Psalm 97; Isaiah 62:6–12; Luke 2:8–20; Titus 3:4–7

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Psalm 97

The Lord Reigns

xThe Lord reigns, ylet the earth rejoice;

let the many zcoastlands be glad!

aClouds and thick darkness are all around him;

brighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

cFire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

His dlightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and etrembles.

The mountains fmelt like gwax before the Lord,

before hthe Lord of all the earth.

iThe heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all jthe peoples see his glory.

All worshipers of images are kput to shame,

who make their boast in lworthless idols;

mworship him, all you gods!

Zion hears and nis glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you, O Lord, are omost high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above pall gods.

10  O you who love the Lord, qhate evil!

He rpreserves the lives of his ssaints;

he tdelivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  uLight vis sown1 for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12  wRejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and xgive thanks to his holy name!


Isaiah 62:6–12

On your walls, O Jerusalem,

I have set ywatchmen;

all the day and all the night

they shall never be silent.

You who put the Lord in remembrance,

take no rest,

and give him no rest

until he establishes Jerusalem

and makes it za praise in the earth.

The Lord has sworn aby his right hand

and by his mighty arm:

I will not again give byour grain

to be food for your enemies,

cand foreigners shall not drink your wine

for which you have labored;

but dthose who garner it shall eat it

and praise the Lord,

and dthose who gather it shall drink it

in the courts of my sanctuary.1

10  Go through, go through the gates;

eprepare the way for the people;

fbuild up, build up the highway;

clear it of stones;

glift up a signal over the peoples.

11  Behold, the Lord has proclaimed

to the end of the earth:

hSay to the daughter of Zion,

iBehold, your salvation comes;

behold, his reward is with him,

and his recompense before him.

12  jAnd they shall be called The Holy People,

The Redeemed of the Lord;

kand you shall be called Sought Out,

A City Not Forsaken.


Luke 2:8–20

The Shepherds and the Angels

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord xappeared to them, and ythe glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all zthe people. 11 For aunto you is born this day in bthe city of David ca Savior, who is dChrist ethe Lord. 12 And fthis will be a sign for you: you will find a baby gwrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel ha multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14  iGlory to God jin the highest,

jand on earth kpeace lamong those with whom he is pleased!1

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby mlying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But nMary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, oglorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.


Titus 3:4–7

But when dthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, enot because of works done by us in righteousness, but faccording to his own mercy, by gthe washing of regeneration and hrenewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he ipoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that jbeing justified by his grace we might become kheirs laccording to the hope of eternal life.