May 2021 – If Not For Grace

31 May 202129 May 2021

For Freedom

I am in the USA, but if you are not – please read even though I use the US flag and holiday. I believe this message is relevant around the world as Christ died for our freedom!

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ” Galatians 5:1 NIV

In the United States, Memorial Day weekend is the kick off of the summer season with a weekend of celebrations with fun and family and hopefully nice weather – but Monday, on Memorial Day – we remember those who are no longer with us. Specifically those who went off to fight for our freedom and did not survive. As a self-declared Christian nations, you would think we could easily understand the significance of this remembrance and observe it in a respectful way.

Dear Heavenly Father – As always, please open eye to see and our ears to hear what you are saying! Lord – open our understanding that we may know you. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is from the book of 1^st Kings chapters 3-4, 2^nd Chronicles chapter 1 and Psalm 72 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). Solomon asked for wisdom. Some say it is among the “dangerous prayers” – like when you ask for patience, your [patience gets tested. Often I hear older more mature Christian telling the young NOT to pray for patience or wisdom or any of these prayers that could lead to trials – which grow us. STOP IT!!!! Let them run fool hardy for God as we did! Let them dig in, and be tried and grow! We need mighty warriors for Christ – not wimps who are afraid of having to be more patient.

Truth is – it is Memorial Day and fewer and fewer people are actually honoring or respecting the day – parades are no longer held in honor of our fallen soldiers. Truth is as a nation we no longer understand that it took a blood sacrifice for us to be safe. And that is NOTHING SMALL.

But the USA is now claiming to be a secular nation – not Christian, and they disregard the blood that was shed on Calvary for their freedom – and therefore also must made smaller the uncomfortable truth that only by spilled blood are we made free! Modern war has fewer causalities – we remove ourselves further and further from blood and the understanding – the wisdom! (We must pray fervently for wisdom, pray fervently for repentance in the USA – as well as all over the world.)

Without wisdom and understanding – we may very well miss what is happening. We may miss our appointed calling. How long will grace forebear? We know that the “end days” does not refer to the end of time – but to the end of the period called the dispensation of grace.

“if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,” Ephesians 3:2 NKJV

To what end, Paul ponders to the Ephesians – I ponder of this modern world. At what point will the Spirit be so grieved He pulls back, at what point is the end of the rope, at what point is grace depleted?!

Theologically many say that when the “one who hinders in taken away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 and based on context clues it will be when the rapture occurs – yet how much more grace will be needed for those who are walking through Jacobs Sorrow. Because of that some believe the rapture will be after the tribulation – while pointing to many other verses many believe the rapture happens before.

Since it is NOT for us to know the day or hour – I am happy NOT to ponder further the theology. Rather, My God is a mighty God who is Holy and Just. He has the earth swallow up the unjust. He has left a generation to struggle in vain in a desert. AND these were the ones he loved first. Do we think grace shall continue to abound to us ward under the dispensation?! Roman 6 ponders the same concept of continuing in sin and letting grace abound! God Forbid!

Oh Lord we need wisdom! You are the same yesterday, today and forever! In our hope to thrive under grace and continue in sin – we separate ourselves from blood sacrifice. We separate our self from the cross – we shamefully dishonor the men and women who fought for our nation’s freedom and made a blood sacrifice. For freedom, Jesus set us free and spilled His blood. For freedom our fallen soldiers did the same for civil and military freedoms. Forgive us and please grant us the wisdom we need to not continue in sin. Grant us the wisdom to thrive in such a time as this. Grant us the wisdom to fear you with the respect you deserve. – in the name of Jesus – amen

RELATIONSHIP:
Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“⁹If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

MEMORY WORK: Mark 16:17-18 – This month is a two for one special!!!
NKJV – “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
NAS – “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
ESV – “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
NLT – “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
NIV – “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 1 Kings 3-4, 2 Chronicles 1, & Psalm 72 NKJV

1 Kings 3-4

Solomon Requests Wisdom

3 Now Solomon made ^[a]a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall all around Jerusalem. ²Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the Lord until those days. ³And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

⁴Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. ⁵At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

⁶And Solomon said: “You have shown great mercy to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. ⁷Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. ⁹Therefore give to Your servant an ^[b]understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

¹⁰The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. ¹¹Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, ¹²behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. ¹³And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. ¹⁴So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen^[c] your days.”

¹⁵Then Solomon awoke; and indeed it had been a dream. And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, offered up burnt offerings, offered peace offerings, and made a feast for all his servants.

Solomon’s Wise Judgment

¹⁶Now two women who were harlots came to the king, and stood before him. ¹⁷And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. ¹⁸Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; ^[d]no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. ¹⁹And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. ²⁰So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. ²¹And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

²²Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.”

And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.”

Thus they spoke before the king.

²³And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” ²⁴Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. ²⁵And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

²⁶Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!”

But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.”

²⁷So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

²⁸And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Solomon’s Administration

4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. ²And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, ^[e]scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; ⁴Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; ⁵Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friend; ⁶Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.

⁷And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. ⁸These are their names: ^[f]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; ⁹^[g]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; ¹⁰^[h]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; ¹¹^[i]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; ¹³^[j]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹⁶Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the^[k] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

²²Now Solomon’s ^[l]provision for one day was thirty ^[m]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ²³ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side of ^[n]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. ²⁵And Judah and Israel dwelt^[o] safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

²⁶Solomon had ^[p]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷And these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.

²⁹And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was wiser than all men—than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ³²He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. ³³Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Footnotes

1 Kings 3:1 an alliance
1 Kings 3:9 Lit. hearing
1 Kings 3:14 prolong
1 Kings 3:18 Lit. no stranger
1 Kings 4:3 secretaries
1 Kings 4:8 Lit. Son of Hur
1 Kings 4:9 Lit. Son of Deker
1 Kings 4:10 Lit. Son of Hesed
1 Kings 4:11 Lit. Son of Abinadab
1 Kings 4:13 Lit. Son of Geber
1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates
1 Kings 4:22 Lit. bread
1 Kings 4:22 Each about 5 bushels
1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates
1 Kings 4:25 lived in safety
1 Kings 4:26 So with MT, most other authorities; some LXX mss. four thousand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25

2 Chronicles 1

Solomon Requests Wisdom

1 Now Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and exalted him exceedingly.

²And Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel, the heads of the fathers’ houses. ³Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to ^[a]the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. ⁴But David had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim to the place David had prepared for it, for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. ⁵Now the bronze altar that Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, ^[b]he put before the tabernacle of the Lord; Solomon and the assembly sought Him there. ⁶And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.

⁷On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

⁸And Solomon said to God: “You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. ⁹Now, O Lord God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. ¹⁰Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

¹¹Then God said to Solomon: “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king— ¹²wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like.”

Solomon’s Military and Economic Power

¹³So Solomon came to Jerusalem from ^[c]the high place that was at Gibeon, from before the tabernacle of meeting, and reigned over Israel. ¹⁴And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵Also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. ¹⁶And Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. ¹⁷They also acquired and imported from Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for one hundred and fifty; thus, ^[d]through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 1:3 Place for worship
2 Chronicles 1:5 Some authorities it was there
2 Chronicles 1:13 Place for worship
2 Chronicles 1:17 Lit. by their hands

Psalm 72

Glory and Universality of the Messiah’s Reign

A Psalm of Solomon.

72 Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
²He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
³The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
⁴He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will ^[a]break in pieces the oppressor.

⁵^[b]They shall fear You
As long as the sun and moon endure,
Throughout all generations.
⁶He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing,
Like showers that water the earth.
⁷In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace,
Until the moon is no more.

⁸He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
⁹Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before Him,
And His enemies will lick the dust.
¹⁰The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
Will bring presents;
The kings of Sheba and Seba
Will offer gifts.
¹¹Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
All nations shall serve Him.

¹²For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
The poor also, and him who has no helper.
¹³He will spare the poor and needy,
And will save the souls of the needy.
¹⁴He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
And precious shall be their blood in His sight.

¹⁵And He shall live;
And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
And daily He shall be praised.

¹⁶There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains;
Its fruit shall wave like Lebanon;
And those of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.

