1 Samuel 16:1-13
The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is now before the LORD." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Ephesians 3:14-21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Matthew 8:18-27
Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, you of little faith?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?"
Morning Psalms
Psalm 97
1 The LORD is King; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles be glad.
2 Clouds and darkness are round about him, righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne.
3 A fire goes before him and burns up his enemies on every side.
4 His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees it and is afraid.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
7 Confounded be all who worship carved images and delight in false gods! Bow down before him, all you gods.
8 Zion hears and is glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you are the LORD, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 The LORD loves those who hate evil; he preserves the lives of his saints and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light has sprung up for the righteous, and joyful gladness for those who are truehearted.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous, and give thanks to his holy Name.
Psalm 99
1 The LORD is King; let the people tremble; he is enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth shake.
2 The LORD is great in Zion; he is high above all peoples.
3 Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; he is the Holy One.
4 O mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God and fall down before his footstool; he is the Holy One.
6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
8 O LORD our God, you answered them indeed; you were a God who forgave them, yet punished them for their evil deeds.
9 Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God and worship him upon his holy hill; for the LORD our God is the Holy One.
Psalm 100
1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
4 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 94
1 O LORD God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, show yourself.
2 Rise up, O Judge of the world; give the arrogant their just deserts.
3 How long shall the wicked, O LORD, how long shall the wicked triumph?
4 They bluster in their insolence; all evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your chosen nation.
6 They murder the widow and the stranger and put the orphans to death.
7 Yet they say, "The LORD does not see, the God of Jacob takes no notice."
8 Consider well, you dullards among the people; when will you fools understand?
9 He that planted the ear, does he not hear? he that formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who admonishes the nations, will he not punish? he who teaches all the world, has he no knowledge?
11 The LORD knows our human thoughts; how like a puff of wind they are.
12 Happy are they whom you instruct, O Lord! whom you teach out of your law;
13 To give them rest in evil days, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not abandon his people, nor will he forsake his own.
15 For judgment will again be just, and all the true of heart will follow it.
16 Who rose up for me against the wicked? who took my part against the evildoers?
17 If the LORD had not come to my help, I should soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 As often as I said, "My foot has slipped, " your love, O LORD, upheld me.
19 When many cares fill my mind, your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can a corrupt tribunal have any part with you, one which frames evil into law?
21 They conspire against the life of the just and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my trust.
23 He will turn their wickedness back upon them and destroy them in their own malice; the LORD our God will destroy them.
Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing to the LORD; let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the caverns of the earth, and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have molded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as your forebears did in the wilderness, at Meribah, and on that day at Massah, when they tempted me.
9 They put me to the test, though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years long I detested that generation and said, This people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways."
11 So I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter into my rest."
