12/19/2011 Revelation 9 - 12
Yesterday Tomorrow
Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit; 2 he opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. 3 Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to damage the grass of the earth or any green growth or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were allowed to torture them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torture was like the torture of a scorpion when it stings someone. 6 And in those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them.
MONSTERS
The Bible opens up a whole new world to its readers; one with which it often finds itself unfamiliar. The biblical world is populated by spiritual beings-angels, cherubim, demons and monsters. Because our own world is so different from the ancient one, we will have trouble appreciating the horror that these images aroused in those who heard about them. The ancient Near Eastern cultural background to the imagery of the Bible is particularly evident in its references to monsters.In the Old Testament three terms are found for monsters that symbolize the threat to the divine order of the world: Leviathan (liwyātān), Rahab (rahab) and dragon or sea monster (tannîn). Rahab (boisterous one) is not found in any text outside the Bible; the biblical parallels suggest it is another name for Leviathan. Leviathan is described as the coiling and twisting serpent (Is 27:1), as is Rahab (Job 26:12–13); Rahab is also parallel to dragon (Is 51:9), a term also used for Leviathan in Isaiah 27:1. This imagery is significant for understanding biblical language about creation, God’s wars against the nations, and the ultimate conflict that will lead to a new created order.
The Threat of the Sea Monster. In the ancient Near East a monster is a common symbol to represent a watery chaos that threatens life in the world. The chaos monster is variously depicted as a composite creature (half lion and half eagle), as a serpent or as a seven-headed monster. In a cylinder seal from Mari in the Akkadian Period (2350–2150 B.C.), a god (possibly El) is seated on a mountain in the midst of the sources of the two oceans. Two goddesses embodying vegetation rise out of the two rivers that originate at the foot of the mountain, while another god (possibly Baal-Hadad, god of the storm) combats the unruly waters with his spear. In a Syrian cylinder seal (18th-17th centuries B.C.) the tree of life, depicting the world, is attacked by a chaos serpent, which is killed by Baal-Hadad as he strides over the mountains brandishing a mace. In a Hittite limestone relief the coiled fiery serpent, whose body depicts the breaking of the mighty waves, is attacked by the god of storm and fertility with the help of the celestial rain gods. In a gray stone cylinder seal from the Akkadian period, two gods attack a seven-headed dragon; three of the seven heads are limp, one is being attacked, and three other heads hiss dangerously. The flames rising from the dragon’s back indicate that he simultaneously symbolizes searing heat and destructive masses of water.
In Egypt the monstrous serpent Apophis is the embodiment of the dark sea, the evening clouds and the morning haze. A papyrus of the twenty-first dynasty (1085–950 B.C.) portrays the sun god Re at the point of leaving the sky; a serpent stylized as wild waves pits himself against Re but is rendered harmless by Seth, the helper of Re. Helpful jackal and cobra demons draw the ship of the sun across the sluggish floods of the netherworld. In the ancient Near East the empirical world points beyond its superficial reality to spheres of divine intensive life and bottomless devastating lostness. The symbolism of the chaos threat indicates that there was no ultimate basis for security in the present sphere of existence.
The ancient Near Eastern depictions of creation provide a background for its iconography and language. The Egyptian view is known only from fragments in the alien setting of texts of the dead or from hymns and similar texts. There are numerous and varied Egyptian conceptions of creation from the primal sea, the Nun, which was unbounded, unmoved and full of potential fertility without being creative. Four pairs of gods, whose names vary, embody the world before creation: unboundedness, lightlessness, timelessness and nothingness. All take part in creating from the sea, beginning with a first piece of firm land, the “primal hill.” In another version a god flew over the water in the form of a bird and laid the primal egg upon it. Very little is said about the creation of humans, other than that they arose out of the creators’ tears.
The Akkadian creation epic Enu̱ma elish (“When on High”), consisting of almost 900 lines on seven tablets, introduces us to the battle with chaos in creation. It first reports the creation of the gods by the primal couple Apsuï (primeval sweet-water ocean) and Tiaïmat (salt water ocean), whose waters mingled in an immense undefined mass. The uproar among the younger gods robbed aged Apsuï of his repose, and he decides to destroy them; but he encounters the opposition of Tiaïmat. Apsuï is killed, and Tiaïmat then seeks to take vengeance for her consort. Marduk enters into combat with Tiaïmat and out of her slain body creates the cosmos, the heavens and the earth. As the reward for his victory, he is made lord over the gods and the cosmos. In this version of creation the primeval waters are a dangerous and threatening force.
