Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Time of Sickness
A song of David to remember.
38 Lord, don’t correct me when you are angry.
Don’t punish me when you are very angry.
2 Your arrows have wounded me.
Your hand has come down on me.
3 My body is sick from your punishment.
Even my bones are not healthy because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me.
Like a load it weighs me down.
5 My sores stink and become infected
because I was foolish.
6 I am bent over and bowed down.
I am sad all day long.
7 I am burning with fever.
My whole body is sore.
8 I am weak and faint.
I moan from the pain I feel.
9 Lord, you know everything I want.
My cries are not hidden from you.
10 My heart pounds, and my strength is gone.
I am losing my sight.
11 Because of my wounds, my friends and neighbors leave me alone.
My relatives stay far away.
12 Some people set traps to kill me.
Those who want to hurt me plan trouble.
All day long they think up lies.
13 I am like a deaf man; I cannot hear.
Like a mute, I cannot speak.
14 I am like a person who does not hear.
I have no answer to give.
15 I trust you, Lord.
You will answer, my God and Lord.
16 I said, “Don’t let them laugh at me.
Don’t let them brag when I am defeated.”
17 I am about to die.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
I am troubled by my sin.
19 My enemies are strong and healthy.
Many people hate me for no reason.
20 They repay me with evil for the good I did.
They lie about me because I try to do good.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, don’t go away.
22 Quickly come and help me,
my Lord and Savior.
David Shames Saul
24 Now Saul had chased the Philistines away. Then he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So he chose 3,000 men from all Israel. He took these men and began looking for David and his men. They looked near the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
3 Saul came to the sheep pens beside the road. A cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were hiding far back in the cave. 4 The men said to David, “Today is the day the Lord talked about! The Lord told you, ‘I will give your enemy to you. You can do anything you want with him.’”
Then David crawled near Saul. He cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. But Saul did not notice him. 5 Later David felt guilty because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “May the Lord keep me from doing such a thing to my master! Saul is the Lord’s appointed king. I should not do anything against him, because he is the Lord’s appointed king!” 7 David used these words to stop his men. He did not let them attack Saul. Then Saul left the cave and went his way.
8 When David came out of the cave, he shouted to Saul, “My master and king!” Saul looked back, and David bowed facedown on the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when people say, ‘David plans to harm you’? 10 You have seen something with your own eyes today. You have seen how the Lord put you in my power in the cave. But I refused to kill you. I was merciful to you. I said, ‘I won’t harm my master, because he is the Lord’s appointed king.’ 11 My father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe, but I didn’t kill you. Now understand and know I am not planning any evil against you. I did nothing wrong to you, but you are hunting me to kill me. 12 May the Lord judge between us. And may he punish you for the wrong you have done to me! But I won’t fight you. 13 There is an old saying: ‘Evil things come from evil people.’ So I won’t hurt you. 14 Whom is the king of Israel coming out against? Whom are you chasing? You’re not chasing someone who will hurt you! It’s as if you are chasing a dead dog or a flea. 15 May the Lord be our judge and decide between you and me. May the Lord support me and show that I am right. May he save me from you!”
16 David finished saying these words. Then Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he cried loudly. 17 He said, “You are right, and I am wrong. You have been good to me. But I have done wrong to you. 18 You told me what good things you did. The Lord brought me to you, but you did not kill me. 19 If a man finds his enemy, he won’t send him away with goodness, will he? May the Lord reward you because you were good to me today. 20 I know you will surely be king. You will rule the kingdom of Israel. 21 Now make a promise to me. Promise in the name of the Lord that you will not kill my descendants. Promise me that you won’t wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
22 So David made the promise to Saul. Then Saul went back home. David and his men went up to the protected place.
The Lord’s Supper
17 In the things I tell you now I do not praise you. Your meetings hurt you more than they help you. 18 First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided. And I believe some of this. 19 (It is necessary for there to be differences among you. That is the way to make it clear which of you are really doing right.) 20 When you all come together, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper.[a] 21 This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink. 22 You can eat and drink in your own homes! It seems that you think God’s church is not important. You embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you for doing this? I do not praise you.
27 So a person should not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it. If he does he is sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone should look into his own heart before he eats the bread and drinks the cup. 29 If someone eats the bread and drinks the cup without recognizing the body, then he is judged guilty by eating and drinking. 30 That is why many in your group are sick and weak. And some of you have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves in the right way, then God would not judge us. 32 But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us to show us the right way. He does this so that we will not be destroyed along with the world.
33 So my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.