Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

72 O God, help the king to judge as you would, and help his son to walk in godliness. ² Help him to give justice to your people, even to the poor. ³ May the mountains and hills flourish in prosperity because of his good reign. ⁴ Help him to defend the poor and needy and to crush their oppressors. ⁵ May the poor and needy revere you constantly, as long as sun and moon continue in the skies! Yes, forever!

⁶ May the reign of this son of mine^[a] be as gentle and fruitful as the springtime rains upon the grass—like showers that water the earth! ⁷ May all good men flourish in his reign with abundance of peace to the end of time.

⁸ Let him reign from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ The desert nomads shall bow before him; his enemies shall fall face downward in the dust. ¹⁰ Kings along the Mediterranean coast—the kings of Tarshish and the islands—and those from Sheba and from Seba—all will bring their gifts. ¹¹ Yes, kings from everywhere! All will bow before him! All will serve him!

¹² He will take care of the helpless and poor when they cry to him; for they have no one else to defend them. ¹³ He feels pity for the weak and needy and will rescue them. ¹⁴ He will save them from oppression and from violence, for their lives are precious to him.

¹⁵ And he shall live; and to him will be given the gold of Sheba, and there will be constant praise for him.^[b] His people will bless him all day long. ¹⁶ Bless us with abundant crops throughout the land, even on the highland plains; may there be fruit like that of Lebanon; may the cities be as full of people as the fields are of grass. ¹⁷ His name will be honored forever; it will continue as the sun; and all will be blessed in him; all nations will praise him.

¹⁸ Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of Israel, who only does wonderful things! ¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen!

²⁰ (This ends the psalms of David, son of Jesse.)

⁷ For the Lord says: Sing with joy for all that I will do for Israel, the greatest of the nations! Shout out with praise and joy: “The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel.” ⁸ For I will bring them from the north and from earth’s farthest ends, not forgetting their blind and lame, young mothers with their little ones, those ready to give birth. It will be a great company who comes. ⁹ Tears of joy shall stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They shall walk beside the quiet streams and not stumble. For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my oldest child.

¹⁰ Listen to this message from the Lord, you nations of the world, and publish it abroad: The Lord who scattered his people will gather them back together again and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. ¹¹ He will save Israel from those who are too strong for them! ¹² They shall come home and sing songs of joy upon the hills of Zion and shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord—the good crops, the wheat, the wine, and the oil, and the healthy flocks and herds. Their life shall be like a watered garden, and all their sorrows shall be gone. ¹³ The young girls will dance for joy, and menfolk—old and young—will take their part in all the fun; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and I will comfort them and make them rejoice, for their captivity with all its sorrows will be behind them. ¹⁴ I will feast the priests with the abundance of offerings brought to them at the Temple; I will satisfy my people with my bounty, says the Lord.

1 ^1-2 Before anything else existed,^[a] there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. ³ He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. ⁴ Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. ⁵ His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.

^6-7 God sent John the Baptist as a witness to the fact that Jesus Christ is the true Light. ⁸ John himself was not the Light; he was only a witness to identify it.

⁹ Later on, the one who is the true Light arrived to shine on everyone coming into the world.

¹⁰ But although he made the world, the world didn’t recognize him when he came. ^11-12 Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them.^{[a] 13} All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth^[b] resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God.

¹⁴ And Christ^[c] became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father!

¹⁵ John pointed him out to the people, telling the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming who is greater by far than I am—for he existed long before I did!’” ¹⁶ We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us—blessing upon blessing heaped upon us! ¹⁷ For Moses gave us only the Law with its rigid demands and merciless justice, while Jesus Christ brought us loving forgiveness as well. ¹⁸ No one has ever actually seen God, but, of course, his only Son has, for he is the companion of the Father and has told us all about him.