Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 By the Lord the steps of a person are made secure.
Then he will delight in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not stay down,
because the Lord holds him by his hand.
25 I was a young man. Now I am old.
But I have never seen a righteous person forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
26 Every day he is gracious and lends.
His children will be blessed.
27 Turn back from evil and do good.
Then you will remain forever.
28 For the Lord loves justice.
He will not forsake his favored ones.[a]
They will be protected forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the earth.
They will dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is just.
31 The law of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.
Review of the Theme
32 The wicked spy on the righteous one and seek to kill him.
33 The Lord will not leave him in their hand.
He will not let him be condemned when he is put on trial.
34 Wait for the Lord and keep to his way.
He will raise you up to take possession of the earth.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I saw a wicked, ruthless man.
He was rooted like a green plant in its native soil,
36 but he passed away. Just like that, he was gone!
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Take note of the blameless. Look at the upright.
Yes, there is a future for the man of peace.
38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.
He is their stronghold in times of stress.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them.
He delivers them from the wicked.
He saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.
17 Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But today you have rejected your God, the one who saves you out of all your disasters and your distress, and you have said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now line up in the presence of the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20 So Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.[a] 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen.[b] Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they asked the Lord again, “Has the man arrived here yet?”
The Lord answered, “He has. Look, he is is hiding among the baggage.”
23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the people. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel told the people the regulations concerning the kingship, and he wrote them on a scroll, which was placed before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each man to his own house.
God’s Promise Is Sure
13 For God made a promise to Abraham, and since God had no one greater to swear by, “He swore by himself.”[a] 14 He said, “I will most certainly bless you and make you increase in number.”[b] 15 And so in this way, after Abraham had waited patiently, he received the promise.
16 To be sure, people swear by someone who is greater, and the oath serves as a confirmation for them that ends all disputes. 17 Because God wanted to show the heirs of the promise with even greater certainty that his plan was unchangeable, he guaranteed his promise with an oath. 18 He did this so that, through two unchangeable things (in which it is impossible that God would lie), we, who have fled for refuge by taking hold of this hope that is held out to us, might have strong encouragement.
19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul. It is sure and firm, and it goes behind the inner curtain, 20 where Jesus entered ahead of us on our behalf, because he became a high priest forever like Melchizedek.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.