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Daily Office Lectionary: Today

Day of Pentecost

First Psalm: Psalm 118

Psalm 118 (Listen)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

118 fOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

gLet Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

gLet the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

gLet those who fear the Lord say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

hOut of my distress I icalled on the Lord;

the Lord answered me and set me jfree.

kThe Lord is on my side; lI will not fear.

What can man do to me?

mThe Lord is on my side as my helper;

I shall nlook in triumph on those who hate me.

oIt is better to take refuge in the Lord

pthan to trust in man.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord

pthan to trust in princes.

10 qAll nations surrounded me;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

12 rThey surrounded me like bees;

they went out like sa fire among thorns;

in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

13 I was tpushed hard,1 so that I was falling,

but the Lord helped me.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song;

uhe has become my salvation.

15 Glad songs of salvation

are in the tents of the righteous:

v“The right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly,

16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,

the right hand of the Lord wdoes valiantly!”

17 xI shall not die, but I shall live,

and yrecount the deeds of the Lord.

18 The Lord has zdisciplined me severely,

but he has not given me over to death.

19 aOpen to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord;

bthe righteous shall enter through it.

21 I thank you that cyou have answered me

uand have become my salvation.

22 dThe stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.2

23 This is the Lord's doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

26 eBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We fbless you from the house of the Lord.

27 The Lord is God,

and he has made ghis light to shine upon us.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,

up to hthe horns of the altar!

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God; I will iextol you.

29 jOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Footnotes

[1] 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard
[2] 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner

Second Psalm: Psalm 145

Psalm 145 (Listen)

Great Is the Lord

1 A Song of Praise. Of David.

145 jI will extol you, my God and kKing,

and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you

land praise your name forever and ever.

mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his ngreatness is unsearchable.

oOne generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

On pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of qthe might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your rabundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is sgracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is tgood to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your vsaints shall bless you!

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12 to wmake known to the children of man your2 xmighty deeds,

and ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 zYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]3

14 The Lord aupholds all who are falling

and braises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all clook to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16 You dopen your hand;

you esatisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is frighteous in all his ways

and gkind in all his works.

18 The Lord is hnear to all who call on him,

to all who call on him iin truth.

19 He jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also khears their cry and saves them.

20 The Lord lpreserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Footnotes

[1] 145:1 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll)
[2] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line
[3] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll)

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 16:9-12

Deuteronomy 16:9-12 (Listen)

The Feast of Weeks

s“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep tthe Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with uthe tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give vas the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And wyou shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 xYou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

New Testament: Acts 4:18-21; Acts 4:23-33

Acts 4:18-21 (Listen)

18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for lwe cannot but speak of what mwe have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, nbecause of the people, for all were praising God ofor what had happened.

Acts 4:23-33 (Listen)

The Believers Pray for Boldness

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ptogether to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, qwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,1 said by the Holy Spirit,

r“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

26 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and sthe rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed’2

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your uholy servant Jesus, vwhom you anointed, both wHerod and xPontius Pilate, along ywith the Gentiles and zthe peoples of Israel, 28 ato do whatever your hand and byour plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, clook upon their threats and grant to your servants3 to continue to speak your word with all dboldness, 30 while eyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed fthrough the name of your gholy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, hthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ithey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and jcontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They Had Everything in Common

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of kone heart and lsoul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but mthey had everything in common. 33 And with great npower the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ogreat grace was upon them all.

Footnotes

[1] 4:25 Or child; also verses 27, 30
[2] 4:26 Or Christ
[3] 4:29 Greek bondservants

Gospel: John 4:19-26

John 4:19-26 (Listen)

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that pyou are qa prophet. 20 rOur fathers worshiped on sthis mountain, but you say that tin Jerusalem is uthe place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, v“Woman, believe me, wthe hour is coming when xneither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 yYou worship what you do not know; zwe worship what we know, for zsalvation is afrom the Jews. 23 But bthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father cin spirit and dtruth, for the Father eis seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that fMessiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, ghe will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, h“I who speak to you am he.”