Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1 May the Lord lanswer you in the day of trouble!
May mthe name of the God of Jacob nprotect you!
2 May he send you help from othe sanctuary
and give you support from pZion!
3 May he qremember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
4 May he rgrant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
5 May we shout for joy over syour salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our tbanners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
6 Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with uthe saving might of his right hand.
7 Some trust in vchariots and some in whorses,
xbut we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
9 O Lord, save ythe king!
May he answer us when we call.
34 Then Samuel went mto Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in nGibeah of Saul. 35 oAnd Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, pbut Samuel grieved over Saul. qAnd the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
David Anointed King
1 The Lord said to Samuel, r“How long will you grieve over Saul, since sI have rejected him from being king over Israel? tFill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, ufor I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, v‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. wAnd you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city xcame to meet him trembling and said, y“Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. zConsecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on aEliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, b“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, cbut the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called dAbinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made dShammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, e“There remains yet the youngest,1 but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, f“Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was gruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, h“Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took ithe horn of oil jand anointed him in the midst of his brothers. kAnd the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, c“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; dhe knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once ehe puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 fAnd he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like ga grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 hWith many such parables he spoke ithe word to them, jas they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them kwithout a parable, but lprivately to his own disciples he mexplained everything.
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that rwhile we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for swe walk by faith, not tby sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we uwould rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to vplease him. 10 For wwe must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, xso that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing ythe fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But zwhat we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. 12 aWe are not commending ourselves to you again but bgiving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we care beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