A variation of the battle with the sea is found in the Ugaritic Baal myth (c. 15th century B.C.). The reconstruction of the epic is uncertain due to the fragmentary state of the tablets, but it seems to consist of six tablets that follow the cycle of Baal according to the annual seasons, beginning in the fall. If this is correct, Baal, the god of the storm and fertility, loses his rule to Yam (sea), the god of the winter storms. Baal enters into battle with Yam, gains the victory and builds a palace for his rule, providing for the spring rains. Baal then succumbs to Mot (death), the season of summer heat and harvest. Finally Baal escapes the realm of the netherworld and again ascends his throne at the time of the new year. The new year is a microcosmic reflection of the first day of creation and may be regarded as a repetition of the conquering of the primordial chaos.
Myth and ritual in the ancient Near East in similar ways portray the threat of chaos to the ordered fertility of creation. It is possible that elements of the Baal myth have influenced the Babylonian epic of creation, which is a composite of various influences. Various similarities exist between Baal’s battle with the sea and the battle of Marduk with Tiaïmat: both incorporate elements of the storm, and the name Marduk seems to have the meaning “son of the storm.” In the Syrian (Ugaritic) texts there is no mention of the splitting of the sea or the creating of heaven and earth out of it as in the Mesopotamian epic. The sea is considered a continuous danger in present times, as it was when the world was created; the enemy is presently an entity on earth. It is this distinct language and imagery of the Ugaritic texts that is found in the Bible to describe God’s providence in creation.
Ryken, L., Wilhoit, J., Longman, T., Duriez, C., Penney, D., & Reid, D. G.. Dictionary of biblical imagery
7 In appearance the locusts were like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; 9 they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails like scorpions, with stingers, and in their tails is their power to harm people for five months. 11 They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon.
12 The first woe has passed. There are still two woes to come.
13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of humankind. 16 The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. 17 And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. 18 By these three plagues a third of humankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they inflict harm.
20 The rest of humankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands or give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their fornication or their thefts.
The Angel with the Little Scroll
Revelation 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He held a little scroll open in his hand. Setting his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, 3 he gave a great shout, like a lion roaring. And when he shouted, the seven thunders sounded. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.”5 Then the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it:
“There will be no more delay, 7 but in the days when the seventh angel is to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll; and he said to me, “Take it, and eat; it will be bitter to your stomach, but sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 So I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it; it was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
11 Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
The Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. 6 They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; 10 and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. 13 At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.”
“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants, the prophets
and saints and all who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
The Woman and the Dragon
Revelation 12:1 A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. 3 Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.Michael Defeats the Dragon
7 And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
11 But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
12 Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”
The Dragon Fights Again on Earth
The First Beast
18 Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore.
Devotionals, notes, poetry and more
by Bill Federer
Driven into Pennsylvania by the British, it was on this day, December 19, in the freezing winter of 1777, that the Continental Army set up camp at Valley Forge. Lacking supplies, soldiers died at the rate of twelve per day. General Washington, who was seen kneeling in prayer in the snow, recorded: “To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lay on, without shoes, by which their marches might be traced by the blood from their feet… and at Christmas taking up their… quarters within a day’s march of the enemy… is a mark of patience and obedience which in my opinion can scarce be paralleled.”
William J. Federer. American Minute
by whoever
Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come.
—Charlotte Elliott
It is a blessing to die for a cause,
because you can so easily die for nothing.
--- Andrew Young
... from here, there and everywhere
by D.H. Stern
29 Three things are stately in their stride,
four of stately gait—
30 the lion, mightiest of beasts,
which turns aside for no one;
31 the greyhound, the billy-goat
and the king when his army is with him.
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.
A Daily Devotional by Oswald Chambers
What to Concentrate On
I came not to send peace, but a sword. --- Matthew 10:34.
Never be sympathetic with the soul whose case makes you come to the conclusion that God is hard. God is more tender than we can conceive, and every now and again He gives us the chance of being the rugged one that He may be the tender One. If a man cannot get through to God it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up—‘I will admit I have done wrong, but I no more intend to give up that thing than fly.’ It is impossible to deal sympathetically with a case like that: we have to get right deep down to the root until there is antagonism and resentment against the message. People want the blessing of God, but they will not stand the thing that goes straight to the quick.
