Day 208 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Psalm 102 (103)

1 [A Psalm] of David. 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 praises: 3 who forgives all thy transgressions, who heals all thy diseases; 4 who redeems thy life from corruption; who crowns thee with mercy and compassion; 5 who satisfies thy desire with good things: [so that] thy youth shall be renewed like [that] of the eagle. 6 The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured. 7 He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, long-suffering, and full of mercy. 9 He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has [so] increased his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, [so far] has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father pities [his] children, the Lord pities them that fear him. 14 For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust. 15 [As for] man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish. 16 For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more. 17 But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children's children; 18 to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them. 19 The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, all ye his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, [ready] to hearken to the voice of his words. 21 Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; [ye] ministers of his that do his will. 22 Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 103 (104)

1 [A Psalm] of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou hast clothed thyself with praise and honour: 2 who dost robe thyself with light as with a garment; spreading out the heaven as a curtain. 3 Who covers his chambers with waters; who makes the clouds his chariot; who walks on the wings of the wind. 4 Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire. 5 Who establishes the earth on her sure foundation: it shall not be moved for ever. 6 The deep, as it were a garment, is his covering: the waters shall stand on the hills. 7 At thy rebuke they shall flee; at the voice of thy thunder they shall be alarmed. 8 They go up to the mountains, and down to the plains, to the place which thou hast founded for them. 9 Thou hast set a bound which they shall not pass, neither shall they turn again to cover the earth. 10 He sends forth his fountains among the valleys: the waters shall run between the mountains. 11 They shall give drink to all the wild beasts of the field: the wild asses shall take [of them] to [quench] their thirst. 12 By them shall the birds of the sky lodge: they shall utter a voice out of the midst of the rocks. 13 He waters the mountains from his chambers: the earth shall be satisfied with the fruit of thy works. 14 He makes grass to grow for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men, to bring bread out of the earth; 15 and wine makes glad the heart of man, to make his face cheerful with oil: and bread strengthens man's heart. 16 The trees of the plain shall be full [of sap; even] the cedars of Libanus which he has planted. 17 There the sparrows will build their nests; and the house of the heron takes the lead among them. 18 The high mountains are a refuge for the stags, [and] the rock for the rabbits. 19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knows his going down. 20 Thou didst make darkness, and it was night; in it all the wild beasts of the forest will be abroad: 21 [even] young lions roaring for prey, and to seek meat for themselves from God. 22 The sun arises, and they shall be gathered together, and shall lie down in their dens. 23 Man shall go forth to his work, and to his labour till evening. 24 How great are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation. 25 [So is] this great and wide sea: there are things creeping innumerable, small animals and great. 26 There go the ships; [and] this dragon whom thou hast made to play in it. 27 All wait upon thee, to give them [their] food in due season. 28 When thou hast given [it] them, they will gather [it]; and when thou hast opened thine hand, they shall all be filled with good. 29 But when thou hast turned away thy face, they shall be troubled: thou wilt take away their breath, and they shall fail, and return to their dust. 30 Thou shalt send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created; and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. 31 Let the glory of the Lord be for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works; 32 who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble; who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the Lord while I live; I will sing praise to my God while I exist. 34 Let my meditation be sweet to him: and I will rejoice in the Lord. 35 Let the sinners fail from off the earth, and transgressors, so that they shall be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 104 (105)

1 Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, and call upon his name; declare his works among the heathen. 2 Sing to him, yea, sing praises to him: tell forth all his wonderful works. 3 Glory in his holy name: let the heart of them that seek the Lord rejoice. 4 Seek ye the Lord, and be strengthened; seek his face continually. 5 Remember his wonderful works that he has done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 6 [ye] seed of Abraam, his servants, [ye] children of Jacob, his chosen ones. 7 He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. 8 He has remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded for a thousand generations: 9 which he established as a covenant to Abraam, and [he remembered] his oath to Isaac. 10 And he established it to Jacob for an ordinance, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant; 11 saying, To thee will I give the land of Chanaan, the line of your inheritance: 12 when they were few in number, very few, and sojourners in it. 13 And they went from nation to nation, and from [one] kingdom to another people. 14 He suffered no man to wrong them; and he rebuked kings for their sakes: 15 [saying], Touch not my anointed ones; and do my prophets no harm. 16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land; he broke the whole support of bread. 17 He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold for a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters; his soul passed into iron, 19 until the time that his cause came on; the word of the Lord tried him as fire. 20 The king sent and loosed him; [even] the prince of the people, and let him go free. 21 He made him lord over his house, and ruler of all his substance; 22 to chastise his rulers at his pleasure, and to teach his elders wisdom. 23 Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Cham. 24 And he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies. 25 And he turned their heart to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants. 26 He sent forth Moses his servant, [and] Aaron whom he had chosen. 27 He established among them his signs, and [his] wonders in the land of Cham. 28 He sent forth darkness, and made it dark; yet they rebelled against his words. 29 He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish. 30 Their land produced frogs abundantly, in the chambers of their kings. 31 He spoke, and the dog-fly came, and lice in all their coasts. 32 He turned their rain into hail, [and sent] flaming fire in their land. 33 And he smote their vines and their fig-trees; and broke every tree of their coast. 34 He spoke, and the locust came, and caterpillars innumerable, 35 and devoured all the grass in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground. 36 He smote also every first-born of their land, the first-fruits of all their labour. 37 And he brought them out with silver and gold; and there was not a feeble one among their tribes. 38 Egypt rejoiced at their departing; for the fear of them fell upon them. 39 He spread out a cloud for a covering to them, and fire to give them light by night. 40 They asked, and the quail came, and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41 He clave the rock, and the waters flowed; rivers ran in dry places. 42 For he remembered his holy word, which [he promised] to Abraam his servant. 43 And he brought out his people with exultation, and his chosen with joy; 44 and gave them the lands of the heathen; and they inherited the labours of the people; 45 that they might keep his ordinances, and diligently seek his law.

Romans 11

1 I ask then, did God reject his people? May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God didn’t reject his people, whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says about Elijah? How he pleads with God against Israel: 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets. They have broken down your altars. I am left alone, and they seek my life.” 4 But how does God answer him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 Even so too at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. 7 What then? That which Israel seeks for, that he didn’t obtain, but the chosen ones obtained it, and the rest were hardened. 8 According as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” 9 David says, “Let their table be made a snare, a trap, a stumbling block, and a retribution to them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see. Always keep their backs bent.” 11 I ask then, did they stumble that they might fall? May it never be! But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if their fall is the riches of the world, and their loss the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you who are Gentiles. Since then as I am an apostle to Gentiles, I glorify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh, and may save some of them. 15 For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead? 16 If the first fruit is holy, so is the lump. If the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the root and of the richness of the olive tree, 18 don’t boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that it is not you who support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.” 20 True; by their unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by your faith. Don’t be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God didn’t spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 They also, if they don’t continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, 26 and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. 27 This is my covenant with them, when I will take away their sins.” 28 Concerning the Good News, they are enemies for your sake. But concerning the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they may also obtain mercy. 32 For God has bound all to disobedience, that he might have mercy on all. 33 Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him again?” 36 For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.