1 Samuel 12, Romans 10, Jeremiah 49, Psalm 26, 27

1 Samuel 12,

1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
 
2 Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
 
3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
 
4 "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand."
 
5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.
 
6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt.
 
7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
 
8 "After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
 
9 "But they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
 
10 They cried out to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.'
 
11 Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
 
12 "But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us'-even though the LORD your God was your king.
 
13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.
 
14 If you fear the LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God-good!
 
15 But if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
 
16 "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!
 
17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."
 
18 Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.
 
19 The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."
 
20 "Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
 
21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
 
22 For the sake of his great name the LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his own.
 
23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
 
24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
 
25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
 

Romans 10,

1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
 
2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
 
3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
 
4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
 
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them."
 
6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down)
 
7 "or 'Who will descend into the deep?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
 
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
 
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
 
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
 
11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
 
12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
 
13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
 
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
 
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
 
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"
 
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
 
18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."
 
19 Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding."
 
20 And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me."
 
21 But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."
 

Jeremiah 49,

1 Concerning the Ammonites: This is what the LORD says: "Has Israel no sons? Has she no heirs? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad? Why do his people live in its towns?
 
2 But the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites; it will become a mound of ruins, and its surrounding villages will be set on fire. Then Israel will drive out those who drove her out," says the LORD.
 
3 "Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed! Cry out, O inhabitants of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; rush here and there inside the walls, for Molech will go into exile, together with his priests and officials.
 
4 Why do you boast of your valleys, boast of your valleys so fruitful? O unfaithful daughter, you trust in your riches and say, 'Who will attack me?'
 
5 I will bring terror on you from all those around you," declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. "Every one of you will be driven away, and no one will gather the fugitives.
 
6 "Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the LORD.
 
7 Concerning Edom: This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
 
8 Turn and flee, hide in deep caves, you who live in Dedan, for I will bring disaster on Esau at the time I punish him.
 
9 If grape pickers came to you, would they not leave a few grapes? If thieves came during the night, would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
 
10 But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, so that he cannot conceal himself. His children, relatives and neighbors will perish, and he will be no more.
 
11 Leave your orphans; I will protect their lives. Your widows too can trust in me."
 
12 This is what the LORD says: "If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, why should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must drink it.
 
13 I swear by myself," declares the LORD, "that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever."
 
14 I have heard a message from the LORD: An envoy was sent to the nations to say, "Assemble yourselves to attack it! Rise up for battle!"
 
15 "Now I will make you small among the nations, despised among men.
 
16 The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's, from there I will bring you down," declares the LORD.
 
17 "Edom will become an object of horror; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
 
18 As Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown, along with their neighboring towns," says the LORD, "so no one will live there; no man will dwell in it.
 
19 "Like a lion coming up from Jordan's thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?"
 
20 Therefore, hear what the LORD has planned against Edom, what he has purposed against those who live in Teman: The young of the flock will be dragged away; he will completely destroy their pasture because of them.
 
21 At the sound of their fall the earth will tremble; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.
 
22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
 
23 Concerning Damascus: "Hamath and Arpad are dismayed, for they have heard bad news. They are disheartened, troubled like the restless sea.
 
24 Damascus has become feeble, she has turned to flee and panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her, pain like that of a woman in labor.
 
25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?
 
26 Surely, her young men will fall in the streets; all her soldiers will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD Almighty.
 
27 "I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad."
 
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked: This is what the LORD says: "Arise, and attack Kedar and destroy the people of the East.
 
29 Their tents and their flocks will be taken; their shelters will be carried off with all their goods and camels. Men will shout to them, 'Terror on every side!'
 
30 "Flee quickly away! Stay in deep caves, you who live in Hazor," declares the LORD. "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has plotted against you; he has devised a plan against you.
 
31 "Arise and attack a nation at ease, which lives in confidence," declares the LORD, "a nation that has neither gates nor bars; its people live alone.
 
32 Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be booty. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side," declares the LORD.
 
33 "Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, a desolate place forever. No one will live there; no man will dwell in it."
 
34 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah:
 
35 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might.
 
36 I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam's exiles do not go.
 
37 I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek their lives; I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce anger," declares the LORD. "I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.
 
38 I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and officials," declares the LORD.
 
39 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in days to come," declares the LORD.
 

Psalm 26, 27

1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
 
2 Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
 
3 for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth.
 
4 I do not sit with deceitful men, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
 
5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.
 
6 I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD,
 
7 proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds.
 
8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.
 
9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners, my life with bloodthirsty men,
 
10 in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.
 
11 But I lead a blameless life; redeem me and be merciful to me.
 
12 My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.
 

    
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?
 
2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
 
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
 
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
 
5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.
 
6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
 
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.
 
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.
 
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.
 
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
 
11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
 
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
 
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
 
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.