Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 O Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer,
and give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
9 Behold, O God our shield,
and look upon the face of Your anointed.
10 For a day in Your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord will give favor and glory,
for no good thing will He withhold
from the one who walks uprightly.
12 O Lord of Hosts,
blessed is the man who trusts in You.
The Prayer of Hannah
2 Hannah prayed, saying:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
my horn is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth is bold against my enemies,
because I rejoice in Your salvation.
2 “There is none holy as the Lord,
for there is none besides You,
and there is no rock like our God.
3 “Do not multiply proud speech,
nor let arrogance come out of your mouth,
for the Lord is the God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are examined.
4 “The bows of the mighty are broken,
but those who stumbled are girded with strength.
5 Those that were full have hired out themselves for bread,
and those that were hungry ceased to hunger.
Even the barren has borne seven,
and she that has many children wastes away.
6 “The Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and brings up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
He brings low and lifts up.
8 He raises up the poor out of the dust
and lifts up the oppressed from the dunghill
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a throne of glory.
“For the pillars of the earth belong to the Lord,
and He has set the world upon them.
9 He will guard the feet of His saints,
but the wicked will be silent in darkness.
“For by strength shall no man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord will be broken to pieces;
He will thunder against them out of heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to His king
and exalt the horn of His anointed.”
Suffering as a Christian
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though some strange thing happened to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share in Christ’s sufferings, so that you may rejoice and be glad also in the revelation of His glory. 14 If you are reproached because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 Let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or even as a busybody. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God because of it. 17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins first with us, what shall the end be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And
“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?”[a]
19 So then, let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.