Psalm 85; Zephaniah 3:14–20; Philippians 4:4–7; Luke 7:18–28

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Psalm 85

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of nthe Sons of Korah.

Lord, you were ofavorable to your land;

you prestored the fortunes of Jacob.

You qforgave the iniquity of your people;

you qcovered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;

you rturned from your hot anger.

sRestore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

tWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

Will you not urevive us again,

that your people may vrejoice in you?

Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will xspeak peace to his people, to his ysaints;

but let them not zturn back to afolly.

Surely his bsalvation is near to those who fear him,

that cglory may dwell in our land.

10  dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;

erighteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, fthe Lord will give what is good,

and our land gwill yield its increase.

13  hRighteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.


Zephaniah 3:14–20

Israel’s Joy and Restoration

14  jSing aloud, O daughter of Zion;

shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

15  The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;

he has cleared away your enemies.

kThe King of Israel, lthe Lord, is in your midst;

you shall never again fear evil.

16  zOn that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Fear not, O Zion;

mlet not your hands grow weak.

17  lThe Lord your God is in your midst,

na mighty one who will save;

ohe will rejoice over you with gladness;

he will quiet you by his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing.

18  I will gather those of you who mourn pfor the festival,

so that you will no longer suffer reproach.1

19  Behold, at that time qI will deal

with all your oppressors.

And rI will save the lame

and gather the outcast,

and I will change stheir shame into tpraise

and renown in all the earth.

20  uAt that time I will bring you in,

at the time when I gather you together;

for I will make you renowned and praised

among all the peoples of the earth,

vwhen I restore your fortunes

before your eyes, says the Lord.


Philippians 4:4–7

pRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness1 be known to everyone. qThe Lord is at hand; rdo not be anxious about anything, sbut in everything by prayer and supplication twith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And uthe peace of God, vwhich surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


Luke 7:18–28

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 stThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another? 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you the one uwho is to come, or vshall we look for another? 21 In that hour whe healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and xon many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ythe blind receive their sight, the lame walk, zlepers1 are cleansed, and athe deaf hear, bthe dead are raised up, cthe poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is dnot offended by me.

24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus2 began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out einto the wilderness to see? fA reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? gA prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

hBehold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.