Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A prayer by David.
86 Turn your ear ⌞toward me⌟, O Lord.
Answer me, because I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me, because I am faithful ⌞to you⌟.
Save your servant who trusts you. You are my God.
3 Have pity on me, O Lord,
because I call out to you all day long.
4 Give me joy, O Lord,
because I lift my soul to you.
5 You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you.
6 Open your ears to my prayer, O Lord.
Pay attention when I plead for mercy.
7 When I am in trouble, I call out to you
because you answer me.
8 No god is like you, O Lord.
No one can do what you do.
9 All the nations that you have made
will bow in your presence, O Lord.
They will honor you.
10 Indeed, you are great, a worker of miracles.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
so that I may live in your truth.
Focus my heart on fearing you.
12 I will give thanks to you with all my heart, O Lord my God.
I will honor you forever
13 because your mercy toward me is great.
You have rescued me from the depths of hell.
14 O God, arrogant people attack me,
and a mob of ruthless people seeks my life.
They think nothing of you.
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.
16 Turn toward me, and have pity on me.
Give me your strength because I am your servant.
Save me because I am the son of your female servant.
17 Grant me some proof of your goodness
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame.
You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
27 As they were going toward the city limits, Samuel told Saul, “Have the servant go ahead of you.” (He went ahead.) “But you stay here, and I will tell you God’s word.”
Saul Anointed by Samuel
10 Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you [a] to be ruler of his people. 2 When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do ⌞to find⌟ my son?” ’ 3 Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship God at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a ⌞full⌟ wineskin. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. 5 After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. 6 Then the Lord’s Spirit will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. 7 When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because God is with you. 8 Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.”
Christians and Their Relationships with Unbelievers
14 Stop forming inappropriate relationships with unbelievers. Can right and wrong be partners? Can light have anything in common with darkness? 15 Can Christ agree with the devil? Can a believer share life with an unbeliever? 16 Can God’s temple contain false gods? Clearly, we are the temple of the living God. As God said,
“I will live and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
17 The Lord says, “Get away from unbelievers.
Separate yourselves from them.
Have nothing to do with anything unclean.[a]
Then I will welcome you.”
18 The Lord Almighty says, “I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters.”
7 Since we have these promises, dear friends, we need to cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit and live a holy life in the fear of God.
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