Tout 8, 1744

4Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

10Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!"

11"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.

15He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

16"But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,

17and saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.'

18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon.'

19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."

1In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness.

19Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!

23Now when He came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people confronted Him as He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority?"

24But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things:

25The baptism of John--where was it from? From heaven or from men?" And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, "From heaven,' He will say to us, "Why then did you not believe him?'

26But if we say, "From men,' we fear the multitude, for all count John as a prophet."

27So they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know." And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

12And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry,

13although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

15This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

16However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

18This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

19having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck,

22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;

24for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

25But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

26If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless.

27Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

25And as John was finishing his course, he said, "Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.'

26"Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.

27For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.

28And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death.

29Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.

30But God raised Him from the dead.

31He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.

32And we declare to you glad tidings--that promise which was made to the fathers.

33God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: "You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.'