"God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God!"

Praise God, O heaven and earth, seas and all creatures in them.

He will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and possess the land;

Surely he is ready to save those who honor him, and his saving presence will remain in our land.

Human loyalty will reach up from the earth, and God's righteousness will look down from heaven.

Be glad, earth and sky! Roar, sea, and every creature in you;

when the LORD comes to rule the earth. He will rule the peoples of the world with justice and fairness.

Shout for joy, you heavens! Shout, deep places of the earth! Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest! The LORD has shown his greatness by saving his people Israel.

Sing, heavens! Shout for joy, earth! Let the mountains burst into song! The LORD will comfort his people; he will have pity on his suffering people.

I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do.

Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son!

To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of:

to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen.

and all will openly proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living beings in the universe---and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"

and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death, to guide our steps into the path of peace."

A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Eternal Father," "Prince of Peace."

His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this.

I offer peace to all, both near and far! I will heal my people.

The LORD says, "The time is coming when I will choose as king a righteous descendant of David. That king will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land.

When he is king, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called 'The LORD Our Salvation.'

and he will bring peace. When the Assyrians invade our country and break through our defenses, we will send our strongest leaders to fight them.

Tell him that the LORD Almighty says, 'The man who is called The Branch will flourish where he is and rebuild the LORD's Temple.

He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.'

"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.

You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.

Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends!

For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies.

By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.

Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

(SEE 13:20)

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

But God's mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great,

He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus.

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope,

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed,

God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior,

And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him.

This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.