The Daily Practice

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;     the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech;     night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words;     no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,     their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,     like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens     and makes its circuit to the other;     nothing is deprived of its warmth.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,     refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,     making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right,     giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant,     giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure,     enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm,     and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,     than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey,     than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned;     in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can discern their own errors?     Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;     may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless,     innocent of great transgression.

14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart     be pleasing in your sight,     Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of[a] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by[b] that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[c] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

18 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel:

“‘The parents eat sour grapes,     and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.

25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die. 27 But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life. 28 Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die. 29 Yet the Israelites say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust?

30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,     according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,     to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure,     but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble     but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;     my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop[a];     with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:     The Lord’s word is flawless;     he shields all who take refuge in him. 31 For who is God besides the Lord?     And who is the Rock except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength     and keeps my way secure. 33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;     he causes me to stand on the heights. 34 He trains my hands for battle;     my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 35 You make your saving help my shield,     and your right hand sustains me;     your help has made me great. 36 You provide a broad path for my feet,     so that my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;     I did not turn back till they were destroyed. 38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;     they fell beneath my feet. 39 You armed me with strength for battle;     you humbled my adversaries before me. 40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,     and I destroyed my foes. 41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—     to the Lord, but he did not answer. 42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;     I trampled them[b] like mud in the streets. 43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;     you have made me the head of nations. People I did not know now serve me, 44     foreigners cower before me;     as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. 45 They all lose heart;     they come trembling from their strongholds.

46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!     Exalted be God my Savior! 47 He is the God who avenges me,     who subdues nations under me, 48     who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes;     from a violent man you rescued me. 49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;     I will sing the praises of your name.

50 He gives his king great victories;     he shows unfailing love to his anointed,     to David and to his descendants forever.

17 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

6 “I have revealed you[a] to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

3 A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.[a]

2 Lord, I have heard of your fame;     I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day,     in our time make them known;     in wrath remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman,     the Holy One from Mount Paran.[b] His glory covered the heavens     and his praise filled the earth. 4 His splendor was like the sunrise;     rays flashed from his hand,     where his power was hidden. 5 Plague went before him;     pestilence followed his steps. 6 He stood, and shook the earth;     he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled     and the age-old hills collapsed—     but he marches on forever. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan in distress,     the dwellings of Midian in anguish.

8 Were you angry with the rivers, Lord?     Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea     when you rode your horses     and your chariots to victory? 9 You uncovered your bow,     you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; 10     the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by;     the deep roared     and lifted its waves on high.

11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens     at the glint of your flying arrows,     at the lightning of your flashing spear. 12 In wrath you strode through the earth     and in anger you threshed the nations. 13 You came out to deliver your people,     to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness,     you stripped him from head to foot. 14 With his own spear you pierced his head     when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour     the wretched who were in hiding. 15 You trampled the sea with your horses,     churning the great waters.

16 I heard and my heart pounded,     my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones,     and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity     to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud     and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails     and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen     and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,     I will be joyful in God my Savior.

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,     and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,     and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.