If God has had His way with you, your message as His servant is merciless insistence on the one line, cut down to the very root, otherwise there will be no healing. Drive home the message until there is no possible refuge from its application. Begin to get at people where they are until you get them to realize what they lack, and then erect the standard of Jesus Christ for their lives—‘We never can be that!’ Then drive it home: ‘Jesus Christ says you must.’ ‘But how can we be?’ ‘You cannot, unless you have a new Spirit’ (Luke 11:13).
There must be a sense of need before your message is of any use. Thousands of people are happy without God in this world. If I was happy and moral till Jesus came, why did He come? Because that kind of happiness and peace is on a wrong level; Jesus Christ came to send a sword through every peace that is not based on a personal relationship to Himself.
Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas
In this desert of language
we find ourselves in,
with the sign-post with the word 'God'
worn away
and the distance ...?
Pity the simpleton
with his mouth open crying:
How far is it to God?
And the wiseacre says: Where you were,
friend.
You know that smile
glossy
as the machine that thinks it has outpaced
belief?
I am one of those
who sees from the arms opened
to embrace the future
the shadow of the Cross fall
on the smoothest of surfaces
causing me to stumble.
The Poems of R.S. Thomas
Emotional Health
“A great crisis experience of Jesus Christ, as important and eternally valuable as this is, is not a shortcut to emotional health. It is not a quickie cure for personality problems.”
“Isn’t it true that by their fruits ye shall know them? (Matt. 7:16) Yes, but it is also true that by their roots you shall understand, and not judge them.”
David Seamands, Healing for Damaged Emotions. 
Day 2
Human Beings Become Human
Because God Became Human
The figure of Jesus Christ takes shape in human beings. Human beings do not take on an independent form of their own. Rather, what gives them form and maintains them in their new form is always and only the figure of Jesus Christ himself. It is therefore not an imitation, not a repetition of his form, but their own form that takes shape in human beings. Human beings are not transformed into a form that is foreign to them, not into the form of God, but into their own form, a form that belongs to them, not into the form of God, but into their own form, a form that belongs to them and is essential to them. Human beings become human because God became human, but human beings do not become God. They could not and cannot bring about that change in their form, but God himself changes his form into human form, so that human beings -- though not becoming God -- can become human.
In Christ the form of human beings before God was created anew. It was not a matter of place, of time, of climate, of race, of the individual, of society, of religion, or of taste, but rather a question of the life of humanity itself that it recognized in Christ its image and its hope. What happened to Christ happened to humanity.
The whole Christian story is strange. Frederick Buechner describes the Incarnation as "a kind of vast joke whereby the creator of the ends of the earthcomes among us in diapers." He concludes, "Until we too have taken the idea of the God-man seriously enough to be scandalized by it, we have not taken it as seriously as it demands to be taken.
But we have taken the idea as seriously as a child can. America is far from spiritually monolithic, but the vast backdrop of our culture is Christian, and for most of us it is the earliest faith we know. The "idea of the God-man" is not strange or scandalous, because it first swam in milk and butter on the top of our oatmeal decades ago. At that age, many things were strange, though most were more immediately palpable. A God-filled baby in a pile of straw was a plesant image, but somewhat theoretical compared with the heart-stopping exhilaration of a visit from Santa Claus. The way a thunderstorm ripped the night sky, the hurtling power of the automobile Daddy drove so bravely, the rapture of ice cream -- how could the distant Incarnation compare with those?
We grew up with the Jesus story, until we outgrew it. The last day we walked out of Sunday School may be the last day we seriously engaged this faith.
Frederica Mathewes-Green, At the Corner of East and Now: A Modern Life in Ancient Christian Orthodoxy
"The Government upon the Shoulders of a Child," Christmas 1940
Go to 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 Click Here
God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas
Cards and Dice
Hugh Latimer, English Reformer, was asked to preach on December 19, 1529 at St. Edward’s in Cambridge. The students loved playing cards, so Latimer decided to preach about the cards God deals us, using the example of John the Baptist. He suggested that we must all answer the question the Jews asked John—Who are you? Without Christ, the answer is: “I am under condemnation because of sin.” But through repentance and forgiveness, we can answer, “I am a Christian.” Then as we study the New Testament, it is like turning over cards, one at a time, to learn how God wants us to live.
Latimer ascended the little hexagonal pulpit in the church on December 19. His clear voice pealed out the Scripture in Latin, translated it into English, then plunged into his sermon.
