Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of Praise

108 My heart will not be moved, O God. I will sing. Yes, I will sing praises with my soul. ² Wake up, different kinds of harps. I will wake up the new day. ³ I will give thanks to You among the people, O Lord. I will sing praises to You among the nations. ⁴ For Your loving-kindness is great above the heavens. And Your truth can touch the sky. ⁵ Be lifted up high above the heavens, O God. Let Your shining-greatness be over all the earth. ⁶ Save us with Your right hand and answer me. Let Your loved ones be set free.

⁷ God has said in His holy place: “I will be full of joy. I will divide Shechem and the valley of Succoth. ⁸ Gilead is Mine. Manasseh is Mine. Ephraim is the covering for My head. Judah is My law giver. ⁹ Moab is where I wash My hands. I will throw My shoe over Edom. I will call out over Philistia that I have won.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? ¹¹ Have You not turned away from us, O God? And will You not go out with our armies, O God? ¹² O give us help against those who hate us. For the help of man is worth nothing. ¹³ With God’s help we will do great things. And He will break under His feet those who fight against us.

³ Then Samuel said to all the family of Israel, “Return to the Lord with all your heart. Put away the strange gods and the false goddess Ashtaroth from among you. Turn your hearts to the Lord and worship Him alone. Then He will save you from the Philistines.” ⁴ So the people of Israel put away from among them the false gods of Baal and Ashtaroth and worshiped the Lord alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel together at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ So they gathered at Mizpah. They got water and poured it out before the Lord as a gift, and did not eat that day. They said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. ⁷ The Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, so the leaders of the Philistines went to battle against them. When the people of Israel heard about it, they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ The Israelites said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the Philistines.” ⁹ Samuel took a young lamb and gave it as a whole burnt gift to the Lord. Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ As Samuel was burning the gift to the Lord, the Philistines came near to battle against Israel. But the Lord made a loud thunder that day against the Philistines, making them afraid. So they lost the battle with Israel. ¹¹ The men of Israel left Mizpah and went after the Philistines, killing them almost as far as Bethcar.

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen. He gave it the name Ebenezer, saying, “The Lord has helped us this far.” ¹³ So the Philistines were beaten. They did not come into the land of Israel again. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel’s life. ¹⁴ The cities the Philistines had taken from Israel were returned, from Ekron to Gath. Israel saved their land from the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

¹⁵ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.

Satan Is Chained for One Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had in his hand a key to the hole without a bottom. He also had a strong chain. ² He took hold of the dragon, that old snake, who is the Devil, or Satan, and chained him for 1,000 years. ³ The angel threw the devil into the hole without a bottom. He shut it and locked him in it. He could not fool the nations anymore until the 1,000 years were completed. After this he must be free for awhile.

⁴ Then I saw thrones. Those who were sitting there were given the power to judge. I saw the souls of those who had been killed because they told about Jesus and preached the Word of God. They had not worshiped the wild animal or his false god. They had not received his mark on their foreheads or hands. They lived again and were leaders along with Christ for 1,000 years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life again until the 1,000 years were finished. This is the first time many people are raised from the dead at the same time. ⁶ Those who are raised from the dead during this first time are happy and holy. The second death has no power over them. They will be religious leaders of God and of Christ. They will be leaders with Him for 1,000 years.