Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Call to Praise the Lord

98 Sing a new song to the Lord. For He has done great things. His right hand and His holy arm have won the fight for Him. ² The Lord has made His saving power known. He has shown to the nations how right and good He is. ³ He has shown His loving-kindness and how beautiful He is to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of our God.

⁴ Call out for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Sing out loud songs of joy and sing praises. ⁵ Sing praises to the Lord with harps, with harps and the voice of singing. ⁶ Call out for joy with the sound of horns before the King, the Lord.

⁷ Let the sea and all that is in it make a loud noise, and the world and all who live in it. ⁸ Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing together for joy ⁹ before the Lord. For He is coming to say who is guilty or not on the earth. He will be right in what He decides about the world. And He will be fair to the people.

³ Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had been filled with sorrow for him. They buried him in his own city of Ramah. And Saul had put out of the land those who spoke with spirits by using their secret ways. ⁴ The Philistines gathered together and came and stayed at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel together and they stayed at Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid. His heart shook with much fear. ⁶ Saul asked the Lord what he should do. But the Lord did not answer him, by dreams or by Urim or by those who speak for God. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find a woman for me who can speak with spirits, that I may go to her and ask her what I should do.” His servants said to him, “See, there is a woman at Endor who can speak with spirits.”

⁸ So Saul dressed up to look like somebody else and went with two other men to the woman during the night. He said, “Use your secret ways for me, I beg you, and bring up for me whom I will name to you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “See, you know what Saul has done. He has put out of the land those who speak with spirits by using their secret ways. Why do you lay a trap for my life to cause my death?” ¹⁰ But Saul promised her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom should I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. She said to Saul, “Why have you fooled me? For you are Saul!” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What does he look like?” And she said, “An old man is coming up. He is dressed in a long piece of clothing.” Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he put his face to the ground to show honor.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you troubled my rest by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am very troubled. The Philistines are making war against me. And God has left me and answers me no more, by those who speak for Him or by dreams. So I have called you to tell me what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has left you and has turned against you? ¹⁷ The Lord has done what He said He would do through me. The Lord has torn the rule of Israel out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸ You did not obey the Lord and bring His burning anger upon Amalek. So the Lord has done this to you now. ¹⁹ What is more, the Lord will give Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines. So tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

¹⁸ We see the anger of God coming down from heaven against all the sins of men. These sinful men keep the truth from being known. ¹⁹ Men know about God. He has made it plain to them. ²⁰ Men cannot say they do not know about God. From the beginning of the world, men could see what God is like through the things He has made. This shows His power that lasts forever. It shows that He is God. ²¹ They did know God, but they did not honor Him as God. They were not thankful to Him and thought only of foolish things. Their foolish minds became dark. ²² They said that they were wise, but they showed how foolish they were. ²³ They gave honor to false gods that looked like people who can die and to birds and animals and snakes. This honor belongs to God Who can never die.

²⁴ So God let them follow the desires of their sinful hearts. They did sinful things among themselves with their bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and cared for what God made instead of worshiping the God Who made it. He is the One Who is to receive honor and thanks forever. Let it be so.