¹⁷His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
¹⁹And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

Footnotes

Psalm 72:4 crush
Psalm 72:5 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. They shall continue

30 May 202122 May 2021

Weekend Reading (May 30)

Dear Heavenly Father, Please open my understanding as I read the Bible so that I may be able to know you better. Please help your word be planted in my mind, so I may recall it as needed. Bless me with wisdom and knowledge, please. In the name of Jesus we pray ~ amen

BIBLE READING: Psalm 119:1-88 NKJV

Meditations on the Excellencies of the Word of God

א ALEPH

119 Blessed are the ^[^a^]undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the Lord!
²Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
³They also do no iniquity;
They walk in His ways.
⁴You have commanded us
To keep Your precepts diligently.
⁵Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
⁶Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments.
⁷I will praise You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.
⁸I will keep Your statutes;
Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

ב BETH

⁹How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
¹⁰With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
¹²Blessed are You, O Lord!
Teach me Your statutes.
¹³With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
¹⁴I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
¹⁵I will meditate on Your precepts,
And ^[^b^]contemplate Your ways.
¹⁶I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

ג GIMEL

¹⁷Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word.
¹⁸Open my eyes, that I may see
Wondrous things from Your law.
¹⁹I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me.
²⁰My soul ^[^c^]breaks with longing
For Your judgments at all times.
²¹You rebuke the proud—the cursed,
Who stray from Your commandments.
²²Remove from me reproach and contempt,
For I have kept Your testimonies.
²³Princes also sit and speak against me,
But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
²⁴Your testimonies also are my delight
And my counselors.

ד DALETH

²⁵My soul clings to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
²⁶I have declared my ways, and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
²⁷Make me understand the way of Your precepts;
So shall I meditate on Your wonderful works.
²⁸My soul ^[^d^]melts from ^[^e^]heaviness;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
²⁹Remove from me the way of lying,
And grant me Your law graciously.
³⁰I have chosen the way of truth;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
³¹I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
³²I will run the course of Your commandments,
For You shall enlarge my heart.

ה HE

³³Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
³⁴Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
³⁶^[^f^]Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.
³⁷Turn^[^g^] away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in ^[^h^]Your way.
³⁸Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
³⁹Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
⁴⁰Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.

ו WAW

⁴¹Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord—
Your salvation according to Your word.
⁴²So shall I have an answer for him who ^[ⁱ^]reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.
⁴³And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
For I have hoped in Your ordinances.
⁴⁴So shall I keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever.
⁴⁵And I will walk ^[^j^]at liberty,
For I seek Your precepts.
⁴⁶I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings,
And will not be ashamed.
⁴⁷And I will delight myself in Your commandments,
Which I love.
⁴⁸My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments,
Which I love,
And I will meditate on Your statutes.

ז ZAYIN

⁴⁹Remember the word to Your servant,
Upon which You have caused me to hope.
⁵⁰This is my comfort in my affliction,
For Your word has given me life.
⁵¹The proud have me in great derision,
Yet I do not turn aside from Your law.
⁵²I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord,
And have comforted myself.
⁵³Indignation has taken hold of me
Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law.
⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
⁵⁵I remember Your name in the night, O Lord,
And I keep Your law.
⁵⁶This has become mine,
Because I kept Your precepts.

ח HETH

⁵⁷You are my portion, O Lord;
I have said that I would keep Your words.
⁵⁸I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.
⁵⁹I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
⁶⁰I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
⁶¹The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
⁶²At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
⁶³I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
⁶⁴The earth, O Lord, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

ט TETH

⁶⁵You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
⁶⁷Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
⁶⁸You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
⁶⁹The proud have forged^[^k^] a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with my whole heart.
⁷⁰Their heart is ^[^l^]as fat as grease,
But I delight in Your law.
⁷¹It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
⁷²The law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of coins of gold and silver.

י YOD

⁷³Your hands have made me and fashioned me;
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
⁷⁴Those who fear You will be glad when they see me,
Because I have hoped in Your word.
⁷⁵I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are ^[^m^]right,
And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
⁷⁶Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort,
According to Your word to Your servant.
⁷⁷Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live;
For Your law is my delight.
⁷⁸Let the proud be ashamed,
For they treated me wrongfully with falsehood;
But I will meditate on Your precepts.
⁷⁹Let those who fear You turn to me,
Those who know Your testimonies.
⁸⁰Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes,
That I may not be ashamed.

כ KAPH

⁸¹My soul faints for Your salvation,
But I hope in Your word.
⁸²My eyes fail from searching Your word,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”
⁸³For I have become like a wineskin in smoke,
Yet I do not forget Your statutes.
⁸⁴How many are the days of Your servant?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?
⁸⁵The proud have dug pits for me,
Which is not according to Your law.
⁸⁶All Your commandments are faithful;
They persecute me wrongfully;
Help me!
⁸⁷They almost made an end of me on earth,
But I did not forsake Your precepts.
⁸⁸Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.

Footnotes

Psalm 119:1 blameless
Psalm 119:15 look into
Psalm 119:20 is crushed
Psalm 119:28 Lit. drops
Psalm 119:28 grief
Psalm 119:36 Cause me to long for
Psalm 119:37 Lit. Cause my eyes to pass away from
Psalm 119:37 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Tg. Your words
Psalm 119:42 taunts
Psalm 119:45 Lit. in a wide place
Psalm 119:69 Lit. smeared me with a lie
Psalm 119:70 Insensible
Psalm 119:75 Lit. righteous

29 May 202125 May 2021

Weekend Reading (May 29)

BIBLE READING: 1 Kings 1-2, Psalm 37, Psalm 71 and Psalm 94 NKJV

1 Kings 1-2

Adonijah Presumes to Be King

1 Now King David was old, ^[^a^]advanced in years; and they put covers on him, but he could not get warm. ²Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her ^[^b^]stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.

⁵Then Adonijah the ^[^c^]son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will ^[^d^]be king”; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. ⁶(And his father had not ^[^e^]rebuked him at any time by saying, “Why have you done so?” He was also very good-looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom.) ⁷Then he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed and helped Adonijah. ⁸But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah.

⁹And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of ^[^f^]Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel;^[^g^] he also invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants. ¹⁰But he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon his brother.

¹¹So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? ¹²Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. ¹³Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ ¹⁴Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵So Bathsheba went into the chamber to the king. (Now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king.) ¹⁶And Bathsheba bowed and did homage to the king. Then the king said, “What is your wish?”

¹⁷Then she said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸So now, look! Adonijah has become king; and now, my lord the king, you do not know about it. ¹⁹He has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army; but Solomon your servant he has not invited. ²⁰And as for you, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted as offenders.”

²²And just then, while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. ²³So they told the king, saying, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴And Nathan said, “My lord, O king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? ²⁵For he has gone down today, and has sacrificed oxen and fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, and the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest; and look! They are eating and drinking before him; and they say, ‘Long^[^h^] live King Adonijah!’ ²⁶But he has not invited me—me your servant—nor Zadok the priest, nor Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, nor your servant Solomon. ²⁷Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Proclaims Solomon King

²⁸Then King David answered and said, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹And the king took an oath and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, ³⁰just as I swore to you by the Lord God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ so I certainly will do this day.”

³¹Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and paid homage to the king, and said, “Let my lord King David live forever!”

³²And King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” So they came before the king. ³³The king also said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Gihon.^[ⁱ^] ³⁴There let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel; and blow the horn, and say, ^[^j^]‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵Then you shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, and he shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

³⁶Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. ³⁷As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.”

³⁸So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and took him to Gihon. ³⁹Then Zadok the priest took a horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. And they blew the horn, and all the people said, ^[^k^]“Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

⁴¹Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the horn, he said, “Why is the city in such a noisy uproar?” ⁴²While he was still speaking, there came Jonathan, the son of Abiathar the priest. And Adonijah said to him, “Come in, for you are a prominent man, and bring good news.”

⁴³Then Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵So Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon; and they have gone up from there rejoicing, so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise that you have heard. ⁴⁶Also Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷And moreover the king’s servants have gone to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸Also the king said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne this day, while my eyes see it!’ ”

⁴⁹So all the guests who were with Adonijah were afraid, and arose, and each one went his way.

