Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God’s Ancient Mercies Recalled
7 I will make mention of the (A)mercies of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has granted us,
And the great (B)goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has granted them according to His (C)compassion
And according to the abundance of His mercies.
8 For He said, “Certainly they are (D)My people,
Sons who will not deal falsely.”
So He became their (E)Savior.
9 In all their distress [a](F)He was distressed,
And the (G)angel of His presence saved them;
In His (H)love and in His mercy He (I)redeemed them,
And He (J)lifted them and carried them all the days of old.
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
10 For (A)it was fitting for Him, (B)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (C)perfect the [a](D)originator of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who (E)sanctifies and those who (F)are [b]sanctified are all (G)from one Father; for this reason He is not ashamed to call them (H)brothers and sisters, 12 saying,
“(I)I will proclaim Your name to My brothers,
In the midst of the assembly I will sing Your praise.”
13 And again,
“(J)I will put My trust in Him.”
And again,
“(K)Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”
14 Therefore, since the children share in [c](L)flesh and blood, (M)He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that (N)through death He might destroy (O)the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through (P)fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16 For clearly He does not [d]give help to angels, but He gives help to the [e]descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He [f]had (Q)to be made like His brothers so that He might (R)become a merciful and faithful (S)high priest in (T)things pertaining to God, to (U)make [g]propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was [h](V)tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are [i]tempted.
The Escape to Egypt
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an (A)angel of the Lord *(B)appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
14 So [a]Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. 15 He [b]stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through [c]the prophet would be fulfilled: “(C)Out of Egypt I called (D)My Son.”
Herod Slaughters Babies
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by (E)the magi, he became very enraged, and sent men and (F)killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity [d]who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. 17 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “(G)A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
And she refused to be comforted,
Because they were no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord *(H)appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, 20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” 21 So [e]Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being (I)warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, 23 and came and settled in a city called (J)Nazareth. This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a (K)Nazarene.”
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