Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 18
Royal Thanksgiving for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.(A)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not wickedly departed from my God.(B)
22 For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.(C)
23 I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24 Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(D)
25 With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
with the blameless you show yourself blameless;(E)
26 with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself shrewd.(F)
27 For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.(G)
28 It is you who light my lamp;
the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.(H)
29 By you I can outrun a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.(I)
30 This God—his way is perfect;
the promise of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.(J)
Samuel as Judge
3 Then Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Astartes from among you. Direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”(A) 4 So Israel put away the Baals and the Astartes, and they served the Lord only.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”(B) 6 So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day and said, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.(C)
7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.(D) 8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, and pray that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”(E) 9 So Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord; Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.(F) 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel, but the Lord thundered with a mighty voice that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were routed before Israel.(G) 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as beyond Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah[a] and named it Ebenezer,[b] for he said, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”(H) 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel; the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.(I)
The Righteous Judgment of God
2 Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others, for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.(A) 2 We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth. 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?(B) 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.(C) 6 He will repay according to each one’s deeds:(D) 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life, 8 while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but injustice, there will be wrath and fury.(E) 9 There will be affliction and distress for everyone who does evil, both the Jew first and the Greek,(F) 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, both the Jew first and the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.