Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God praised, and supplicated to give victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 My heart is fixed, O God;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises, even with my glory.
2 Awake, psaltery and harp:
I myself will [a]awake right early.
3 I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah, among the peoples;
And I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4 For thy lovingkindness is great above the heavens;
And thy truth reacheth unto the skies.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And thy glory above all the earth.
6 That thy beloved may be delivered,
Save with thy right hand, and answer [b]us.
7 God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult;
I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim also is the defence of my head;
Judah is my [c]sceptre.
9 Moab is my washpot;
[d]Upon Edom will I cast my shoe;
Over Philistia will I shout.
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [e]hath led me unto Edom?
11 [f]Hast not thou cast us off, O God?
And thou goest not forth, O God, with our hosts.
12 Give us help against the adversary;
For vain is the [g]help of man.
13 Through God we shall do valiantly:
For he it is that will tread down our adversaries.
3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto Jehovah with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 4 Then the children of Israel did put away the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and served Jehovah only.
5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto Jehovah. 6 And they gathered together to Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before Jehovah, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against Jehovah. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah. 7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto Jehovah our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. 9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto Jehovah: and Samuel cried unto Jehovah for Israel; and Jehovah answered him. 10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel; but Jehovah thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten down before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it [b]Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us. 13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more within the border of Israel: and the hand of Jehovah was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the border thereof did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain [a]in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as [b]worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no [c]power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him [d]a thousand years.
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