Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹¹³ I hate those who have two ways of thinking, but I love Your Law. ¹¹⁴ You are my hiding place and my battle-covering. I put my hope in Your Word. ¹¹⁵ Go away from me, you who do wrong, so I may keep the Word of my God. ¹¹⁶ Hold me up by Your Word and I will live. Do not let me be ashamed of my hope. ¹¹⁷ Hold me up so I will be safe, and I will always have respect for Your Law. ¹¹⁸ You turn away from all those who turn from Your Law. They fool themselves with their own lying. ¹¹⁹ You put away like waste all the sinful of the earth, so I love Your Law. ¹²⁰ My flesh shakes in fear of You, and I am afraid of how You may punish.

¹²¹ I have done what is fair and right. Do not leave me to those who would make it hard for me. ¹²² Promise that You will bring good to Your servant. Do not let the proud make it hard for me. ¹²³ My eyes become weak with desire for Your saving power and for Your Word that is right and good. ¹²⁴ Act in Your loving-kindness toward Your servant, and teach me Your Laws. ¹²⁵ I am Your servant. Give me understanding so I may know Your Law. ¹²⁶ It is time for You to work, Lord, for they have broken Your Law. ¹²⁷ I love Your Word more than gold, more than pure gold. ¹²⁸ And so I look upon all of Your Law as right. I hate every false way.

⁸ When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines. He killed many of them, and the others ran away from him. ⁹ Then a bad spirit sent from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp. ¹⁰ Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but David got out of the way. Saul hit the wall with the spear, and David ran away that night.

¹¹ Then Saul sent men to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹² So Michal let David down through a window, and he ran away. ¹³ Michal took a house god and laid it on the bed. She put a goat hair pillow at its head, and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ When Saul sent men to take David, Michal said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent men to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ When the men came in, the house god was on the bed, with the goat hair pillow at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you fooled me like this and let the man I hate go? Now he has run away to be safe.” Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

Jesus Walks On The Water ^(A)

⁴⁵ At once Jesus had His followers get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to the town of Bethsaida. He sent the people away. ⁴⁶ When they were all gone, He went up to the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ It was evening. The boat was half-way across the sea. Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw His followers were in trouble. The wind was against them. They were working very hard rowing the boat. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them walking on the sea. He would have gone past them. ⁴⁹ When the followers saw Him walking on the water, they thought it was a spirit and cried out with fear. ⁵⁰ For they all saw Him and were afraid. At once Jesus talked to them. He said, “Take hope. It is I, do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ He came over to them and got into the boat. The wind stopped. They were very much surprised and wondered about it. ⁵² They had not learned what they should have learned from the loaves because their hearts were hard.