Psalm 45
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 45
Ode for a Royal Wedding
To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.
1 My heart overflows with a goodly theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.(A)
2 You are the most handsome of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.(B)
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your glory and majesty.(C)
4 In your majesty ride on victoriously
for the cause of truth and to defend[a] the right;
let your right hand teach you dread deeds.(D)
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God,[b] endures forever and ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;(E)
7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;(F)
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;(G)
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.(H)
10 Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your people and your father’s house,(I)
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;(J)
12 Daughter Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
the richest of the people(K) 13 with all kinds of wealth.
The princess is decked in her chamber with gold-woven robes;[c](L)
14 in many-colored robes she is led to the king;
behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.(M)
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
Psalm 46
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 46
God’s Defense of His City and People
To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present[a] help in trouble.(A)
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea,(B)
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah(C)
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.(D)
5 God is in the midst of the city;[b] it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.(E)
6 The nations are in an uproar; the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice; the earth melts.(F)
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.[c] Selah(G)
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.(H)
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.(I)
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations;
I am exalted in the earth.”(J)
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.[d] Selah
Baruch 4:36-5:9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
36 Look toward the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the joy that is coming to you from God.(A)
37 Look, your children are coming, whom you sent away;
they are coming, gathered from east and west,
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing in the glory of God.(B)
5 Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,
and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God.(C)
2 Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;
put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting,(D)
3 for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven,
4 for God will give you evermore the name,
“Righteous Peace, Godly Glory.”(E)
5 Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;
look toward the east,
and see your children gathered from west and east
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing that God has remembered them.(F)
6 For they went out from you on foot,
led away by their enemies,
but God will bring them back to you,
carried in glory, as on a royal throne.(G)
7 For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low
and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,
so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.(H)
8 The woods and every fragrant tree
have shaded Israel at God’s command.(I)
9 For God will lead Israel with joy,
in the light of his glory,
with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.
Galatians 3:23-4:7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be reckoned as righteous[a] by faith.(A) 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.(B) 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.(C) 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.(D) 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,[b] heirs according to the promise.(E)
4 My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than those who are enslaved, though they are the owners of all the property, 2 but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3 So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental principles[c] of the world.(F) 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,(G) 5 in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.(H) 6 And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our[d] hearts, crying, “Abba![e] Father!”(I) 7 So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir through God.[f]
Matthew 1:18-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah[a] took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit.(A) 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.(B) 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”(C) 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23 “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.”(D) 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son,[b] and he named him Jesus.(E)
Read full chapter
Isaiah 59:15-21
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 Truth is lacking,
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him
that there was no justice.(A)
16 He saw that there was no one
and was appalled that there was no one to intervene,
so his own arm brought him victory,
and his righteousness upheld him.(B)
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.(C)
18 According to their deeds, so will he repay
wrath to his adversaries, requital to his enemies;
to the coastlands he will render requital.(D)
19 So those in the west shall fear the name of the Lord,
and those in the east, his glory,
for he will come like a pent-up stream
that the wind of the Lord drives on.(E)
20 And he will come to Zion as Redeemer,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression, says the Lord.(F)
21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you and my words that I have put in your mouth shall not depart out of your mouth or out of the mouths of your children or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and forever.(G)
Read full chapter
Philippians 2:5-11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
5 Let the same mind be in you that was[a] in Christ Jesus,(A)
6 who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,(B)
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,(C)
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.(D)
9 Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,(E)
10 so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,(F)
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.(G)
Footnotes
- 2.5 Or that you have
Psalm 89:1-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 89
God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,[a] forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.(A)
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.(B)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:(C)
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah(D)
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.(E)
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,(F)
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome[b] above all who are around him?(G)
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.(H)
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.(I)
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.(J)
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it—you founded them.(K)
12 The north and the south[c]—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.(L)
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.(M)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.(N)
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;(O)
16 they exult in your name all day long
and extol[d] your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.(P)
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(Q)
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one and said,
“I have set the crown[e] on one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.(R)
20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;(S)
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.(T)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.(U)
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.(V)
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’(W)
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.(X)
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.(Y)
29 I will establish his line forever
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.(Z)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.