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Psalm 8

1  O Lord our governor, ♦︎
   how glorious is your name in all the world!
2  Your majesty above the heavens is praised ♦︎
   out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
3  You have founded a stronghold against your foes, ♦︎
   that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
4  When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, ♦︎
   the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
5  What is man, that you should be mindful of him; ♦︎
   the son of man, that you should seek him out?
6  You have made him little lower than the angels ♦︎
   and crown him with glory and honour.
7  You have given him dominion over the works of your hands ♦︎
   and put all things under his feet,
8  All sheep and oxen, ♦︎
   even the wild beasts of the field,
9  The birds of the air, the fish of the sea ♦︎
   and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
10  O Lord our governor, ♦︎
   how glorious is your name in all the world!

Abraham and Sarah at Gerar

20From there Abraham journeyed towards the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien, ²Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’ And King Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah. ³But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman.’ ⁴Now Abimelech had not approached her; so he said, ‘Lord, will you destroy an innocent people? ⁵Did he not himself say to me, “She is my sister”? And she herself said, “He is my brother.” I did this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.’ ⁶Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷Now then, return the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours.’

8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were very much afraid. ⁹Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done.’ ¹⁰And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?’ ¹¹Abraham said, ‘I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. ¹²Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. ¹³And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, “This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.” ’ ¹⁴Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. ¹⁵Abimelech said, ‘My land is before you; settle where it pleases you.’ ¹⁶To Sarah he said, ‘Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.’ ¹⁷Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. ¹⁸For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^* heirs according to the promise.