Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 95
Worship and Warning
Worship
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord.
Let us give a loud shout to the Rock who saves us.
2 Let us approach his presence with thanksgiving.
With music we will shout to him.
3 For the Lord is the great God
and the great King above all gods.
4 He holds the unexplored places of the earth in his hand,
and the peaks of the mountains belong to him.
5 The sea belongs to him, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down. Let us revere him.
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker,
7 for he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture
and the flock in his hand.
Warning
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as they did at Meribah,
as they did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers challenged me
and tested me though they had seen what I had done.
10 For forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
and I said, “They are a people who have hearts that stray.
They do not acknowledge my ways.”
11 So I swore in my anger,
“They shall never enter my resting place.”
David Is Chosen as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I see a king for myself among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the person that I point out to you.”
4 So Samuel did what the Lord had told him to do and went to Bethlehem. Trembling with fear, the elders of the city came to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 He said, “Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they had come, he looked at Eliab and said, “Certainly this is the Lord’s anointed.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at how tall he is, because I have rejected him. For the Lord does not look at things the way man does. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.”
10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?”
Jesse said, “There still is the youngest, but he is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him, for we cannot sit down to eat until he comes.”
12 He sent for him and brought him in. David had red hair[a] and striking eyes, and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Get up! Anoint him, because this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed on David with power from that day forward. After that Samuel set out and returned to Ramah.
Admonition to Elders
5 Therefore, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and as one who also shares in the glory that is about to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: 2 Shepherd God’s flock that is among you, serving as overseers, not grudgingly but willingly, as God desires,[a] not because you are greedy for money but because you are eager to do it. 3 Do not lord it over those entrusted to your care, but be examples for the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory.
Final Exhortations
5 Likewise, young men, be submissive to those who are older.[b] And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility[c] toward one another. For “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”[d]
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.