Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God gives promises to David
7 The king was living in his palace. The Lord kept him safe from all his enemies everywhere. 2 One day, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘I am living in a beautiful palace that is made of cedar wood. But God's Covenant Box still has a tent for its home!’
3 Nathan replied to the king, ‘Do what you think is right. The Lord will help you.’
4 But that night the Lord said to Nathan, 5 ‘Go and tell my servant David,
“The Lord says this: Do not think that you are the right man to build a house for me to live in. 6 From the time that I brought Israel's people out of Egypt until now, I have never lived in a house. While my people moved from place to place, I travelled with them. I lived in a tent as my home. 7 I have moved about to many different places with the Israelite people. I chose leaders to take care of Israel's tribes, like shepherds for them. But in all that time, I never said to any of the leaders, ‘You should have built a beautiful house of cedar wood for me.’
8 So tell my servant David that the Lord Almighty says this: I took you from the fields where you were taking care of sheep. I took you from there to become the ruler of my people Israel. 9 I have been with you everywhere that you have gone. I destroyed all your enemies that were attacking you. Now I will make you famous. Your name will be as great as the names of the earth's greatest men.
10 I have chosen a place where my people Israel will live. I have put them in that place, where they can be safe. They will not be afraid of trouble from any enemy. Wicked people will not hurt them any more. That happened in the past, 11 from the time that I chose leaders to rule my people Israel. But now I will keep you safe from all your enemies.
I, the Lord, say to you, David: I will give you descendants who will rule as kings after you. That will be the royal house that I build for you!
16 The kingdom that your descendants rule will continue for ever. Someone from your family will always be king.” ’
Mary's song
46 Then Mary said,
‘All of me wants to praise God and say,
“Lord, how good and great you are!”
47 I thank God because he is the one who saves me.
48 I know that I am not an important person.
God knows this, and he has been kind to me.
Listen! From now on, all people will say that God has made me happy.
49 Yes, God has done great things for me.
He is very powerful and strong. He is good in every way.
50 He is kind to people who respect and obey him.
He will always be kind to people like that.
51 He has shown how strong he is to do great things.
Some people think that they are very important.
But he has sent them away in different directions.
52 Some people were ruling countries.
But he has taken their power away from them.
He has given power to people who do not feel important.
53 He has fed hungry people with good things to eat.
But he has sent rich people away with nothing.
54 He promised that he would be kind to his people, Israel.
Now he has come and helped them.
55 He made a promise to Abraham and to our other ancestors.
Now he has done what he promised.’[a]
This is a special song that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote.
God's special love[a]
89 I will always sing about the Lord's faithful love.
I will tell my children and my grandchildren
that you are always faithful.
2 Yes! Your faithful love will always continue to be strong.
You will always be faithful,
as the skies will always be there.
3 The Lord has said,
‘I have made a covenant with the king that I chose.
I have made this strong promise to my servant David:
4 “Someone from your family will always be king.
They will rule for ever.” ’
Selah.
God's covenant with David
19 A long time ago, Lord,
you spoke to your servants.
In a vision, you said to them,
‘I have helped a brave soldier to be strong.
I have chosen as king
a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David, my servant.
I have poured my special oil on him,
to make him king.
21 I will help him with my power,
so that he is strong.
22 No enemy will win against him.
No cruel people will have power to hurt him.
23 I will destroy his enemies in front of him
I will kill those who hate him.
24 I will always be faithful
and show him my faithful love.
By my name he will win against his enemies.
25 I will cause his kingdom to reach
beyond the sea and the rivers.
26 The king will say to me, “You are my Father.
You are my God.
You protect me and you rescue me.”
25 We praise God because he is great! He is able to make you strong in your spirits! That is the good news that I teach. That good news is the message about Jesus Christ that God has kept secret since long ago. But now he has shown this message to us. 26 God's prophets already wrote that this good news would come. God, who lives for ever, has commanded us to tell it to people. He wants people from all nations to know this message. Then they can believe in God and obey him.
27 Yes, we praise God! Only he is completely wise. We praise him for ever, because of Jesus Christ! This is true. Amen.
What happened before Jesus was born
26 When Elizabeth's baby had grown inside her for nearly six months, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth. Nazareth is a town in Galilee. 27 Gabriel went there to visit a young woman. Her name was Mary. She had never had sex with anyone. She had promised to marry a man called Joseph. He belonged to the family of King David.[a]
28 Gabriel went to Mary and said, ‘Hello, Mary. The Lord God loves you very much. He is very near to you.’
29 Mary had a lot of problems in her mind about Gabriel's message. She did not understand what he meant. 30 Then Gabriel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary. God has been kind to you. 31 Listen! A baby boy will grow inside you. When he is born, you will call him Jesus. 32 He will be great. People will call him the Son of the powerful God who is over all. The Lord God will make him king. He will rule as his ancestor King David ruled.[b] 33 He will rule over the family of Jacob for all time.[c] He will be king for all time, without end.’
34 Mary asked, ‘How can this happen? I have never had sex with anyone.’ 35 Gabriel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of God who is over all will cover you like a shadow. So your child will be special to God. He will be completely good. He will be called God's Son. 36 Another thing! Your cousin, Elizabeth, is very old. People said that she could not have a baby. Listen! She also will have a son. The baby has grown inside her now for nearly six months. 37 There is nothing that God cannot do.’
38 Mary answered, ‘I am the servant of the Lord. I have heard what you have said. I want it to happen to me just like that.’ Then the angel left her.
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