Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A prayer of David.
86 Lord, hear me and answer me.
I am poor and needy.
2 Keep my life safe, because I am faithful to you.
Save me, because I trust in you.
You are my God.
3 Lord, have mercy on me.
I call out to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to me.
Lord, I put my trust in you.
5 Lord, you are forgiving and good.
You are full of love for all who call out to you.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I’m in trouble, I will call out to you.
And you will answer me.
8 Lord, there’s no one like you among the gods.
No one can do what you do.
9 Lord, all the nations you have made
will come and worship you.
They will bring glory to you.
10 You are great. You do wonderful things.
You alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me how you want me to live.
Do this so that I will depend on you, my faithful God.
Give me a heart that doesn’t want anything
more than to worship you.
12 Lord my God, I will praise you with all my heart.
I will bring glory to you forever.
13 Great is your love for me.
You have kept me from going down into the place of the dead.
14 God, proud people are attacking me.
A gang of mean people is trying to kill me.
They don’t care about you.
15 But Lord, you are a God who is tender and kind.
You are gracious.
You are slow to get angry.
You are faithful and full of love.
16 Come to my aid and have mercy on me.
Show your strength by helping me.
Save me because I serve you just as my mother did.
17 Prove your goodness to me.
Then my enemies will see it and be put to shame.
Lord, you have helped me and given me comfort.
27 As they were on their way down to the edge of town, Samuel spoke to Saul. He said, “Tell the servant to go ahead of us.” So the servant went on ahead. Then Samuel continued, “Stay here for a while. I’ll give you a message from God.”
10 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the king of his people. 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They’ll say to you, ‘The donkeys you have been looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped thinking about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He’s asking, “What can I do to find my son?” ’
3 “You will go on from Zelzah until you come to the large tree at Tabor. Three men will meet you there. They’ll be on their way up to Bethel to worship God. One of them will be carrying three young goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. A third will be carrying a bottle of wine. It will be a bottle made out of animal skin. 4 The men will greet you. They’ll offer you two loaves of bread. You will accept the loaves from them.
5 “After that, you will go to Gibeah of God. Some Philistine soldiers are stationed there. As you approach the town, you will meet a group of prophets. They’ll be coming down from the high place where they worship. People will be playing lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps at the head of the group. The prophets will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you. Then you will prophesy along with them. You will become a different person. 7 All these things will happen. Then do what you want to do. God is with you.
8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. You can be sure that I’ll come down to you there. I’ll come and sacrifice burnt offerings and friendship offerings. But you must wait there for seven days until I come to you. Then I’ll tell you what to do.”
Paul Warns Against Worshiping False Gods
14 Do not be joined to unbelievers. What do right and wrong have in common? Can light and darkness be friends? 15 How can Christ and Satan agree? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree? We are the temple of the living God. God has said,
“I will live with them.
I will walk among them.
I will be their God.
And they will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27)
17 So,
“Come out from among them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Do not touch anything that is not pure and ‘clean.’
Then I will receive you.” (Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 20:34,41)
18 And,
“I will be your Father.
You will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord who rules over all.” (2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8)
7 Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So let us make ourselves pure from everything that makes our bodies and spirits impure. Let us be completely holy. We want to honor God.
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