Who Is like the Lord Our God?
1 bPraise the Lord!
cPraise, O dservants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
2 eBlessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
3 fFrom the rising of the sun to its setting,
4 The Lord is ihigh above all nations,
and his jglory above the heavens!
5 kWho is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
6 who llooks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He mraises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them nsit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He ogives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
bPraise the Lord!
Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
1 When pIsrael went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from qa people of strange language,
2 Judah became his rsanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 sThe sea looked and fled;
tJordan turned back.
4 uThe mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 What vails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 wTremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns xthe rock into ya pool of water,
zthe flint into a spring of water.
To Your Name Give Glory
1 aNot to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
bfor the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
c“Where is their God?”
3 dOur God is in the heavens;
ehe does all that he pleases.
4 fTheir idols are silver and gold,
gthe work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, hbut 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;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 iThose who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9 O jIsrael,1 ktrust in the Lord!
He is their lhelp and their shield.
10 O jhouse of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and mtheir shield.
11 You nwho fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless othe house of Israel;
he will bless othe house of Aaron;
13 he will pbless those who fear the Lord,
qboth the small and the great.
14 May the Lord rgive you increase,
you and your children!
15 May syou be blessed by the Lord,
twho made heaven and earth!
16 The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 uThe dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any who go down into vsilence.
18 But wwe will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
xPraise the Lord!
Sons and Heirs
1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave,1 though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, cwere enslaved to the elementary principles2 of the world. 4 But dwhen the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, eborn fof woman, born gunder the law, 5 hto redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive iadoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent jthe Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then kan heir through God.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Formerly, when you ldid not know God, you mwere enslaved to those that by nature nare not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather oto be known by God, phow can you turn back again to qthe weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 rYou observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid sI may have labored over you in vain.
12 Brothers,3 tI entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. uYou did me no wrong. 13 You know it was vbecause of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you wat first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me xas an angel of God, yas Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by ztelling you the truth?4 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and anot only when I am present with you, 19 bmy little children, cfor whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ dis formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
Example of Hagar and Sarah
21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, eone by a slave woman and fone by a free woman. 23 But gthe son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while hthe son of the free woman was born through promise. 24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two icovenants. jOne is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia;5 she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But kthe Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
l“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you,6 brothers, mlike Isaac, nare children of promise. 29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh opersecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, pso also it is now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? q“Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but rof the free woman.
