Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer in Time of Chastening
A Psalm of David. (A)To bring to remembrance.
38 O Lord, do not (B)rebuke me in Your wrath,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!
2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply,
And Your hand presses me down.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh
Because of Your anger,
Nor any health in my bones
Because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head;
Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are foul and festering
Because of my foolishness.
6 I am [a]troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You;
And my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.
11 My loved ones and my friends (C)stand aloof from my plague,
And my relatives stand afar off.
12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;
Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,
And plan deception all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.
14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth is no response.
15 For [b]in You, O Lord, (D)I hope;
You will [c]hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,
Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”
17 (E)For I am ready to fall,
And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will (F)declare my iniquity;
I will be (G)in [d]anguish over my sin.
19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;
And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.
20 Those also (H)who render evil for good,
They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (I)be not far from me!
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
David Spares Saul
24 Now it happened, (A)when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and (B)went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and (C)Saul went in to (D)attend to his needs. ((E)David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.) 4 (F)Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’ ” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 Now it happened afterward that (G)David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. 6 And he said to his men, (H)“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 So David (I)restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.
8 David also arose afterward, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, saying, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed down. 9 And David said to Saul: (J)“Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Indeed David seeks your harm’? 10 Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave, and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you, and I said, ‘I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 Moreover, my father, see! Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the corner of your robe, and did not kill you, know and see that there is (K)neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you (L)hunt my life to take it. 12 (M)Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, (N)‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? (O)A dead dog? (P)A flea? 15 (Q)Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and (R)see and (S)plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.”
16 So it was, when David had finished speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, (T)“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 (U)Then he said to David: “You are (V)more righteous than I; for (W)you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. 18 And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me; for when (X)the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now (Y)I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 (Z)Therefore swear now to me by the Lord (AA)that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father’s house.”
22 So David swore to Saul. And Saul went home, but David and his men went up to (AB)the stronghold.
Conduct at the Lord’s Supper
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, (A)I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For (B)there must also be factions among you, (C)that those who are approved may be [a]recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and (D)another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise (E)the church of God and (F)shame [b]those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
Examine Yourself
27 Therefore whoever eats (A)this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and [a]blood of the Lord. 28 But (B)let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks [b]in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the [c]Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many [d]sleep. 31 For (C)if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, (D)we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you (E)come together to eat, wait for one another.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.