Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Overcomer upon, Do not destroy, Michtam of David, when he fled from the presence of Saul in the cave.
1 ¶ Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusts in thee; and in the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities are overpast.
2 I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performs all things for me.
3 He shall send from the heavens and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
4 My soul is among lions, and I lie even among those that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword.
5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
6 They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me, into the midst of which they are fallen themselves. Selah.
7 ¶ My heart is ready, O God, my heart is willing; I will sing and give praise.
8 Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp; I myself will arise early.
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing unto thee among the nations.
10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
11 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
19 ¶ Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, Let me now run and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD has vindicated him of his enemies.
20 And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings today, but thou shalt bear tidings another day; but this day thou shalt bear no tidings because the king’s son is dead.
21 And Joab said to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab and ran.
22 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said yet again unto Joab, Be what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Why wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou wilt receive no reward for the tidings?
23 But, said he, let me run, be what may. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain and overran Cushi.
24 And David sat between the two gates, and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall and lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried and told the king. And the king said, If he is alone, he brings good news. And while he kept on drawing near,
26 the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called unto the porter and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings.
27 And the watchman said, I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man and comes with good tidings.
28 And Ahimaaz called and said unto the king peace. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, who has delivered up those men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom at peace? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s slave, and me thy slave, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was.
30 And the king said unto him, Turn aside and stand here. And he turned aside and stood still.
31 And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king, for the LORD has vindicated thee today of all those that rose up against thee.
32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom at peace? And Cushi answered, Let the enemies of my lord the king and all that rise against thee for evil, be as that young man.
33 Then the king was much moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept; and as he went, he said this: O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! I would rather have died instead of thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
14 Therefore, beloved, seeing that ye hope for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.
15 And have as saving health the patience of our Lord, even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him has written unto you
16 in almost all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, among which are some things that are hard to understand, which those that are ignorant and unstable twist, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye, therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things in advance, be on guard lest by the error of the wicked ye be deceived with the others and fall from your own steadfastness.
18 But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and until the day of eternity. Amen.z
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