Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 108
A Plea for Victory
A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart is confident, God;
I will sing; I will sing praises
with the whole of my being.[a](A)
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(B)
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(C)
4 For your faithful love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.(D)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens,(E)
and let your glory be over the whole earth.(F)
6 Save with your right hand and answer me
so that those you love may be rescued.(G)
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[b]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(H)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(I)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(J)
Judah is my scepter.(K)
9 Moab is my washbasin;(L)
I throw my sandal on Edom.(M)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(N)
Israel’s Demand for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.(A) 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.(B) 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.(C)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.(D) 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”(E)
6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.(F) 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,[a] since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. 9 Listen to them, but solemnly warn them(G) and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”
10 Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. 12 He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties,(H) to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.(I) 15 He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. 16 He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle,[b] and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves,(J) but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”(K)
19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us,(L) and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. 22 “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”(M)
Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”
Satanic Rebellion Crushed
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations(A) at the four corners of the earth,(B) Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.(C) Their number is like the sand of the sea.(D) 9 They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.(E) Then fire came down from heaven[a] and consumed them.(F) 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are,(G) and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.(H)
The Great White Throne Judgment
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.(I) 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.(J) Another book was opened, which is the book of life,(K) and the dead were judged according to their works(L) by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades(M) gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.(N) This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
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