⁵⁰Now Adonijah was afraid of Solomon; so he arose, and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. ⁵¹And it was told Solomon, saying, “Indeed Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon; for look, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’ ”

⁵²Then Solomon said, “If he proves himself a worthy man, not one hair of him shall fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” ⁵³So King Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. And he came and fell down before King Solomon; and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

David’s Instructions to Solomon

2 Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he ^[^l^]charged Solomon his son, saying: ²“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. ³And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; ⁴that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,’ He said, ‘you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

⁵“Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet. ⁶Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.

⁷“But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Absalom your brother.

⁸“And see, you have with you Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ ⁹Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood.”

Death of David

¹⁰So David ^[^m^]rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David. ¹¹The period that David reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years. ¹²Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

Solomon Executes Adonijah

¹³Now Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon. So she said, “Do you come peaceably?”

And he said, “Peaceably.” ¹⁴Moreover he said, “I have something to say to you.”

And she said, “Say it.”

¹⁵Then he said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and all Israel had set their expectations on me, that I should reign. However, the kingdom has been turned over, and has become my brother’s; for it was his from the Lord. ¹⁶Now I ask one petition of you; do not ^[ⁿ^]deny me.”

And she said to him, “Say it.”

¹⁷Then he said, “Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.”

¹⁸So Bathsheba said, “Very well, I will speak for you to the king.”

¹⁹Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right hand. ²⁰Then she said, “I desire one small petition of you; do not ^[^o^]refuse me.”

And the king said to her, “Ask it, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

²¹So she said, “Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah your brother as wife.”

²²And King Solomon answered and said to his mother, “Now why do you ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Ask for him the kingdom also—for he is my older brother—for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah.” ²³Then King Solomon swore by the Lord, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah has not spoken this word against his own life! ²⁴Now therefore, as the Lord lives, who has confirmed me and set me on the throne of David my father, and who has established a ^[^p^]house for me, as He promised, Adonijah shall be put to death today!”

²⁵So King Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he struck him down, and he died.

Abiathar Exiled, Joab Executed

²⁶And to Abiathar the priest the king said, “Go to Anathoth, to your own fields, for ^[^q^]you are deserving of death; but I will not put you to death at this time, because you carried the ark of the Lord God before my father David, and because you were afflicted every time my father was afflicted.” ²⁷So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, that he might fulfill the word of the Lord which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.

²⁸Then news came to Joab, for Joab had defected to Adonijah, though he had not defected to Absalom. So Joab fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, and took hold of the horns of the altar. ²⁹And King Solomon was told, “Joab has fled to the tabernacle of the Lord; there he is, by the altar.” Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down.” ³⁰So Benaiah went to the tabernacle of the Lord, and said to him, “Thus says the king, ‘Come out!’ ”

And he said, “No, but I will die here.” And Benaiah brought back word to the king, saying, “Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me.”

³¹Then the king said to him, “Do as he has said, and strike him down and bury him, that you may take away from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood which Joab shed. ³²So the Lord will return his ^[^r^]blood on his head, because he struck down two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword—Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, the commander of the army of Judah—though my father David did not know it. ³³Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”

³⁴So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up and struck and killed him; and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. ³⁵The king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his place over the army, and the king put Zadok the priest in the place of Abiathar.

Shimei Executed

³⁶Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there, and do not go out from there anywhere. ³⁷For it shall be, on the day you go out and cross the Brook Kidron, know for certain you shall surely die; your ^[^s^]blood shall be on your own head.”

³⁸And Shimei said to the king, “The saying is good. As my lord the king has said, so your servant will do.” So Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹Now it happened at the end of three years, that two slaves of Shimei ran away to Achish the son of Maachah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, “Look, your slaves are in Gath!” ⁴⁰So Shimei arose, saddled his donkey, and went to Achish at Gath to seek his slaves. And Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. ⁴¹And Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had come back. ⁴²Then the king sent and called for Shimei, and said to him, “Did I not make you swear by the Lord, and warn you, saying, ‘Know for certain that on the day you go out and travel anywhere, you shall surely die’? And you said to me, ‘The word I have heard is good.’ ⁴³Why then have you not kept the oath of the Lord and the commandment that I gave you?” ⁴⁴The king said moreover to Shimei, “You know, as your heart acknowledges, all the wickedness that you did to my father David; therefore the Lord will return your wickedness on your own head. ⁴⁵But King Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord forever.”

⁴⁶So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he went out and struck him down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Footnotes

1 Kings 1:1 Seventy years
1 Kings 1:2 Or serve
1 Kings 1:5 The fourth son
1 Kings 1:5 Lit. reign
1 Kings 1:6 Lit. pained
1 Kings 1:9 Lit. Serpent
1 Kings 1:9 A spring south of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley
1 Kings 1:25 Lit. Let King Adonijah live
1 Kings 1:33 A spring east of Jerusalem in the Kidron Valley
1 Kings 1:34 Lit. Let King Solomon live
1 Kings 1:39 Lit. Let King Solomon live
1 Kings 2:1 commanded
1 Kings 2:10 Died and joined his ancestors
1 Kings 2:16 Lit. turn away the face
1 Kings 2:20 Lit. turn away the face
1 Kings 2:24 Royal dynasty
1 Kings 2:26 Lit. you are a man of death
1 Kings 2:32 Or bloodshed
1 Kings 2:37 Or bloodshed

Psalm 37

The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked

A Psalm of David.

37 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
²For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit^[^a^] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹For evildoers shall be ^[^b^]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
¹⁰For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the just,
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.
²²For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be ^[^c^]cut off.

²³The steps of a good man are ^[^d^]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
²⁶He is ^[^e^]ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
²⁸For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
³¹The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall ^[^f^]slide.

³²The wicked watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
³³The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

³⁴Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
³⁶Yet ^[^g^]he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
³⁸But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

Footnotes

Psalm 37:5 Lit. Roll off onto
Psalm 37:9 destroyed
Psalm 37:22 destroyed
Psalm 37:23 established
Psalm 37:26 Lit. all the day
Psalm 37:31 slip
Psalm 37:36 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Syr., Vg. I passed by

Psalm 71

God the Rock of Salvation

71 In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
²Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
³Be my ^[^a^]strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
⁵For You are my hope, O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
⁶By You I have been ^[^b^]upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.

⁷I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
⁸Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.

⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
¹⁰For my enemies speak against me;
And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
¹¹Saying, “God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”

¹²O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
¹³Let them be ^[^c^]confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.

¹⁴But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
¹⁵My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
¹⁶I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
¹⁸Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.

¹⁹Also Your righteousness, O God, is ^[^d^]very high,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
²⁰You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,
Shall revive me again,
And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
²¹You shall increase my greatness,
And comfort me on every side.

²²Also with the lute I will praise You—
And Your faithfulness, O my God!
To You I will sing with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel.
²³My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
²⁴My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt.

Footnotes

Psalm 71:3 Lit. rock of refuge or rock of habitation
Psalm 71:6 sustained from the womb
Psalm 71:13 ashamed
Psalm 71:19 great, lit. to the height of heaven

Psalm 94

God the Refuge of the Righteous

94 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongs—
O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth!
²Rise up, O Judge of the earth;
^[^a^]Render punishment to the proud.
³Lord, how long will the wicked,
How long will the wicked triumph?

⁴They utter speech, and speak insolent things;
All the workers of iniquity boast in themselves.
⁵They break in pieces Your people, O Lord,
And afflict Your heritage.
⁶They slay the widow and the stranger,
And murder the fatherless.
⁷Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob ^[^b^]understand.”

⁸Understand, you senseless among the people;
And you fools, when will you be wise?
⁹He who planted the ear, shall He not hear?
He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
¹⁰He who ^[^c^]instructs the ^[^d^]nations, shall He not correct,
He who teaches man knowledge?
¹¹The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.

¹²Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord,
And teach out of Your law,
¹³That You may give him ^[^e^]rest from the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked.
¹⁴For the Lord will not ^[^f^]cast off His people,
Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
¹⁵But judgment will return to righteousness,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?
Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
¹⁷Unless the Lord had been my help,
My soul would soon have settled in silence.
¹⁸If I say, “My foot slips,”
Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up.
¹⁹In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.

²⁰Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law,
Have fellowship with You?
²¹They gather together against the life of the righteous,
And condemn innocent blood.
²²But the Lord has been my defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
²³He has brought on them their own iniquity,
And shall ^[^g^]cut them off in their own wickedness;
The Lord our God shall cut them off.

