11:32-12:2

32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

 

John 15:1-16

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

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