Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Worship and Obedience
95 Come! Let us sing joyfully to the Lord!
Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout with songs of praise to him.
3 For the Lord is an awesome God;
a great king above all divine beings.[a]
4 He holds in his hand the lowest parts of the earth
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea that he made belongs to him,
along with the dry land that his hands formed.
6 Come! Let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel in the presence of the Lord, who made us.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture
and the flock in his care.[b]
If only you would listen to his voice today,
8 do not be stubborn like your ancestors were[c] at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah, in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me.
They tested me,
even though they had seen my awesome deeds.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation, so I said,
“They are a people whose hearts continuously err,
and they have not understood my ways.”
11 So in my anger I declared an oath:
“They are not to enter my place of rest.”
David is Anointed King(A)
11 Later on, all of Israel gathered together at Hebron in order to tell David, “Look, we’re your own flesh and blood![a] 2 Even back when Saul was ruling as king, you kept on leading the army of Israel out to battle[b] and bringing them in again.[c] The Lord your God told you, ‘You yourself will shepherd my people Israel and will be Commander-in-Chief[d] over my people Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel approached the king at Hebron, where David entered into a covenant in[e] the presence of the Lord. Then they anointed David to be king over Israel, just as the Lord had sent word through[f] Samuel.
David Captures Jerusalem
4 Later, David and all of Israel marched to Jerusalem (then known as Jebus, where the Jebusites lived when they inhabited the land). 5 The inhabitants of Jebus told David, “You’re not coming in here!” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, now known as the City of David.
6 David had announced, “Whoever first attacks the Jebusites will be appointed chief and commander.” When Zeruiah’s son Joab went up first, he became chief. 7 David occupied[g] the fortress, so it was named the City of David after him. 8 He built up the walls surrounding the city in a complete circle from the terrace ramparts,[h] and Joab repaired the rest of the city. 9 David became more and more prestigious because the Lord of the Heavenly Armies was with him.
13 “Who are these people wearing white robes,” one of the elders asked me, “and where did they come from?”
14 I told him, “Sir, you know.”
Then he told me, “These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering.[a] They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. 15 That is why:
“They are in front of the throne of God
and worship[b] him night and day in his Temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will never be hungry or thirsty again.
Neither the sun nor its heat will ever beat down on them,
17 because the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life,
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”[c]
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