Footnotes

Psalm 94:2 Repay with
Psalm 94:7 pay attention
Psalm 94:10 disciplines
Psalm 94:10 Gentiles
Psalm 94:13 relief
Psalm 94:14 abandon
Psalm 94:23 destroy them

28 May 202127 May 2021

Praise the Lord

“Praise the Lord! [1] I will praise the Lord [2] with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” Psalm 111:1 NKJV

“Praise the Lord! [3]
The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel
When Israel went out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became His sanctuary, And Israel His dominion.” Psalm 114:1 NKJV

“The dead do not praise the Lord [4], Nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 115:17-18 NKJV

“Praise the Lord! [5]
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death
I love the Lord, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.” Psalm 116:1 NKJV

“In the courts of the Lord’s house, In the midst of you, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord [6]!” Psalm 116:19 NKJV

“Let All Peoples Praise the Lord [7]
Praise the Lord [8], all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the Lord endures forever.” Psalm 117 NKJV

“Praise the Lord! [9]
Praise to God [DOES THIS ONE COUNT?] for His Everlasting Mercy
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Psalm 118:1 NKJV

“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, And I will praise the Lord. [10] ” Psalm 118:19 NKJV

Does anyone remember a radio show by a preacher named Don Gossett? His first broadcast was in October of 1961. My mother would turn it on and listen to it and he would lead us in saying “Praise the Lord” ten times.

Today’s reading is from the book of Psalm 111-118 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). In today’s reading the exact phrase: “Praise the Lord” is in there ten times (as I extracted above in the opening verses.)

While reading it I could hear that man’s voice. He was right, there is something so powerful about praising the Lord!! I wonder if he got the 10 times part from these passages while reading the Bible chronologically through?

I had to look him up, because curiosity. At some point he got a website and was doing a more ‘poscast’ format and was even available on iTunes. It was last updated in 2017. While searching, I learned he went to be with Jesus on December 10, 2014 – and I do not know why, but I teared up.

I feel like I am in a slightly different place today – which may be why I am so sensitive. I always stream tears in the presence of God and I feel Him strongly this morning! Last night I was blessed to be able to attend (via the internet) a service where the Holy Spirit was so powerful – I felt him in my house! People were being transformed before my eyes while they were being ministered to and hands laid on them and anointed with oil and prayed over. I was not just watching – I prayed with them and God reminded me how outside of time and space He is! I am refreshed and renewed. (and a little emotional – but that is how God made me)

Go revealed to me how we praise Him for this power that comes from praising Him:
it stirs up our spirit, which we must do
it lightens our mood and lifts our burdens
It stir victory in the spirit realm
it deepen my understanding of my God
it draws me closer and more intimate with my Father God
etc.

I always thought of praise as something we do and give to him – almost as a sacrifice or just an obedient act. Then as I grew I thought it was just a great way to love Him back again being something that comes from me to Him and is always only pointing in one direction. But the revelation that praise is a two way directional highway – as we upload, God downloads! God cannot download things unless we open the port, connect to the internet between us and heaven! And praise is one type of connection that helps us receive things God is trying to get to us, to give to us and He cannot get it to us any other way!!!! He is trying to bless us!!! We must praise Him in all things! We must praise Him in all ways! We must praise Him – first and foremost because He is worthy, but second because if we open it up in spirit and in truth we get the downloads! He is literally saying it 10 times here!!! God is saying “praise me – so I can pour out the victory and I can conquer death and I can pour out healing and I can deliver you and I can loose the signs and wonders you long for, for the furtherance of my kingdom and for my glory!! Praise me!!!”

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Psalm 111-118 NKJV

Praise to God for His Faithfulness and Justice

111 Praise^[^a^] the Lord!

I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

²The works of the Lord are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
³His work is honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
⁴He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
⁵He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
⁶He has declared to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the ^[^b^]heritage of the nations.

⁷The works of His hands are verity^[^c^] and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
⁸They stand fast forever and ever,
And are done in truth and uprightness.
⁹He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
Holy and awesome is His name.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.

The Blessed State of the Righteous

112 Praise^[^d^] the Lord!

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.

²His descendants will be mighty on earth;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
³Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness ^[^e^]endures forever.
⁴Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
⁵A good man deals graciously and lends;
He will guide his affairs with discretion.
⁶Surely he will never be shaken;
The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
⁷He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
⁸His heart is established;
He will not be afraid,
Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

⁹He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever;
His ^[^f^]horn will be exalted with honor.
¹⁰The wicked will see it and be grieved;
He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish.

The Majesty and Condescension of God

113 Praise^[^g^] the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,
Praise the name of the Lord!
²Blessed be the name of the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore!
³From the rising of the sun to its going down
The Lord’s name is to be praised.

⁴The Lord is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
⁵Who is like the Lord our God,
Who dwells on high,
⁶Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

⁷He raises the poor out of the dust,
And lifts the needy out of the ash heap,
⁸That He may seat him with princes—
With the princes of His people.
⁹He grants the ^[^h^]barren woman a home,
Like a joyful mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel

114 When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people ^[ⁱ^]of strange language,
²Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

³The sea saw it and fled;
Jordan turned back.
⁴The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
⁵What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
⁶O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

The Futility of Idols and the Trustworthiness of God

115 Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.
²Why should the ^[^j^]Gentiles say,
“So where is their God?”

³But our God is in heaven;
He does whatever He pleases.
⁴Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
⁵They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
⁶They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
⁷They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
⁸Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

⁹O Israel, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.
¹¹You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord;
He is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord ^[^k^]has been mindful of us;
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron.
¹³He will bless those who fear the Lord,
Both small and great.

¹⁴May the Lord give you increase more and more,
You and your children.
¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.
¹⁷The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor any who go down into silence.
¹⁸But we will bless the Lord
From this time forth and forevermore.

Praise the Lord!

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death

116 I love the Lord, because He has heard
My voice and my supplications.
²Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

³The ^[^l^]pains of death surrounded me,
And the ^[^m^]pangs of Sheol ^[ⁿ^]laid hold of me;
I found trouble and sorrow.
⁴Then I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

⁵Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
Yes, our God is merciful.
⁶The Lord preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
⁷Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.
⁹I will walk before the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁰I believed, therefore I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted.”
¹¹I said in my haste,
“All men are liars.”

¹²What shall I render to the Lord
For all His benefits toward me?
¹³I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
¹⁴I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of His saints.

¹⁶O Lord, truly I am Your servant;
I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have loosed my bonds.
¹⁷I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.

¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people,
¹⁹In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.

^[^o^]Praise the Lord!

Let All Peoples Praise the Lord

117 Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
^[^p^]Laud Him, all you peoples!
²For His merciful kindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy

118 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

²Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
³Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
⁴Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”

⁵I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
⁶The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
⁷The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
⁸It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
⁹It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰All nations surrounded me,
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
¹¹They surrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
¹²They surrounded me like bees;
They were quenched like a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will ^[^q^]destroy them.
¹³You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
¹⁴The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

¹⁵The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁶The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁷I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.
¹⁸The Lord has chastened^[^r^] me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
²⁰This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.

²¹I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

²²The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
^23 [^s^]This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
²⁶Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
²⁸You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.

²⁹Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 111:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 111:6 inheritance
Psalm 111:7 truth
Psalm 112:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 112:3 stands
Psalm 112:9 Strength
Psalm 113:1 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 113:9 childless
Psalm 114:1 who spoke unintelligibly
Psalm 115:2 nations
Psalm 115:12 has remembered us
Psalm 116:3 Lit. cords
Psalm 116:3 distresses
Psalm 116:3 Lit. found me
Psalm 116:19 Heb. Hallelujah
Psalm 117:1 Praise
Psalm 118:12 cut them off
Psalm 118:18 disciplined
Psalm 118:23 Lit. This is from the Lord

27 May 202126 May 2021

Watchmen

“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” Psalms 127:1 NKJV

Today seems to have a theme of ‘watchmen’ for me. A friend (not a personal friend but someone I have interacted with on social media) in Israel shared a video of them on a rooftop worshiping and praying for salvation of Israel through Jesus during the Galilee Awakening Filming for Shavuot / Pentecost. As they were worshiping and preaching on one rooftop, ‘100 young religious Jews’ (their choice of words, not mine) were worshiping on the rooftop next to them calling for Mashiach to come! And the video showed another group fervently worshiping God asking for the Messiah to come.

