Daily Readings for Monday, December 23, 2024

Morning Psalm 122

1   I was glad when they said to me,
          “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
2   Our feet are standing
          within your gates, O Jerusalem.

3   Jerusalem — built as a city
          that is bound firmly together.
4   To it the tribes go up,
          the tribes of the LORD,
    as was decreed for Israel,
          to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5   For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
          the thrones of the house of David.

6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
          “May they prosper who love you.
7   Peace be within your walls,
          and security within your towers.”
8   For the sake of my relatives and friends
          I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
          I will seek your good.

Morning Psalm 145

1   I will extol you, my God and King,
          and bless your name forever and ever.
2   Every day I will bless you,
          and praise your name forever and ever.
3   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
          his greatness is unsearchable.

4   One generation shall laud your works to another,
          and shall declare your mighty acts.
5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
          and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
          and I will declare your greatness.
7   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
          and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8   The Lord is gracious and merciful,
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9   The Lord is good to all,
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.

10  All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
          and all your faithful shall bless you.
11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
          and tell of your power,
12  to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
          and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
          and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

     The Lord is faithful in all his words,
          and gracious in all his deeds.
14  The Lord upholds all who are falling,
          and raises up all who are bowed down.
15  The eyes of all look to you,
          and you give them their food in due season.
16  You open your hand,
          satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17  The Lord is just in all his ways,
          and kind in all his doings.
18  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
          to all who call on him in truth.
19  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
          he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20  The Lord watches over all who love him,
          but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
          and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

17Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;

     they will behold a land that stretches far away.

18Your mind will muse on the terror:

     "Where is the one who counted?

     Where is the one who weighed the tribute?

     Where is the one who counted the towers?"

19No longer will you see the insolent people,

     the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,

     stammering in a language that you cannot understand.

20Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!

     Your eyes will see Jerusalem,

     a quiet habitation, an immovable tent,

whose stakes will never be pulled up,

     and none of whose ropes will be broken.

21But there the LORD in majesty will be for us

     a place of broad rivers and streams,

where no galley with oars can go,

     nor stately ship can pass.

22For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our ruler,

     the LORD is our king; he will save us. 

6And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place."

7"See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

10And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy."

18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person's share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20The one who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

57Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60But his mother said, "No; he is to be called John." 61They said to her, "None of your relatives has this name." 62Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed. 64Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66All who heard them pondered them and said, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

Evening Psalm 40

1   I waited patiently for the LORD;
          he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2   He drew me up from the desolate pit,
          out of the miry bog,
    and set my feet upon a rock,
          making my steps secure.
3   He put a new song in my mouth,
          a song of praise to our God.
    Many will see and fear,
          and put their trust in the LORD.

4   Happy are those who make
          the LORD their trust,
    who do not turn to the proud,
          to those who go astray after false gods.
5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
          your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
          none can compare with you.
    Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
          they would be more than can be counted.

6   Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
          but you have given me an open ear.
    Burnt offering and sin offering
          you have not required.
7   Then I said, “Here I am;
          in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8   I delight to do your will, O my God;
          your law is within my heart.”

9   I have told the glad news of deliverance
          in the great congregation;
    see, I have not restrained my lips,
          as you know, O LORD.
10  I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
          I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
    I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          from the great congregation.

11  Do not, O LORD, withhold
          your mercy from me;
    let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          keep me safe forever.
12  For evils have encompassed me
          without number;
    my iniquities have overtaken me,
          until I cannot see;
    they are more than the hairs of my head,
          and my heart fails me.

13  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
          O LORD, make haste to help me.
14  Let all those be put to shame and confusion
          who seek to snatch away my life;
    let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
          who desire my hurt.
15  Let those be appalled because of their shame
          who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16  But may all who seek you
          rejoice and be glad in you;
    may those who love your salvation
          say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17  As for me, I am poor and needy,
          but the Lord takes thought for me.
    You are my help and my deliverer;
          do not delay, O my God.

Evening Psalm 67

1May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

6The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.