Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 115
Not to Us
To God Alone Be Glory
1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
because of your mercy,
because of your truth.
No Glory in Idols
2 Why should the nations say,
“So where is their God now?”
3 In fact, our God is in the heavens.
He does everything that pleases him.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
5 They have a mouth, but they do not speak.
They have eyes, but they do not see.
6 They have ears, but they do not hear.
They have a nose, but they do not smell.
7 Their hands—they do not even feel.
Their feet—they do not even walk around.
They do not even make a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
Trust in the Lord
9 Israel, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord—
he is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord remembers us. He will bless.
He will bless the house of Israel.
He will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord—
the small with the great.
14 May the Lord add blessings to you,
to you and to your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
Serve the Lord
15 Now the Lord had revealed this to Samuel the day before Saul came. He had told him, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him to be leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I am looking out for my people, because their cry for help has come to me.”
17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “There, that is the man I was talking about! He will exercise authority over my people.”
18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up to the high place ahead of me, because you and your men are to eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and I will tell you everything that is on your heart. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, because they have been found. For who is it that all Israel desires? Isn’t it you and your father’s entire house?”
21 Saul answered, “But I am just a Benjaminite from the smallest of the tribes of Israel. And my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Benjamin. So why do you speak to me like this?”
22 Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the dining hall. He seated them at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty men.
23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, the one I told you to set aside.” 24 So the cook picked up the thigh and all the meat that was on it and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Look here, this has been reserved for you! Set it before you and eat, because ever since I said, ‘I have invited the people,’ it has been kept for you for the appointed time.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they had come down from the high place and gone into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the flat roof of the house. 26 They got up early, about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the housetop, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and the two of them, Saul and Samuel, went outside together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the young man to go on ahead of us.” So the young man went on ahead. Then Samuel said, “You stay here, so that I can tell you God’s message.”
Samuel’s Instructions to Saul
10 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and told him this:
Hasn’t the Lord anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance?[a]
Qualifications of Overseers
3 This saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to become an overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 It is necessary, then, for the overseer to be above reproach, the husband of only one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not a violent man but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 It is necessary that he manage his own household well, with all dignity making sure that his children obey him. 5 (If a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the same condemnation as the Devil. 7 In addition, he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he may not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap.
Qualifications of Deacons
8 In the same way, it is necessary that deacons be dignified, not deceitful,[a] not devoted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain— 9 men who hold on to the mystery of the faith with a clean conscience.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.