Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A prayer of David.
86 I am a poor, helpless man.
Lord, please listen to me and answer my prayer!
2 I am your follower, so please protect me.
I am your servant, and you are my God.
I trust in you, so save me.
3 My Lord, be kind to me.
I have been praying to you all day.
4 My Lord, I put my life in your hands.
I am your servant, so make me happy.
5 My Lord, you are good and merciful.
You love all those who call to you for help.
6 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
7 I am praying to you in my time of trouble.
I know you will answer me.
8 My Lord, there is no God like you.
No one can do what you have done.
9 My Lord, you made everyone.
I wish they all would come worship you and honor your name.
10 You are great and do amazing things.
You and you alone are God.
11 Lord, teach me your ways,
and I will live and obey your truths.
Help me make worshiping your name
the most important thing in my life.
12 My Lord God, I praise you with all my heart.
I will honor your name forever!
13 You have such great love for me.
You save me from the place of death.
14 Proud people are attacking me, God.
A gang of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They don’t respect you.
15 My Lord, you are a kind and merciful God.
You are patient, loyal, and full of love.
16 Show that you hear me and be kind to me.
I am your servant, so give me strength.
I am your slave, as my mother was, so save me!
17 Lord, show me a sign that you care for me.
My enemies will see it and be disappointed,
because you helped and comforted me.
27 Saul, his servant, and Samuel were walking together near the edge of town. Samuel said to Saul, “Tell your servant to go on ahead of us. I have a message for you from God.” So the servant walked ahead of them.
Samuel Anoints Saul
10 Samuel took a jar of the special oil and poured the oil on Saul’s head. Samuel kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the leader over the people who belong to him. You will control the people. You will save them from the enemies that are all around them. He has anointed you to be ruler over his people. Here is a sign that will prove this is true:[a] 2 After you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. The two men will say to you, ‘Someone found the donkeys you were looking for. Your father stopped worrying about his donkeys. Now he is worrying about you. He is saying: What will I do about my son?’”
3 Samuel said, “Then you will go until you come to the large oak tree at Tabor. Three men will meet you there. They will be on their way to worship God at Bethel. One man will be carrying three young goats. The second man will be carrying three loaves of bread. And the third man will have a leather bag full of wine. 4 These three men will say hello to you. They will offer you two bread offerings reserved for priests,[b] and you will accept that bread. 5 Then you will go to Gibeath Elohim. There is a Philistine fort in that place. When you come to this town, a group of prophets will come out. These prophets will come down from the place for worship.[c] They will be prophesying.[d] They will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. 6 Then the Lord’s Spirit will come on you with great power. You will be changed. You will be like a different man. You will begin to prophesy with these prophets. 7 After that happens, you can do whatever you choose to do, because God will be with you.
8 “Go to Gilgal before me. Then I will come there to you. And I will offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and tell you what to do.”
We Are God’s Temple
14 You are not the same as those who don’t believe. So don’t join yourselves to them. Good and evil don’t belong together. Light and darkness cannot share the same room. 15 How can there be any unity between Christ and the devil[a]? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 God’s temple[b] cannot have anything to do with idols, and we are the temple of the living God. As God said,
“I will live with them
and walk with them;
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (A)
17 “So come away from those people
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch anything that is not clean,
and I will accept you.” (B)
18 “I will be your father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord All-Powerful.” (C)
7 Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes our body or our soul unclean. Our respect for God should make us try to be completely holy in the way we live.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International