DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Thursday, March 30

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Jeremiah, Romans and John.

Psalm 131

1 Lord, my heart is not lifted up;     my eyes are not raised too high;     I do not occupy myself with things     too great and too marvelous for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,     like a weaned child with its mother;     like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, hope in the Lord     from this time forth and forevermore.

 

Psalm 132

1 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,     all the hardships he endured, 2 how he swore to the Lord     and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3 “I will not enter my house     or get into my bed, 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes     or slumber to my eyelids, 5 until I find a place for the Lord,     a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;     we found it in the fields of Jaar. 7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;     let us worship at his footstool!” 8 Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,     you and the ark of your might. 9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,     and let your saints shout for joy. 10 For the sake of your servant David,     do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath     from which he will not turn back:     “One of the sons of your body     I will set on your throne. 12 If your sons keep my covenant     and my testimonies that I shall teach them,     their sons also forever     shall sit on your throne.” 13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;     he has desired it for his dwelling place: 14 “This is my resting place forever;     here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;     I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,     and her saints will shout for joy. 17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;     I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,     but on him his crown will shine.”

 

Psalm 133

1 Behold, how good and pleasant it is     when brothers dwell in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head,     running down on the beard,     on the beard of Aaron,     running down on the collar of his robes! 3 It is like the dew of Hermon,     which falls on the mountains of Zion!     For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,     life forevermore.

 

Psalm 140

1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;     preserve me from violent men, 2 who plan evil things in their heart     and stir up wars continually. 3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,     and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;     preserve me from violent men,     who have planned to trip up my feet. 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,     and with cords they have spread a net;     beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6 I say to the Lord, You are my God;     give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord! 7 Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,     you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;     do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9 As for the head of those who surround me,     let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 10 Let burning coals fall upon them!     Let them be cast into fire,     into miry pits, no more to rise! 11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land;     let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12 I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,     and will execute justice for the needy. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;     the upright shall dwell in your presence.

 

Psalm 142

1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord;     with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. 2 I pour out my complaint before him;     I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me,     you know my way!     In the path where I walk     they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look to the right and see:     there is none who takes notice of me;     no refuge remains to me;     no one cares for my soul. 5 I cry to you, O Lord;     I say, “You are my refuge,     my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Attend to my cry,     for I am brought very low!     Deliver me from my persecutors,     for they are too strong for me! 7 Bring me out of prison,     that I may give thanks to your name!     The righteous will surround me,     for you will deal bountifully with me.

 

Jeremiah 26:1-16

1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. 3 It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 and to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’” 7 The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the entry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.” 12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.” 16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

 

Romans 11:1-12

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,     “God gave them a spirit of stupor,     eyes that would not see     and ears that would not hear,     down to this very day.” And David says,     “Let their table become a snare and a trap,     a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,     and bend their backs forever.” 11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

 

John 10:19-42

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. 40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.

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