Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 95[a]
A Call To Praise and Obey God
1 [b]Come, let us sing with jubilation to the Lord;
let us cry out to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with our songs.
3 [c]For the Lord is the great God,
the King who surpasses all other gods.[d]
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the peaks of the mountains are his.
5 To him belongs the sea, for he created it,
and also the dry land[e] that his hands have molded.
6 Come forth! Let us bow down to worship him;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker.[f]
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds,[g]
the flock he protects.
If only you would listen to his voice today:
8 “Harden not your hearts as you did at Meribah,[h]
as on the day of Massah in the wilderness.
9 It was there that your ancestors sought to tempt me;
they put me to the test
even though they had witnessed my works.[i]
10 “For forty years[j] I loathed that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not know my ways.’
11 Therefore, in my anger I swore,
‘They will never enter my rest.’ ”[k]
Chapter 16
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you continue to mourn for Saul, for I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and go, I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem. I have seen a king for myself among his sons.” 2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I am going to make a sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You will anoint for me whomever I point out to you.”
David Is Anointed as King. 4 Samuel did what the Lord had said. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city came out to him trembling with fear. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 5 Samuel answered, “Yes. In peace I have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he purified Jesse and his sons, and he invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely his anointed one stands before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or how tall he stands, for the Lord has rejected him. He does not see the way that men see, for men look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Jesse then summoned Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. He said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. He said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 10 Jesse made his seven sons pass in front of Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these either.”
11 Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all of the children?” He said, “There is still the youngest; he is watching the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him and fetch him. We will not sit down until he has arrived.”
12 And so he sent for and brought him. He was ruddy, with a fine and handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Rise up and anoint him, for he is the one.” 13 Samuel took the horn of oil, and he anointed him in the midst of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward, and Samuel then returned to Ramah.
Chapter 5
Faithful and Humble Leadership.[a] 1 I now exhort the presbyters[b] among you, as a fellow presbyter myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as one who has shared in the glory that is to be revealed. 2 Be shepherds of the flock of God that has been entrusted to your care. Watch over it, not as a duty, but willingly in accord with the will of God, not for sordid gain, but because you are eager to do so.
3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then, when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.
Humility and Firm Faith.[c] 5 In the same way, you who are younger must be submissive to those who are older. And all of you should clothe yourselves with humility in your relationships with one another, for
“God opposes the proud,
but he gives grace to the humble.”
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