Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of Praise

95 Come, let us sing with joy to the Lord. Let us sing loud with joy to the rock Who saves us. ² Let us come before Him giving thanks. Let us make a sound of joy to Him with songs. ³ For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. ⁴ The deep places of the earth are in His hand. And the tops of the mountains belong to Him. ⁵ The sea is His, for He made it. And His hands made the dry land.

⁶ Come, let us bow down in worship. Let us get down on our knees before the Lord Who made us. ⁷ For He is our God. And we are the people of His field, and the sheep of His hand. If you hear His voice today, ⁸ do not let your hearts become hard as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert. ⁹ Your early fathers put Me to the test and tried Me. But they had seen the work I did. ¹⁰ I was angry with the people of that day for forty years. I said, “They always think wrong thoughts. And they do not know My ways.” ¹¹ I was angry with them and said, “They will never go into My rest.”

David Becomes King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you be filled with sorrow because of Saul, since I have turned away from him being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. For I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will kill me when he hears about it.” The Lord said, “Take a young cow with you, and say, ‘I have come to give a gift to the Lord.’ ³ Ask Jesse to come when you give the gift, and I will show you what you should do. You will choose for Me the one I name to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. The leaders of the city came shaking with fear to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ Samuel said, “I have come in peace to give a gift to the Lord. Make yourselves holy and come with me as I give the gift.” He set apart Jesse and his sons also, and asked them to come to the gift-giving. ⁶ When they had come, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “For sure he is the Lord’s chosen one who is standing before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the way he looks on the outside or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. For the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ⁹ Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And Jesse said, “There is yet the youngest one. See, he is taking care of the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him. We will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹² So he sent for him and brought him in. His youngest son had good color in his skin, beautiful eyes and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Rise up and choose him. For this is the one.” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and poured the oil on him in front of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David with strength from that day on. And Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

5 I want to speak to the church leaders among you. I am a church leader also. I saw Christ suffer and die on a cross. I will also share His shining-greatness when He comes again. ² Be good shepherds of the flock God has put in your care. Do not care for the flock as if you were made to. Do not care for the flock for money, but do it because you want to. ³ Do not be bosses over the people you lead. Live as you would like to have them live. ⁴ When the Head Shepherd comes again, you will get the crown of shining-greatness that will not come to an end.

⁵ In the same way, you younger men must obey the church leaders. Be gentle as you care for each other. God works against those who have pride. He gives His loving-favor to those who do not try to honor themselves.