Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord,
and the Lord delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst
because the Lord holds on to his hand.
25 I have been young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned
or his descendants begging for food.
26 He is always generous and lends freely.
His descendants are a blessing.
27 Avoid evil, do good, and live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They will be kept safe forever,
but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off.
29 Righteous people will inherit the land
and live there permanently.
30 The mouth of the righteous person reflects on wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is fair.
31 The teachings of his God are in his heart.
His feet do not slip.
32 The wicked person watches the righteous person
and seeks to kill him.
33 But the Lord will not abandon him to the wicked person’s power
or condemn him when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait with hope for the Lord, and follow his path,
and he will honor you by giving you the land.
When wicked people are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked person ⌞acting like⌟ a tyrant,
spreading himself out like a large cedar tree.
36 But he moved on, and now there is no trace of him.
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Notice the innocent person,
and look at the decent person,
because the peacemaker has a future.
38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of wicked people will be cut off.
39 The victory for righteous people comes from the Lord.
He is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them.
He rescues them from wicked people.
He saves them because they have taken refuge in him.
The Lord Chooses Saul
17 Samuel called the people to ⌞come into the presence of⌟ the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I brought Israel out of Egypt and rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kings who were oppressing you. 19 But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”
20 When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 When he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by families, the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. They looked for him but couldn’t find him. 22 They asked the Lord again, “Has he arrived here yet?”
The Lord answered, “He’s hiding among the baggage.”
23 They ran and got him from there. As he stood among the people, he was a head taller than everyone else. 24 Samuel asked the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained the laws concerning kingship to the people. He wrote the laws on a scroll, which he placed in front of the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people back to their homes.
13 God made a promise to Abraham. Since he had no one greater on whom to base his oath, he based it on himself. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 So Abraham received what God promised because he waited patiently for it.
16 When people take oaths, they base their oaths on someone greater than themselves. Their oaths guarantee what they say and end all arguments. 17 God wouldn’t change his plan. He wanted to make this perfectly clear to those who would receive his promise, so he took an oath. 18 God did this so that we would be encouraged. God cannot lie when he takes an oath or makes a promise. These two things can never be changed. Those of us who have taken refuge in him hold on to the confidence we have been given. 19 We have this confidence as a sure and strong anchor for our lives. This confidence goes into the ⌞holy⌟ place behind the curtain 20 where Jesus went before us on our behalf. He has become the chief priest forever in the way Melchizedek was a priest.
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