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Psalm 118

1  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.
2  Let Israel now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
3  Let the house of Aaron now proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
4  Let those who fear the Lord proclaim, ♦︎
   ‘His mercy endures for ever.’
5  In my constraint I called to the Lord; ♦︎
   the Lord answered and set me free.
6  The Lord is at my side; I will not fear; ♦︎
   what can flesh do to me?
7  With the Lord at my side as my saviour, ♦︎
   I shall see the downfall of my enemies.
8  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in flesh.
9  It is better to take refuge in the Lord ♦︎
   than to put any confidence in princes.
10  All the nations encompassed me, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
11  They hemmed me in, they hemmed me in on every side, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
12  They swarmed about me like bees;
      they blazed like fire among thorns, ♦︎
   but by the name of the Lord I drove them back.
13  Surely, I was thrust to the brink, ♦︎
   but the Lord came to my help.
14  The Lord is my strength and my song, ♦︎
   and he has become my salvation.
15  Joyful shouts of salvation ♦︎
   sound from the tents of the righteous:
16  ‘The right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds;
      the right hand of the Lord raises up; ♦︎
   the right hand of the Lord does mighty deeds.’
17  I shall not die, but live ♦︎
   and declare the works of the Lord.
18  The Lord has punished me sorely, ♦︎
   but he has not given me over to death.
19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, ♦︎
   that I may enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20  This is the gate of the Lord; ♦︎
   the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me ♦︎
   and have become my salvation.
22  The stone which the builders rejected ♦︎
   has become the chief cornerstone.
23  This is the Lord’s doing, ♦︎
   and it is marvellous in our eyes.
24  This is the day that the Lord has made; ♦︎
   we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25  Come, O Lord, and save us we pray. ♦︎
   Come, Lord, send us now prosperity.
26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; ♦︎
   we bless you from the house of the Lord.
27  The Lord is God; he has given us light; ♦︎
   link the pilgrims with cords
      right to the horns of the altar.
28  You are my God and I will thank you; ♦︎
   you are my God and I will exalt you.
29  O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; ♦︎
   his mercy endures for ever.

¹² For the Lord of hosts has a day
   against all that is proud and lofty,
   against all that is lifted up and high;^*
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
   lofty and lifted up;
   and against all the oaks of Bashan;
¹⁴ against all the high mountains,
   and against all the lofty hills;
¹⁵ against every high tower,
   and against every fortified wall;
¹⁶ against all the ships of Tarshish,
   and against all the beautiful craft.^*
17 The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,
   and the pride of everyone shall be brought low;
   and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
¹⁸ The idols shall utterly pass away.
¹⁹ Enter the caves of the rocks
   and the holes of the ground,
from the terror of the Lord,
   and from the glory of his majesty,
   when he rises to terrify the earth.
²⁰ On that day people will throw away
   to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
   which they made for themselves to worship,
²¹ to enter the caverns of the rocks
   and the clefts in the crags,
from the terror of the Lord,
   and from the glory of his majesty,
   when he rises to terrify the earth.
²² Turn away from mortals,
   who have only breath in their nostrils,
   for of what account are they?

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ²‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’^{* 3}This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight.” ’
⁴Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit worthy of repentance. ⁹Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 ‘I baptize you with^* water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

The Baptism of Jesus

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved,^* with whom I am well pleased.’