Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
This is for the music leader, and he should use special music.
David wrote this prayer when he ran away from King Saul to hide in a cave.
A prayer for help[a]
57 God, please be kind to me and help me!
Please help me!
I have come to you to keep me safe.
Until the danger has gone, keep me near to you,
in the way that birds protect their babies under their wings.
2 I will call to the Most High God to help me.
He is the God who stands beside me.
3 He will send help from heaven
and he will save me.
He will punish the people who attack me.
Selah.
God will show me his faithful love,
and he will do what he has promised.
4 My enemies are all round me,
like hungry lions!
I must lie down among wild animals,
that want to eat me!
They are men who use spears and arrows
to bite like teeth.
They use their tongues to hurt people,
like sharp swords.
5 God, show how great you are,
high above the sky!
Let everybody on the earth see your glory!
6 My enemies have prepared a trap to catch me.
That makes me very upset.
They have dug a deep hole on the path where I walk.
But they have fallen into it themselves!
Selah.
7 God, I have decided to trust you always.
Yes, I will trust you!
I will sing songs to praise you!
8 I will wake up now!
I will pick up my harp and my lyre.
I will make music as the sun rises![b]
9 My Lord, I will thank you
in front of all the people.
I will sing to praise you,
so that all nations hear.
10 Your faithful love is great,
higher than the skies.
Your truth reaches beyond the clouds.
11 God, show how great you are,
high above the sky!
Let everybody on the earth see your glory!
David hears about Absalom's death
19 Zadok's son Ahimaaz said to Joab, ‘Let me run to give the king the good news. I will tell him that the Lord has saved him from the power of his enemies.’
20 Joab said, ‘No, it will not be good news for the king. His son is dead. You must not take this news today. Another day there will be good news for you to take to him, but not today.’
21 Then Joab spoke to a servant who came from Ethiopia, ‘Go now to the king. Tell him what you have seen.’ The man bent down in front of Joab and then he ran off with the message.
22 Zadok's son Ahimaaz spoke to Joab again. He said, ‘I am not afraid of what may happen to me. Please let me run after the Ethiopian man.’
But Joab replied, ‘Why do you want to go as well? The king will not give you any gift for this news.’
23 Ahimaaz said, ‘But I do want to go, whatever happens.’
So Joab said, ‘Run after him, then!’
So Ahimaaz ran fast along a road in the Jordan Valley. He arrived near Mahanaim before the Ethiopian man.
24 David was sitting between the two gates of Mahanaim city.[a] A man went up to the top of the wall, on the roof above the gate. He was watching the road. As he looked, he saw a man who was running towards the city. He was running alone. 25 So the man on the wall shouted a message to the king, to say what he had seen.
The king said, ‘If the man is alone, he is bringing good news.’ The man who was running towards the city came much nearer.
26 Then the man on the wall saw another man who was running towards the city. He called down to the guard at the city's gate, ‘Look! There is another man who is running alone!’
The king said, ‘He will bring good news, too.’
27 The man on the wall said, ‘The first man is running like Zadok's son, Ahimaaz.’
The king said, ‘He is a good man. I am sure that he brings good news.’
28 Then Ahimaaz shouted to the king, ‘All is well!’ He bent down low in front of the king, with his face towards the ground. He said, ‘Praise the Lord your God! He has put your enemies under your power. They turned against you, my lord the king, but they have lost the fight.’
29 The king asked, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’
Ahimaaz answered, ‘When Joab sent me, your servant, I saw that many people had come together. There was a lot of noise, but I do not know what was happening.’
30 The king said, ‘Stand over there and wait.’ So Ahimaaz moved away and he waited.
31 Then the Ethiopian man arrived. He said, ‘My lord the king, listen to this good news! Today the Lord has helped you to win the fight. He has kept you safe from all the people who turned against you.’
32 The king asked the Ethiopian man, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’
The man replied, ‘My lord the king, I hope that your enemies and all those who want to hurt you would be as dead as he is!’
33 The king became very upset. He went upstairs to the room above the gate. He wept loudly. As he went, he cried, ‘My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! It would be better if I had died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!’
Peter finishes his letter
14 So, my friends, live in a good way, because you are waiting for these things to happen. Try very much to do what makes God happy. Then, when you meet God, he will see that you are clean. He will see that there is no trouble in your minds. 15 Remember that our Lord wants to save people from their sins. That is why he is now waiting patiently for people to turn to him before he will return. Paul has also written to you about these things. He is our friend that we love like a brother. God helped him to understand these things. 16 He wrote about them in all his letters. Some things that he has written are difficult for people to understand. Some people have weak minds and they are not sure about what they believe. They explain Paul's teaching in a way that deceives people. They also explain other things in the Bible wrongly. As a result, those people will destroy themselves and God will punish them.
17 My friends, you already know about these false teachers. So be very careful that you do not believe those bad people. Do not let them lead you away from God. You know what is true, so do not leave that safe place. 18 Instead, you must grow as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us. Continue to know him better and better. He will be kind to you and he will help you more and more. We praise him as he deserves! He is great now and he will be great for ever!
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