A friar named Buckenham preached a counter sermon using the idea of a pair of dice. He called it “Cinque-quatre”—Five, Four—saying that God’s dice have landed with five on one and four on the other. He attacked the Reformation using five Scripture passages and four church doctors: Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory. Buckenham ridiculed Latimer’s call for an English translation of Scripture. “The common man will not understand the figurative language of Scripture,” Buckenham asserted. For example, when the Bible speaks of plucking out one’s eye, some may do it literally.
Latimer assured Buckenham that the English were smart enough to understand metaphors. To laughter, he said, “For example, when a painter pictures a fox in a friar’s cowl, no one supposes an actual fox preaching. What he means is the hypocrisy, craft, and subtle dissimulation that often lie hidden in a friar’s cowl.”
John Foxe later said: Friar Buckenham with this sermon was so dashed that never after he durst peep out of the pulpit against Master Latimer.
Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life.
--- Romans 5:9,10.
Morgan, R. J. On This Day 365 Amazing And Inspiring Stories About Saints, Martyrs And Heroes
Autumn / 72
I have spoken openly to the world.… I said nothing in secret. --- John 18:20.
In our text our Lord lays claim to a great openness, and it is a claim that cannot be disputed. (George H. Morrison, “The Candor of Christ,” in The Wings of the Morning
Of course this candor of our Lord and Master was always at the service of his love. It was the instrument of a pure and perfect sympathy that knew that there were seasons to be silent. The perfect candor of our Redeemer’s talk was ever subservient to that noblest love which dares to speak when other lips are silent and to be silent when other voices speak. There is a candor that is the child of ignorance, for fools rush in where angels fear to tread. There is a candor that betrays the bitter heart, for it speaks the truth—but does not speak in love. But the candor of Jesus goes hand in hand with reticence, and both look up to catch their inspiration from the most loving and sympathetic eyes that ever beamed on a sinful world.
Now there are times in every life when it takes a certain courage to be quiet. To every man and woman there come seasons when the path of duty is the path of silence. All that is basest in us bids us speak, for there is a candor that is the child of hell; but all that is noblest in us checks our speech, lest to someone we do irreparable harm. But remember if it takes courage to be quiet, it also may call for courage to be frank.
--- George H. Morrison
Wallis, D. (2001). Take Heart: Daily Devotions with the Church's Great Preachers
MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2011 | ADVENT
MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT
YEAR 2
Psalms (Morning) Psalm 61, 62
Psalms (Evening) Psalm 112, 115
Old Testament Zephaniah 3:14–20
New Testament Titus 1:1–16
Gospel Luke 1:1–25
Index of Readings
PSALMS (MORNING)
Psalm 61, 62
To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.
1 Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
that is higher than I;
3 for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4 Let me abide in your tent forever,
find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 Prolong the life of the king;
may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8 So I will always sing praises to your name,
as I pay my vows day after day.
To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3 How long will you assail a person,
will you batter your victim, all of you,
as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath,
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12 and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
PSALMS (EVENING)
Psalm 112, 115
1 Praise the LORD!
Happy are those who fear the LORD,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does whatever he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
they make no sound in their throats.
8 Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both small and great.
14 May the LORD give you increase,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to human beings.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any that go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.
Praise the LORD!
OLD TESTAMENT
Zephaniah 3:14–20
14 Sing aloud, O daughter Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
15 The LORD has taken away the judgments against you,
he has turned away your enemies.
The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
you shall fear disaster no more.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
17 The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
18 as on a day of festival.
I will remove disaster from you,
so that you will not bear reproach for it.
19 I will deal with all your oppressors
at that time.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcast,
and I will change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
20 At that time I will bring you home,
at the time when I gather you;
for I will make you renowned and praised
among all the peoples of the earth,
when I restore your fortunes
before your eyes, says the LORD.
NEW TESTAMENT
Titus 1:1–16
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that is in accordance with godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began— 3 in due time he revealed his word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my loyal child in the faith we share:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
5 I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done, and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you: 6 someone who is blameless, married only once, whose children are believers, not accused of debauchery and not rebellious. 7 For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless; he must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or addicted to wine or violent or greedy for gain; 8 but he must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled. 9 He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it.
10 There are also many rebellious people, idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision; 11 they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for sordid gain what it is not right to teach. 12 It was one of them, their very own prophet, who said,
“Cretans are always liars, vicious brutes, lazy gluttons.”
13 That testimony is true. For this reason rebuke them sharply, so that they may become sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths or to commandments of those who reject the truth. 15 To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure. Their very minds and consciences are corrupted. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
GOSPEL
Luke 1:1–25
1 Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.
5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.
8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”
21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”
The Episcopal Church. Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
On Bible Gateway