Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord

³² David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him;^(A) your servant will go^(B) and fight this Philistine!”

³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

³⁴ David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth.^(C) If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur,^[a] strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”^(D)

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”^(E)

³⁸ Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. ³⁹ David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. ⁴⁰ Instead, he took his staff in his hand^(F) and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him. ⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him^(G) because he was just a youth, healthy^[b](H) and handsome. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog^(I) that you come against me with sticks?” ^[c] Then he cursed David by his gods.^{(J) 44} “Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!” ^(K)

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him.^{(L) 46} Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses^[d] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God,^{(M) 47} and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves,^(N) for the battle is the Lord’s.^(O) He will hand you over to us.”

⁴⁸ When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine.^{(P) 49} David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown to the ground. ⁵⁰ David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David overpowered the Philistine and killed him without having a sword. ⁵¹ David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword,^(Q) pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they fled.^(R)

The Reality of the Risen Jesus

³⁶ As^(A) they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace^(B) to you!” ³⁷ But they were startled and terrified^(C) and thought they were seeing a ghost.^{(D) 38} “Why are you troubled?”^(E) he asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself!^(F) Touch me and see,^(G) because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” ⁴⁰ Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.