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Restoration and Protection Promised

43But now thus says the Lord,
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
   I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
   and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
   and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the Lord your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
   Ethiopia^* and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my sight,
   and honoured, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
   nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not fear, for I am with you;
   I will bring your offspring from the east,
   and from the west I will gather you;
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up’,
   and to the south, ‘Do not withhold;
bring my sons from far away
   and my daughters from the end of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.’

Psalm 29

1  Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven, ♦︎
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2  Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; ♦︎
   worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3  The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
      the God of glory thunders; ♦︎
   the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
4  The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; ♦︎
   the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.
5  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; ♦︎
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6  He makes Lebanon skip like a calf ♦︎
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7  The voice of the Lord splits the flash of lightning;
      the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; ♦︎
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8  The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe
      and strips the forests bare; ♦︎
   in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’
9  The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood; ♦︎
   the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.
10  The Lord shall give strength to his people; ♦︎
   the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit ¹⁶(for as yet the Spirit had not come^* upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). ¹⁷Then Peter and John^* laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,^{* 16}John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

The Baptism of Jesus

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, ²²and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’^*