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 of Israel and Judah

11 Then all Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “See, we are your bone and your flesh. ² In times past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who led out and brought in Israel. The Lord your God said to you, ‘You will be the shepherd of My people Israel. And you will be king over My people Israel.’” ³ So all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. And David made an agreement with them in Hebron before the Lord. Then they poured oil on David to be the king of Israel, just as the Lord had said through Samuel. ⁴ David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (that is, Jebus). And the Jebusites, the people of the land, were there. ⁵ The people of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” But David took the strong-place of Zion (that is, the city of David). ⁶ Now David had said, “Whoever kills a Jebusite first will be captain and leader.” Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became captain. ⁷ Then David lived in the strong-place. So it was called the city of David. ⁸ He built the city all around, from the Millo and then around. And Joab built the rest of the city up again. ⁹ David became greater and greater, for the Lord of All was with him.

¹³ Then one of the twenty-four leaders asked me, “Who are these people dressed in white clothes? Where did they come from?” ¹⁴ I answered him, “Sir, you know.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who came out of the time of much trouble. They have washed their clothes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God. They help Him day and night in the house of God. And He Who sits on the throne will care for them as He is among them. ¹⁶ They will never be hungry or thirsty again. The sun or any burning heat will not shine down on them. ¹⁷ For the Lamb Who is in the center of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to wells of the water of life. God will take away all tears from their eyes.”