This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
with many songs and heavenly strings that praise you.
Before I explain the futility of human salvation,
I bow down to worship you.
Before I knock at the doors of the strong,
I bend down to seek you.
Before I start unpacking my worries,
I sing and thank you.
You are the one who brings forth justice to the oppressed, feeds the poor, and releases the prisoners. You freed the oppressed Joseph and Jeremiah from jail. In the lion’s pit, you were with Daniel, and you released Peter from chains. Rhoda shared the good news that the Lord answers the prayers of the godly ones. You freed your people from the chains of oppression, just as the prophets foretold.
You opened the eyes of the blind, and my own eyes have seen the glory of heaven. How many eyes have been bound by moral darkness? But with your light, they can see heavenly glories. You have straightened the bent ones and have relieved our worries. You have searched for the marginalized and taken care of the widows, the orphans, and the strangers.
O Lord, rule over my country, and let the evil of the enemy end!
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord.
Lord, when we say ‘Give us today our daily bread,’ may we remember our brothers and sisters who live below the poverty line and pray, ‘Give them today their daily bread.’ Give us the wisdom and courage to challenge the policies and structures which make the poor even poorer, while we have more than enough. Grant us such deep compassion that we will not rest while surplus food rots in one part of the world, and families starve in another; for your love’s sake. Continue reading →