They are watchmen, watching for the messiah, as the ancient scrolls told them to – they missed the day of their visitation, but it is not too late for them to understand and be saved!

Lord today we pray for the peace of Israel. We pray that… “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you [and the Israelites], the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your [and their] understanding being enlightened; that you [and they] may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power” according to Ephesians 1:17-19 NKJV – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is from the book of 1 Chronicles, chapters 26-29 and Psalm 127 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). Starting off with the appointment of the watchmen and gatekeepers, the men who will be serving the Lord in dedicated roles which are difficult for us to understand. Called only to watch and pray.

Today’s reading concludes with the Psalm above – which clearly states that the watchmen, guardsmen, gatekeepers – cannot. ONLY GOD CAN GUARD THE CITIES! Lord, guard Jerusalem and all of Israel, please!

We are all looking for Jesus! Some of us looking forward to the rapture and other who missed Him the first time – are still seeking Him. Lord please let them not seek in vain! Because the Old Testament tells them (and us) to seek God. Jesus also said to watch as well as what to watch for and why we should watch:

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:13 ESV

So like the Jews on the roof seeking God, like obedient children of God we run headlong into watching and praying armed only with our limited understanding and we fall asleep like the disciples in the garden.

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 NKJV

We are all called to take part in watching (signs of the times, watching for His return, and watching out for temptation), guarding (our heart and mind), and keeping the temple gates (we are the temple). And God knew we cannot succeed without Him. Back when these concepts were about a physical place – cannot be guarded without God’s protection. To now when it is ourselves and our brethren we watch and pray over – gatekeeper to our self as a temple – we cannot succeed unless God Himself does the work.

He says to this – we try but can’t and we hear that enemy voice say – you failed – of course we did!!! WE CANNOT – WE WERE DESIGNED TO! We were designed to seek God and have a relationship with Him – HE is designed to guard and watch – He builds the house. He does it – He is glorified! We have grace – the enemy says we can’t and we can say he is right, even God who told us to knows we can’t but HE CAN and he is right there with us so that it gets done for His Glory!

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 1 Chronicles 26-29 & Psalm 127 NKJV

1 Chronicles 26-29

The Gatekeepers

26 Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, ^[^a^]Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of ^[^b^]Asaph. ²And the sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, ³Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh.

⁴Moreover the sons of Obed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, ⁵Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him.

⁶Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. ⁷The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men.

⁸All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom.

⁹And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men.

¹⁰Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), ¹¹Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen.

¹²Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the Lord. ¹³And they cast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house. ¹⁴The lot for the East Gate fell to ^[^c^]Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; ¹⁵to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the ^[^d^]storehouse. ¹⁶To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway—watchman opposite watchman. ¹⁷On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the ^[^e^]storehouse two by two. ¹⁸As for the ^[^f^]Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. ¹⁹These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari.

The Treasuries and Other Duties

²⁰Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the dedicated^[^g^] things. ²¹The sons of ^[^h^]Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: ^[ⁱ^]Jehieli. ²²The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord. ²³Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: ²⁴Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. ²⁵And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son.

²⁶This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things which King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. ²⁷Some of the ^[^j^]spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord. ²⁸And all that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren.

²⁹Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons performed duties as officials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem.

³⁰Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the Lord, and in the service of the king. ³¹Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men at Jazer of Gilead. ³²And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the affairs of the king.

The Military Divisions

27 And the children of Israel, according to their number, the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains of thousands and hundreds and their officers, served the king in every matter of the military divisions. These divisions came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year, each division having twenty-four thousand.

²Over the first division for the first month was Jashobeam the son of Zabdiel, and in his division were twenty-four thousand; ³he was of the children of Perez, and the chief of all the captains of the army for the first month. ⁴Over the division of the second month was ^[^k^]Dodai an Ahohite, and of his division Mikloth also was the leader; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁵The third captain of the army for the third month was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, who was chief; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁶This was the Benaiah who was mighty among the thirty, and was over the thirty; in his division was Ammizabad his son. ⁷The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁸The fifth captain for the fifth month was ^[^l^]Shamhuth the Izrahite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ⁹The sixth captain for the sixth month was Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁰The seventh captain for the seventh month was Helez the Pelonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹¹The eighth captain for the eighth month was Sibbechai the Hushathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹²The ninth captain for the ninth month was Abiezer the Anathothite, of the Benjamites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹³The tenth captain for the tenth month was Maharai the Netophathite, of the Zarhites; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁴The eleventh captain for the eleventh month was Benaiah the Pirathonite, of the children of Ephraim; in his division were twenty-four thousand. ¹⁵The twelfth captain for the twelfth month was ^[^m^]Heldai the Netophathite, of Othniel; in his division were twenty-four thousand.

Leaders of Tribes

¹⁶Furthermore, over the tribes of Israel: the officer over the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri; over the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maachah; ¹⁷over the Levites, Hashabiah the son of Kemuel; over the Aaronites, Zadok; ¹⁸over Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar, Omri the son of Michael; ¹⁹over Zebulun, Ishmaiah the son of Obadiah; over Naphtali, Jerimoth the son of Azriel; ²⁰over the children of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Azaziah; over the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joel the son of Pedaiah; ²¹over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah; over Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner; ²²over Dan, Azarel the son of Jeroham. These were the leaders of the tribes of Israel.

²³But David did not take the number of those twenty years old and under, because the Lord had said He would multiply Israel like the stars of the heavens. ²⁴Joab the son of Zeruiah began a census, but he did not finish, for wrath came upon Israel because of this census; nor was the number recorded in the account of the chronicles of King David.

Other State Officials

²⁵And Azmaveth the son of Adiel was over the king’s treasuries; and Jehonathan the son of Uzziah was over the storehouses in the field, in the cities, in the villages, and in the fortresses. ²⁶Ezri the son of Chelub was over those who did the work of the field for tilling the ground. ²⁷And Shimei the Ramathite was over the vineyards, and Zabdi the Shiphmite was over the produce of the vineyards for the supply of wine. ²⁸Baal-Hanan the Gederite was over the olive trees and the sycamore trees that were in the lowlands, and Joash was over the store of oil. ²⁹And Shitrai the Sharonite was over the herds that fed in Sharon, and Shaphat the son of Adlai was over the herds that were in the valleys. ³⁰Obil the Ishmaelite was over the camels, Jehdeiah the Meronothite was over the donkeys, ³¹and Jaziz the Hagrite was over the flocks. All these were the officials over King David’s property.

³²Also Jehonathan, David’s uncle, was a counselor, a wise man, and a ^[ⁿ^]scribe; and Jehiel the ^[^o^]son of Hachmoni was with the king’s sons. ³³Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s companion. ³⁴After Ahithophel was Jehoiada the son of Benaiah, then Abiathar. And the general of the king’s army was Joab.

Solomon Instructed to Build the Temple

28 Now David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of Israel: the officers of the tribes and the captains of the divisions who served the king, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and ^[^p^]possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officials, the valiant men, and all the mighty men of valor.

²Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it. ³But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.’ ⁴However the Lord God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel. ⁵And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. ⁶Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. ⁷Moreover I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.’ ⁸Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land, and leave it as an inheritance for your children after you forever.

⁹“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. ¹⁰Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong, and do it.”

¹¹Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; ¹²and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the Lord, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things; ¹³also for the division of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the Lord, and for all the articles of service in the house of the Lord. ¹⁴He gave gold by weight for things of gold, for all articles used in every kind of service; also silver for all articles of silver by weight, for all articles used in every kind of service; ¹⁵the weight for the lampstands of gold, and their lamps of gold, by weight for each lampstand and its lamps; for the lampstands of silver by weight, for the lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand. ¹⁶And by weight he gave gold for the tables of the showbread, for each table, and silver for the tables of silver; ¹⁷also pure gold for the forks, the basins, the pitchers of pure gold, and the golden bowls—he gave gold by weight for every bowl; and for the silver bowls, silver by weight for every bowl; ¹⁸and refined gold by weight for the altar of incense, and for the construction of the chariot, that is, the gold cherubim that spread their wings and overshadowed the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ¹⁹“All this,” said David, “the Lord made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the ^[^q^]works of these plans.”

