Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 18(A)
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord. He spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love You, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my pillar, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
3 I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I will be saved from my enemies.
4 The cords of death encircled me,
and the torrents of destruction terrified me.
5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called on the Lord,
and cried for help to my God;
He heard my voice from His temple,
and my cry for help came before Him to His ears.
43 You have delivered me from the hostilities of the people,
and You have made me the head of nations;
a people whom I have not known serve me.
44 At hearing a report, they obey me;
foreigners come cringing to me.
45 Foreigners fade away,
and come quaking out of their prisons.
46 The Lord lives! And blessed be my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God who avenges me
and subdues the people under me;
48 He delivers me from my enemies.
You lift me up above those who rise up against me;
You have delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great deliverance to His king,
and shows lovingkindness to His anointed,
to David and to his descendants for evermore.
The Death of Saul(A)
10 Now when the Philistines fought against Israel, every Israelite fighter fled before the Philistines, and the slain fell on Mount Gilboa. 2 But the Philistines pursued Saul and his sons and struck down Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua. 3 As the battle with Saul became heavy, the archers’ bows found their target and mortally wounded him.
4 So Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through lest these uncircumcised Philistines come and make a fool of me.”
But his armor bearer was unwilling to do it because he was overwhelmed with fear, so Saul took the sword and fell on it himself. 5 When the armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. 6 Thus, Saul and his three sons, namely all his house, died together.
7 Now when all the children of Israel in the valley saw that they had fled the battlefield, and Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and escaped, leaving the Philistines to come and dwell in them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to pillage the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they stripped Saul, removed his head and his armor, and circulated the news of his demise throughout the land of the Philistines to their idols as well as the people. 10 Then they placed his armor in the temple of their gods, while his head they impaled in the house of Dagon.
11 Now all Jabesh Gilead heard about everything the Philistines did to Saul, 12 so their valiant men rose up and carried the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons to Jabesh. They buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted, mourning seven days.
13 So Saul died because of his unfaithful deeds against the Lord, because of his failure to keep the word of the Lord, and because he sought to consult a spirit of divination 14 but did not seek the Lord. So He killed him and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
The Healing of a Boy With an Unclean Spirit(A)
14 When He came to His other disciples, He saw a great crowd around them, and the scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately when all the people saw Him, they were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.
16 He asked the scribes, “What are you debating with them?”
17 One in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 Wherever it takes hold on him, it dashes him to the ground. And he foams at the mouth and gnashes with his teeth and becomes rigid. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He answered, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
20 So they brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit dashed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 He asked his father, “How long has it been since it came to him?”
He said, “From childhood. 22 Often it has thrown him into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the foul spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more.”
26 The spirit cried out and convulsed him greatly. But it came out of him, and he was as dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 When He had entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 He said to them, “This kind cannot come out except by prayer and fasting.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.