Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer for Victory

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of Philistines; for I have seen the affliction of^[a] my people, because their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. ²⁰ As for your asses that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” ²¹ Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” ²⁴ So the cook took up the leg and the upper portion^[b] and set them before Saul; and Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”^[c]

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. ²⁵ And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul^[d] upon the roof, and he lay down to sleep. ²⁶ Then at the break of dawn^[e] Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

Samuel Anoints Saul

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Exaltation through Abasement

⁵ For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶ It has been testified somewhere,

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹ But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.