²⁰And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. ²¹Here are the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and every willing craftsman will be with you for all manner of workmanship, for every kind of service; also the leaders and all the people will be completely at your command.”

Offerings for Building the Temple

29 Furthermore King David said to all the assembly: “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced; and the work is great, because the ^[^r^]temple is not for man but for the Lord God. ²Now for the house of my God I have prepared with all my might: gold for things to be made of gold, silver for things of silver, bronze for things of bronze, iron for things of iron, wood for things of wood, onyx stones, stones to be set, glistening stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and marble slabs in abundance. ³Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: ⁴three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses; ⁵the gold for things of gold and the silver for things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be done by the hands of craftsmen. Who then is willing to ^[^s^]consecrate himself this day to the Lord?”

⁶Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. ⁷They gave for the work of the house of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. ⁸And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, into the hand of Jehiel^[^t^] the Gershonite. ⁹Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Praise to God

¹⁰Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:

“Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
¹¹Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
¹²Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all.

¹³“Now therefore, our God,
We thank You
And praise Your glorious name.
¹⁴But who am I, and who are my people,
That we should be able to offer so willingly as this?
For all things come from You,
And ^[^u^]of Your own we have given You.
¹⁵For we are ^[^v^]aliens and ^[^w^]pilgrims before You,
As were all our fathers;
Our days on earth are as a shadow,
And without hope.

¹⁶“O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own. ¹⁷I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You. ¹⁸O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. ¹⁹And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the ^[^x^]temple for which I have made provision.”

²⁰Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the Lord your God.” So all the assembly blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and prostrated themselves before the Lord and the king.

Solomon Anointed King

²¹And they made sacrifices to the Lord and offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the next day: a thousand bulls, a thousand rams, a thousand lambs, with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. ²²So they ate and drank before the Lord with great gladness on that day. And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before the Lord to be the leader, and Zadok to be priest. ²³Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him. ²⁴All the leaders and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, submitted^[^y^] themselves to King Solomon. ²⁵So the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.

The Close of David’s Reign

²⁶Thus David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. ²⁷And the period that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem. ²⁸So he died in a good old age, full of days and riches and honor; and Solomon his son reigned in his place. ²⁹Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the ^[^z^]book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, ³⁰with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 26:1 Shelemiah, v. 14
1 Chronicles 26:1 Ebiasaph, 1 Chr. 6:37; 9:19
1 Chronicles 26:14 Meshelemiah, v. 1
1 Chronicles 26:15 Heb. asuppim
1 Chronicles 26:17 Heb. asuppim
1 Chronicles 26:18 Probably a court or colonnade extending west of the temple
1 Chronicles 26:20 holy things
1 Chronicles 26:21 Libni, 1 Chr. 6:17
1 Chronicles 26:21 Jehiel, 1 Chr. 23:8; 29:8
1 Chronicles 26:27 plunder
1 Chronicles 27:4 Heb. Dodai, usually spelled Dodo, 2 Sam. 23:9
1 Chronicles 27:8 Shammah, 2 Sam. 23:11, or Shammoth, 1 Chr. 11:27
1 Chronicles 27:15 Heleb, 2 Sam. 23:29, or Heled, 1 Chr. 11:30
1 Chronicles 27:32 secretary
1 Chronicles 27:32 Or Hachmonite
1 Chronicles 28:1 Or livestock
1 Chronicles 28:19 details
1 Chronicles 29:1 Lit. palace
1 Chronicles 29:5 Lit. fill his hand
1 Chronicles 29:8 Possibly the same as Jehieli, 1 Chr. 26:21, 22
1 Chronicles 29:14 Lit. of Your hand
1 Chronicles 29:15 sojourners, temporary residents
1 Chronicles 29:15 transients, temporary residents in an even more temporary sense
1 Chronicles 29:19 Lit. palace
1 Chronicles 29:24 Lit. gave the hand
1 Chronicles 29:29 Lit. words

Psalm 127

Laboring and Prospering with the Lord

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
²It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

³Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

26 May 202126 May 2021

So hungry my spirit might fail!

“Answer me speedily, O Lord; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit. Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.” Psalm 143:7-8 NKJV

If we get nothing else out of studying the life of David – get his hunger for God!
“My spirit fails!” he yells out to God in this psalm. In US culture (which is where I am located), emotions are reserved – suppressed even. Similarly, English and German culture is stoic in emotions, but they at least give it place. I have always said it is better to feel, feel deeply and feel it through. I have been called dramatic. Other cultures in this world do not understand this emotional oppression. You can read this and say, I have been so desperate for God that I thought my spirit might fail! That is beautiful. I know because I have been so desperately hungry as well. I wish more people in my corner of the world could experience it.

Today’s reading is from the book of Psalms, chapters 131, 138-139 and 143-145 (embedded below the image below for your convenience).

For those who have followed me for a while, you see Psalm 139 and know my heart wants to edify you with the spirit of revelation of who God made and called you to be! Oh Glory! But there is something we all must be reminded of first, today. Or maybe just one of you. I don’t know – but God is being very firm about this so it is for someone.

The opening verse today – just another example of David empting himself out before God in complete honesty and without being full of himself he hungers desperately for more of God to fill him. Most of you, the readers, are not in the USA, or England, or Germany. Most of you are from cultures where emotions are felt openly and shared so the blessings that come from crying with God, laughing with God, mourning with God and celebrating with God are familiar to you – but something some of us in the world must learn through a struggle of living under an emotional suppression (and cultural oppression). But, if we get hungry – so hungry – desperately, spirit failing hungry for more of God then we will burst through that oppression not just in private but also in public. We won’t care what people think.

I am a person who cries. I cry at everything spiritual. I feel the presence of God and my eyes run uncontrollably! I know if is my spirit desperate to be free to feel ALL the emotions that being in God’s presence has.
We had a guest speaker come last Sunday and had an open alter call – if we are praying, then I am there – and I hate when I show up to pray and people come NOT to pray but to mock God under the influence of evil, but that I suppose is a message or a casting out for another time when God says to. So, anyway, I went up to the alter and prayed for the presence of the Lord and His revelation and for man to be put aside and and and – the things that you pray in preparation.
The speaker came to pray for me and made some manly assumption because I cry. I cried so much I wasn’t able to answer him – I was full bore ugly crying before he even got to me. Others do not cry so freely – so God must be working – God must be changing – she must be hurting there must be…. Or maybe I just cry.

When I public speak in large groups for work or in the past for schools – I am a good, engaged public speaker. When I speak to small groups even about God I am a good speaker – when I preach or publicly pray – I cry. I cry. I cry.

Glory to God – my pastor is a foreigner. He cries! I am always SO VERY BLESSED HOW HE LEADS BY EXAMPLE!!! Cry sweet man of God – cry! (when I cry, I have trouble speaking as I choke on my tears – he has so much more freedom as they roll off his face and his words continue to sound normal (passionate, but normal).

The point is that we are trying to go deeper with God and we are hindering ourselves by submitting to this emotions suppression and oppression. Principalities have regions and areas and we think of many as cultural. It is a spirit of oppression. Let us call it what it is. We have authority over it – it requires prayer and fasting.

It can be overcome on a personal level. But you may become the crier, like me and every emotion bad and good comes out in tears. I have another friend who dances, every emotion comes out in dance. And if none of this applies to you as you are already free to worship with all of your emotions (negative and positive) like David in his hunger, then please please please pray for those of us living in an emotionless world. We need to learn those emotions to have an intimate relationship with God.

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Psalms 131, 138-139 & 143-145 NKJV

Psalm 131

Simple Trust in the Lord
A Song of Ascents. Of David.

131 Lord, my heart is not ^[^a^]haughty,
Nor my eyes ^[^b^]lofty.
Neither do I ^[^c^]concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too ^[^d^]profound for me.

²Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

³O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 131:1 Proud
Psalm 131:1 Arrogant
Psalm 131:1 Lit. walk in
Psalm 131:1 difficult

Psalm 138-139

The Lord’s Goodness to the Faithful
A Psalm of David.

