This is Friday’s Common Lectionary Bible reading, which we will include in the Cam Villages pop-up prayer.
1 Samuel 2.1-10
1 Hannah prayed, and said:
“My heart exults in the LORD!
My horn is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth is enlarged over my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 There is no one as holy as the LORD,
for there is no one besides you,
nor is there any rock like our God.
3 “Don’t keep talking so exceedingly proudly.
Don’t let arrogance come out of your mouth,
for the LORD is a God of knowledge.
By him actions are weighed.
4 “The bows of the mighty men are broken.
Those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread.
Those who were hungry are satisfied.
Yes, the barren has borne seven.
She who has many children languishes.
6 “The LORD kills and makes alive.
He brings down to Sheol* and brings up.
7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich.
He brings low, he also lifts up.
8 He raises up the poor out of the dust.
He lifts up the needy from the dunghill
to make them sit with princes
and inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s.
He has set the world on them.
9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones,
but the wicked will be put to silence in darkness;
for no man will prevail by strength.
10 Those who strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces.
He will thunder against them in the sky.
“The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
He will give strength to his king,
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
2:6: Sheol is the place of the dead.
Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in his heavens for his acts of power!
2 Praise him for his mighty acts!
Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet!
Praise him with harp and lyre!
4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and flute!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with resounding cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Artwork at the top of this post is by Dutch Golden Age painter Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, “Hannah presenting her son Samuel to the priest Eli,” ca. 1665. Painting held by the Louve Museum; image is held in the public domain and can be viewed here.