Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Mary Praises God
46 Then Mary said,
“My soul praises the Lord;
47 my heart rejoices in God my Savior,
48 because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl.
From now on, all people will say that I am blessed,
49 because the Powerful One has done great things for me.
His name is holy.
50 God will show his mercy forever and ever
to those who worship and serve him.
51 He has done mighty deeds by his power.
He has scattered the people who are proud
and think great things about themselves.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
and raised up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with nothing.
54 He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
remembering to show them mercy
55 as he promised to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his children forever.”
David Prays to God
18 Then King David went in and sat in front of the Lord. David said, “Lord God, who am I? What is my family? Why did you bring me to this point?
23 There is no nation like your people Israel. They are the only people on earth that God chose to be his own. You made your name well known. You did great and wonderful miracles for them. You went ahead of them and forced other nations and their gods out of the land. You freed your people from slavery in Egypt. 24 You made the people of Israel your very own people forever, and, Lord, you are their God.
25 “Now, Lord God, keep the promise forever that you made about my family and me, your servant. Do what you have said. 26 Then you will be honored always, and people will say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is God over Israel!’ And the family of your servant David will continue before you.
27 “Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, you have said to me, ‘I will make your family great.’ So I, your servant, am brave enough to pray to you. 28 Lord God, you are God, and your words are true. And you have promised these good things to me, your servant. 29 Please, bless my family. Let it continue before you always. Lord God, you have said so. With your blessing let my family always be blessed.”
6 The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”[a] 7 So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. 8 The Scriptures, telling what would happen in the future, said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. This Good News was told to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you.”[b] 9 So all who believe as Abraham believed are blessed just as Abraham was. 10 But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.”[c] 11 Now it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law, because the Scriptures say, “Those who are right with God will live by faith.”[d] 12 The law is not based on faith. It says, “A person who obeys these things will live because of them.”[e] 13 Christ took away the curse the law put on us. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, “Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree[f] is cursed.” 14 Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come through Jesus Christ to those who are not Jews. Jesus died so that by our believing we could receive the Spirit that God promised.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.