138 I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
²I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
³In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

⁴All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
⁵Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
For great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
⁸The Lord will ^[^a^]perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
²You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
³You ^[^b^]comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
⁵You have ^[^c^]hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[^d^]hell, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall ^[^e^]fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
¹²Indeed, the darkness ^[^f^]shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

¹³For You formed my inward parts;
You ^[^g^]covered me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will praise You, for ^[^h^]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵My ^[ⁱ^]frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you ^[^j^]bloodthirsty men.
²⁰For they speak against You wickedly;
^[^k^]Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with ^[^l^]perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
²⁴And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Footnotes

Psalm 138:8 complete
Psalm 139:3 Lit. winnow
Psalm 139:5 enclosed
Psalm 139:8 Or Sheol
Psalm 139:11 Vg., Symmachus cover
Psalm 139:12 Lit. is not dark
Psalm 139:13 wove
Psalm 139:14 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. You are fearfully wonderful
Psalm 139:15 Lit. bones were
Psalm 139:19 Lit. men of bloodshed
Psalm 139:20 LXX, Vg. They take Your cities in vain
Psalm 139:22 complete

Psalm 143-145

An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance
A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
²Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no one living is righteous.

³For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in ^[^a^]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
⁴Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.

⁵I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I ^[^b^]muse on the work of Your hands.
⁶I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

⁷Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
Lest I ^[^c^]be like those who ^[^d^]go down into the pit.
⁸Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

⁹Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
^[^e^]In You I take shelter.
¹⁰Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.

¹¹Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake!
For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
¹²In Your mercy cut^[^f^] off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul;
For I am Your servant.

A Song to the Lord Who Preserves and Prospers His People
A Psalm of David.

144 Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle—
²My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues ^[^g^]my people under me.

³Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?
⁴Man is like a breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Bow down Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
⁶Flash forth lightning and scatter them;
Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
⁷Stretch out Your hand from above;
Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters,
From the hand of foreigners,
⁸Whose mouth speaks ^[^h^]lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

⁹I will sing a new song to You, O God;
On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
¹⁰The One who gives ^[ⁱ^]salvation to kings,
Who delivers David His servant
From the deadly sword.

¹¹Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners,
Whose mouth speaks lying words,
And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
¹²That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as ^[^j^]pillars,
Sculptured in palace style;
¹³That our barns may be full,
Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands
And ten thousands in our fields;
¹⁴That our oxen may be well laden;
That there be no ^[^k^]breaking in or going out;
That there be no outcry in our streets.
¹⁵Happy are the people who are in such a state;
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
A Praise of David.

145 I will ^[^l^]extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
²Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
³Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is ^[^m^]unsearchable.

⁴One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
^5 [ⁿ^]I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And ^[^o^]on Your wondrous works.
⁶Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.
⁷They shall ^[^p^]utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

⁸The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
⁹The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

¹⁰All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.
¹¹They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,
¹²To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all ^[^q^]generations.

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
¹⁶You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.
¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
¹⁹He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
²⁰The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.
²¹My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

Footnotes

Psalm 143:3 dark places
Psalm 143:5 ponder
Psalm 143:7 become
Psalm 143:7 Die
Psalm 143:9 LXX, Vg. To You I flee
Psalm 143:12 put an end to
Psalm 144:2 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; Syr., Tg. the peoples (cf. 18:47)
Psalm 144:8 empty or worthless
Psalm 144:10 deliverance
Psalm 144:12 corner pillars
Psalm 144:14 Lit. breach
Psalm 145:1 praise
Psalm 145:3 Beyond our understanding
Psalm 145:5 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. They
Psalm 145:5 Lit. on the words of Your wondrous works
Psalm 145:7 eagerly utter, lit. bubble forth
Psalm 145:13 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, LXX, Syr., Vg. add The Lord is faithful in all His words, And holy in all His works

25 May 202124 May 2021

The Grace of Sanctification

“So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges, four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.” 1 Chronicles 23:1-5 NKJV

Why did David count and divide up the Levites? Why at the end of his reign and as he was appointing a new king? Why is it recorded in such detail and what significance does this have to me? When God created Adam and Eve it was to have a personal relationship with them. Then sin separated them (and us) from God – and God has been working on solving the sin problem ever since. But He cannot force us and has to work with our free will. But God wants a personal relationship – face to face with humans.

Today’s reading is from the book of 1 Chronicles, chapters 23 through 25 (embedded below the image below for your convenience).

The Levites are the priest – as we recall from reading through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus… They are separated and set apart. These people do all the worship and prayer and praise – these priest can go into the Holy of Holy’s at the prescribed time only. But no one else. In an environment with God SO separated from man – David still earnestly prayed and sought God and developed a relationship – much in the same way we can. But when David’s sin separated him, he had to wait for a sacrifice to be restored. You and I can instantly go to God, apply the blood of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and ask for forgiveness and repent!

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV

Sanctification means to be set apart – like the Levites. Set apart for God – to deny yourself sinful pleasures and abstain to purity under grace. Like Peter begins chapter 2 of the book of 1^st Peter – telling the “resident aliens”, the separated ones, the ones who are in the world but not of it to lay aside even more to be separated even more, so they may obtain more grace. And Peter continues to explain the importance and the actual calling from God to be separated, set apart, and sanctified.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 NKJV

So reading about the provisions and protections David put in place for the Levites when the kingdom was being handed over to his son is valuable for us to understand how special we are – we are call to separate and be special for God and inherit through the Lord as the Levites.

God does still provide – after a 40 day global fast and praying for Israel (and all the things we are so heavily burdened with in times such as these) did you see the green-pass was abolished on the 40^th day along with lifting all covid restrictions?!?! Praise the Lord! When there is unity – God promises to MOVE. We need more genuine unity and to put aside our fleshly thoughts, opinions and concepts. Just agree in prayer!

I am in New York State – here we can only go maskless if then a long list of ifs that in reality are vague and unclear and can be misinterpreted by both the people and the government. This has left most people in masks. And those without may be required to provide proof of their vaccinations. I am not vaccinated. I will have to wear a mask. And it leaves me wondering at what point to we stop applying 1 Peter 2:13-17 and start being tossed literally into a lion’s den (or a position of imminent death). It is just a thought on my mind as I watch Christian refuse to obey this scripture in unity to achieve the blessing promised in it: “that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”. Just something to ponder – especially as I listen to the prayers to God to silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: 1 Chronicles 23-25 NKJV

The Divisions of the Levites

23 So when David was old and full of days, he made his son Solomon king over Israel.

²And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel, with the priests and the Levites. ³Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and above; and the number of individual males was thirty-eight thousand. ⁴Of these, twenty-four thousand were to look after the work of the house of the Lord, six thousand were officers and judges, ⁵four thousand were gatekeepers, and four thousand praised the Lord with musical instruments, “which I made,” said David, “for giving praise.”

⁶Also David separated them into ^[^a^]divisions among the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

⁷Of the Gershonites: ^[^b^]Laadan and Shimei. ⁸The sons of Laadan: the first Jehiel, then Zetham and Joel—three in all. ⁹The sons of Shimei: Shelomith, Haziel, and Haran—three in all. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Laadan. ¹⁰And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, ^[^c^]Zina, Jeush, and Beriah. These were the four sons of Shimei. ¹¹Jahath was the first and Zizah the second. But Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons; therefore they were assigned as one father’s house.

¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel—four in all. ¹³The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was set apart, he and his sons forever, that he should ^[^d^]sanctify the most holy things, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to give the blessing in His name forever. ¹⁴Now the sons of Moses the man of God were reckoned to the tribe of Levi. ¹⁵The sons of Moses were ^[^e^]Gershon and Eliezer. ¹⁶Of the sons of Gershon, Shebuel^[^f^] was the first. ¹⁷Of the descendants of Eliezer, Rehabiah was the first. And Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. ¹⁸Of the sons of Izhar, Shelomith was the first. ¹⁹Of the sons of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁰Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah was the first and Jesshiah the second.

²¹The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli were Eleazar and Kish. ²²And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but only daughters; and their ^[^g^]brethren, the sons of Kish, took them as wives. ²³The sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth—three in all.

