Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord of Power and Justice
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,
because he has done miracles.
By his right hand and holy arm
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save;
he has shown the other nations his victory for his people.
3 He has remembered his love
and his loyalty to the people of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
God’s power to save.
4 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth;
burst into songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with harps,
with harps and the sound of singing.
6 Blow the trumpets and the sheep’s horns;
shout for joy to the Lord the King.
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout;
let the world and everyone in it sing.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy.
9 Let them sing before the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the world.
He will judge the world fairly;
he will judge the peoples with fairness.
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.
And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land.
4 The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. 5 When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid, and his heart pounded with fear. 6 He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim, or prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I may go and ask her what will happen.”
His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”
8 Then Saul put on other clothes to disguise himself, and at night he and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Bring up the person I name.”
9 But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land. You are trying to trap me and get me killed.”
10 Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for this.”
11 The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up?”
He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”
13 The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
14 Saul asked, “What does he look like?”
The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.
15 Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called for you. Tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “The Lord has left you and has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? 17 He has done what he said he would do—the things he said through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors, David. 18 You did not obey the Lord; you did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”
All People Have Done Wrong
18 God’s anger is shown from heaven against all the evil and wrong things people do. By their own evil lives they hide the truth. 19 God shows his anger because some knowledge of him has been made clear to them. Yes, God has shown himself to them. 20 There are things about him that people cannot see—his eternal power and all the things that make him God. But since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do. 21 They knew God, but they did not give glory to God or thank him. Their thinking became useless. Their foolish minds were filled with darkness. 22 They said they were wise, but they became fools. 23 They traded the glory of God who lives forever for the worship of idols made to look like earthly people, birds, animals, and snakes.
24 Because they did these things, God left them and let them go their sinful way, wanting only to do evil. As a result, they became full of sexual sin, using their bodies wrongly with each other. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served what had been created instead of the God who created those things, who should be praised forever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.