Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David Praises the Lord for Rescuing Him.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said:
18 “I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.”
2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and the One who rescues me;
My God, my rock and strength in whom I trust and take refuge;
My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower—my stronghold.(A)
3
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
And I am saved from my enemies.(B)
4
The cords of death surrounded me,
And the streams of ungodliness and torrents of destruction terrified me.
5
The cords of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.
43
You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as the head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
44
As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me;
Foreigners feign obedience to me.
45
Foreigners lose heart,
And come trembling out of their strongholds.
46
The Lord lives, blessed be my rock;
And may the God of my salvation be exalted,
47
The God who avenges me,
And subdues peoples (nations) under me.
48
He rescues me from my enemies;
Yes, You lift me up above those who rise up against me;
You deliver me from the man of violence.
49
Therefore will I give thanks and praise You, O Lord, among the nations,
And sing praises to Your name.(A)
50
He gives great triumphs to His king,
And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.(B)
Saul and His Sons Slain
31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and they killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. 4 Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised [Philistines] will come and pierce me through and abuse and mock me.” But his armor bearer would not, because he was terrified [of doing such a thing]. So [a]Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together on that day.
7 When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley [of Jezreel], and those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the other men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to plunder the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off Saul’s head and stripped off his weapons and armor and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 And they put Saul’s weapons and armor in the temple of the Ashtaroth (female goddesses), and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 When the [b]inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the brave men stood and walked all night, and they took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and cremated them there. 13 They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted [as a sign of mourning and respect] for seven days.
God Gives Most
9 Now it is unnecessary for me to write to you about the offering [that is to be made] for the saints [in Jerusalem]; 2 for I know your eagerness [to promote this cause], and I have [proudly] boasted to the people of Macedonia about it, telling them that [a]Achaia has been prepared since last year [for this contribution], and your enthusiasm has inspired the majority of them [to respond]. 3 Still, I am sending the brothers [on to you], so that our pride in you may not be an empty boast in this case, and so that you may be prepared, just as I told them you would be; 4 otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—to say nothing of yourselves—will be humiliated for being so confident. 5 That is why I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to go to you [before I come] and make arrangements in advance for this generous, previously promised gift of yours, so that it would be ready, not as something extorted [or wrung out of you], but as a [voluntary and] generous gift.
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