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Psalm 95

A Call to Worship and Obedience

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!(A)
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!(B)
For the Lord is a great God
    and a great King above all gods.(C)
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and the dry land, which his hands have formed.(D)

O come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!(E)
For he is our God,
    and we are the people of his pasture
    and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!(F)
    Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,(G)
when your ancestors tested me
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.(H)
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they do not regard my ways.”(I)
11 Therefore in my anger I swore,
    “They shall not enter my rest.”(J)

David Anointed as King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”(A) Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’(B) Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.”(C) Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?”(D) He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.(E)

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.”(F) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”(G) Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”(H) Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”(I) 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”(J) 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”(K) 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.(L)

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Tending the Flock of God

Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you(A) to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight,[a] not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it,[b] not for sordid gain but eagerly.(B) Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.(C) And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.(D) In the same way, you who are younger must be subject to the elders.[c] And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for

“God opposes the proud
    but gives grace to the humble.”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.2 Other ancient authorities lack exercising the oversight
  2. 5.2 Or in a godly manner; other ancient authorities lack as God would have you do it
  3. 5.5 Or of those who are older