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The Coming Messenger

3See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. ²But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; ³he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.^{* 4}Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. ⁶He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse.^*

Psalm 25

Prayer for Guidance and for Deliverance

Of David.
¹ To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
   therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
⁹ He leads the humble in what is right,
   and teaches the humble his way.
¹⁰ All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

¹⁴ The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
   and he makes his covenant known to them.

The Birth of John the Baptist

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

59 On 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 neighbours, 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.