Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

105 Thank the Lord for all the glorious things he does; proclaim them to the nations. ² Sing his praises and tell everyone about his miracles. ³ Glory in the Lord; O worshipers of God, rejoice.

⁴ Search for him and for his strength, and keep on searching!

^5-6 Think of the mighty deeds he did for us, his chosen ones—descendants of God’s servant Abraham, and of Jacob. Remember how he destroyed our enemies. ⁷ He is the Lord our God. His goodness^[a] is seen everywhere throughout the land. ^8-9 Though a thousand generations pass he never forgets his promise, his covenant with Abraham and Isaac ^10-11 and confirmed with Jacob. This is his never-ending treaty with the people of Israel: “I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance.”

³⁷ and brought his people safely out from Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick and feeble folk among them then. ³⁸ Egypt was glad when they were gone, for the dread of them was great.

³⁹ He spread out a cloud above them to shield them from the burning sun and gave them a pillar of flame at night to give them light. ⁴⁰ They asked for meat, and he sent them quail and gave them manna—bread from heaven. ⁴¹ He opened up a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry and barren land; ⁴² for he remembered his sacred promises to Abraham his servant.

⁴³ So he brought his chosen ones singing into the Promised Land. ⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the Gentiles, complete with their growing crops; they ate what others planted. ⁴⁵ This was done to make them faithful and obedient to his laws. Hallelujah!

3 Meanwhile little Samuel was helping the Lord by assisting Eli. Messages from the Lord were very rare in those days, ^2-3 but one night after Eli had gone to bed (he was almost blind with age by now), and Samuel was sleeping in the Temple near the Ark, ^4-5 the Lord called out, “Samuel! Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?” He jumped up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. What do you want?” he asked.

“I didn’t call you,” Eli said. “Go on back to bed.” So he did. ⁶ Then the Lord called again, “Samuel!” And again Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli.

“Yes?” he asked. “What do you need?”

“No, I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go on back to bed.”

⁷ (Samuel had never had a message from Jehovah before.^[a]) ⁸ So now the Lord called the third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli.

“Yes?” he asked. “What do you need?”

Then Eli realized it was the Lord who had spoken to the child. ⁹ So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if he calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, I’m listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.

¹³ But we must forever give thanks to God for you, our brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose from the very first to give you salvation,^[a] cleansing you by the work of the Holy Spirit and by your trusting in the Truth. ¹⁴ Through us he told you the Good News. Through us he called you to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ With all these things in mind, dear brothers, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the truth that we taught you in our letters and during the time we were with you.

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and hope, which we don’t deserve, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts with all comfort, and help you in every good thing you say and do.

3 Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you. ² Pray, too, that we will be saved out of the clutches of evil men, for not everyone loves the Lord. ³ But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind. ⁴ And we trust the Lord that you are putting into practice the things we taught you, and that you always will. ⁵ May the Lord bring you into an ever deeper understanding of the love of God and of the patience that comes from Christ.