Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 38
A Psalm of David. To bring remembrance.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 For Your arrows pierce me,
and Your hand presses down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation,
nor is there health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have passed over my head;
as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am numb and completely crushed;
I have roared because of the groaning of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You,
and my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My friends and my companions stand back because of my affliction,
and those close to me stand at a distance.
12 The people who seek my life strike at me;
those who seek my harm speak destruction,
and plan treacheries all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, did not hear;
and like a dumb man, did not open my mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in You, O Lord, do I hope;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Lest otherwise they should rejoice over me.
When my foot slips, they magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am ready to stumble,
and my pain is continually before me.
18 For I will declare my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are lively, and they are strong;
and those who wrongfully hate me are many.
20 Those also who repay evil for good are my adversaries,
because I pursue good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me.
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.
David Spares Saul’s Life
24 When Saul had returned from following the Philistines, it was reported to him, saying, “David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the rocks of the wild goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens by the way and a cave was there. And Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the rear of the cave. 4 The men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘I am giving your enemy into your hand. You may do with him as seems good in your eyes.’ ” Then David arose and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward David’s heart troubled him because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him. For he is anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David dispersed his men by these words and did not let them rise against Saul. And Saul arose from the cave and went on his way.
8 David arose afterward and went out from the cave. And he called after Saul saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David had bowed down with his face to the ground and paid homage. 9 David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men saying, ‘David seeks your harm’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave. So that some said to kill you, but my eye had compassion on you. And I said, ‘I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is anointed of the Lord.’ 11 See, my father! Look at the corner of your robe in my hand. Indeed, I cut off the corner of your robe, but I did not kill you. Observe and see that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I have not sinned against you, but you are lying in wait for my life to take it. 12 The Lord will judge between me and you, and the Lord will avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘From the wicked comes forth wickedness,’ but my hand will not be against you.
14 “After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? A single flea? 15 May the Lord be judge, and decide between me and you. And may He see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”
16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 And he said to David, “You are more righteous than I. For you have rewarded me with good, while I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown today that you have dealt well with me, when the Lord delivered me into your hand and you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him safely go away? Therefore may the Lord reward you well for what you have done for me this day. 20 Now, listen, I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand. 21 Therefore swear to me now by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s household.”
22 So David swore to Saul and Saul went home. But David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Abuses at the Lord’s Supper
17 Now in what I have to say to you, I do not praise you. You have come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 First of all, when you come together as the church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you so that those who are genuine may become evident among you. 20 Therefore when you come together into one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one eats his own supper ahead of others. One goes hungry, and another becomes drunk. 22 What? Do you not have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
Partaking of the Supper Unworthily
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and unhealthy among you, and many die. 31 If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we would not be condemned with the world.
33 So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.