²⁴These were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses—the heads of the fathers’ houses as they were counted individually by the number of their names, who did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and above.

²⁵For David said, “The Lord God of Israel has given rest to His people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem forever”; ²⁶and also to the Levites, “They shall no longer carry the tabernacle, or any of the articles for its service.” ²⁷For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above; ²⁸because their duty was to help the sons of Aaron in the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts and in the chambers, in the purifying of all holy things and the work of the service of the house of God, ²⁹both with the showbread and the fine flour for the grain offering, with the unleavened cakes and what is baked in the pan, with what is mixed and with all kinds of measures and sizes; ³⁰to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at evening; ³¹and at every presentation of a burnt offering to the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the New Moons and on the set^[^h^] feasts, by number according to the ordinance governing them, regularly before the Lord; ³²and that they should attend to the needs of the tabernacle of meeting, the needs of the holy place, and the needs of the sons of Aaron their brethren in the work of the house of the Lord.

The Divisions of the Priests

24 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ²And Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children; therefore Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests. ³Then David with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to the schedule of their service.

⁴There were more leaders found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus they were divided. Among the sons of Eleazar were sixteen heads of their fathers’ houses, and eight heads of their fathers’ houses among the sons of Ithamar. ⁵Thus they were divided by lot, one group as another, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of the house of God, from the sons of Eleazar and from the sons of Ithamar. ⁶And the scribe, Shemaiah the son of Nethanel, one of the Levites, wrote them down before the king, the leaders, Zadok the priest, Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites, one father’s house taken for Eleazar and one for Ithamar.

⁷Now the first lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, ⁸the third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, ⁹the fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, ¹⁰the seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, ¹¹the ninth to Jeshua, the tenth to Shecaniah, ¹²the eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, ¹³the thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, ¹⁴the fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, ¹⁵the seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to ^[ⁱ^]Happizzez, ¹⁶the nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to ^[^j^]Jehezekel, ¹⁷the twenty-first to Jachin, the twenty-second to Gamul, ¹⁸the twenty-third to Delaiah, the twenty-fourth to Maaziah.

¹⁹This was the schedule of their service for coming into the house of the Lord according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded him.

Other Levites

²⁰And the rest of the sons of Levi: of the sons of Amram, ^[^k^]Shubael; of the sons of Shubael, Jehdeiah. ²¹Concerning Rehabiah, of the sons of Rehabiah, the first was Isshiah. ²²Of the Izharites, ^[^l^]Shelomoth; of the sons of Shelomoth, Jahath. ²³Of the sons ^[^m^]of Hebron, Jeriah was the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. ²⁴Of the sons of Uzziel, Michah; of the sons of Michah, Shamir. ²⁵The brother of Michah, Isshiah; of the sons of Isshiah, Zechariah. ²⁶The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi; the son of Jaaziah, Beno. ²⁷The sons of Merari by Jaaziah were Beno, Shoham, Zaccur, and Ibri. ²⁸Of Mahli: Eleazar, who had no sons. ²⁹Of Kish: the son of Kish, Jerahmeel.

³⁰Also the sons of Mushi were Mahli, Eder, and Jerimoth. These were the sons of the Levites according to their fathers’ houses.

³¹These also cast lots just as their brothers the sons of Aaron did, in the presence of King David, Zadok, Ahimelech, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the priests and Levites. The chief fathers did just as their younger brethren.

The Musicians

25 Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: ²Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and ^[ⁿ^]Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were ^[^o^]under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. ³Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, ^[^p^]Zeri, Jeshaiah, ^[^q^]Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, ^[^r^]six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. ⁴Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, ^[^s^]Uzziel, ^[^t^]Shebuel, ^[^u^]Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. ⁵All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to ^[^v^]exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters.

⁶All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king. ⁷So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.

⁸And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student.

⁹Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve; ¹⁰the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹¹the fourth for ^[^w^]Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹²the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹³the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁴the seventh for ^[^x^]Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁵the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁶the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁷the tenth for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁸the eleventh for ^[^y^]Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ¹⁹the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁰the thirteenth for ^[^z^]Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²¹the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²²the fifteenth for ^[^aa^]Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²³the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁴the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁵the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁶the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁷the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁸the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ²⁹the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ³⁰the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; ³¹the twenty-fourth for Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 23:6 groups
1 Chronicles 23:7 Libni, Ex. 6:17
1 Chronicles 23:10 LXX, Vg. Zizah and v. 11
1 Chronicles 23:13 consecrate
1 Chronicles 23:15 Heb. Gershom, 1 Chr. 6:16
1 Chronicles 23:16 Shubael, 1 Chr. 24:20
1 Chronicles 23:22 kinsmen
1 Chronicles 23:31 appointed feasts
1 Chronicles 24:15 LXX, Vg. Aphses
1 Chronicles 24:16 MT Jehezkel
1 Chronicles 24:20 Shebuel, 1 Chr. 23:16
1 Chronicles 24:22 Shelomith, 1 Chr. 23:18
1 Chronicles 24:23 Supplied from 23:19 (following some Heb. mss. and LXX mss.)
1 Chronicles 25:2 Jesharelah, v. 14
1 Chronicles 25:2 Lit. at the hands of
1 Chronicles 25:3 Jizri, v. 11
1 Chronicles 25:3 So with one Heb. ms., LXX mss.
1 Chronicles 25:3 Shimei is the sixth, v. 17
1 Chronicles 25:4 Azarel, v. 18
1 Chronicles 25:4 Shubael, v. 20
1 Chronicles 25:4 Jeremoth, v. 22
1 Chronicles 25:5 Increase his power or influence
1 Chronicles 25:11 Zeri, v. 3
1 Chronicles 25:14 Asharelah, v. 2
1 Chronicles 25:18 Uzziel, v. 4
1 Chronicles 25:20 Shebuel, v. 4
1 Chronicles 25:22 Jerimoth, v. 4

24 May 202124 May 2021

Seeing Jesus in the Psalms (at least the 3 today)

“O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens, And Your truth reaches to the clouds.” Psalm108:1-4 NKJV

Worship – When was the last time you really go onto worshiping and thought you might wake the morning? I must admit it was been too long since I did last – because it was NOT today! I wish it was. But the cares of this world come in and so does the being busy and we just don’t allot ourselves the time to get lost in the spirit. This Psalm is about being assured of the victory and this is how it starts?! This is going to be good!!! SO GOOD!!!

Today’s reading is from the book of Psalms, chapters 108 through 110 (embedded below the image below for your convenience). As I said, this first Psalm, today, is about Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies – So timely with world events being what they are. And timely as each of us overcome our own battles and enemies. If we broaden our outlook it is a promise that Jesus overcame. Although this is not typically “known” as a messianic prophecy Psalm, when we put it together with the other two, today we have such a clear picture of the assurance that through Jesus is victory physically and personally

And this victory over our enemies is almost repeated in Psalm 109 which speaks of Judgment of False Accusers. The accuser of the brethren is satan (as we discussed back in the book of Job). This also points to the work of the cross and the spiritual victory over the accuser and death.

And then we conclude with a messianic psalm – The Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign! GLORY TO GOD! Today is an entire day of God revealing His grace and transformative and restorative plan – but only to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.

Sometime when you are good and made righteous in the eyes of God – the accuser twists it like everything else he always twists and makes it wrong to do right. Suddenly you are the bad guy at work because you are the too good and you might tell on the others (or in actuality God in you convicts them). Tonight, having a conversation with a fairly recent college grad – and she spoke of the unfair amounts of pressure put on them, which I knew from conversations with my son – but I learned that the same thing happens to these kids. At a time in their lives when they are for the first time out on their own and this mis-trust and pressure against the “good guy” isolates them. I suppose – when I look at the last time I experienced it at work it also isolated me. As an adult I am theoretically better equipped to handle it and it was only happening at work. It isn’t happening in my “whole world” (meaning dorm life, cafeteria life, classroom life and socializing life – if effects these children in every area). The accuser’s lie comes through and accuses in many ways – like you are wrong if you do wrong, but if he cannot accuse you he will make doing right the wrong thing to do.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 NKJV

Woe to the time in which we live. The days surely are darkening. But we have a glorious hope and we have an assured victory! We have a true salvation! And we have a loving heavenly father who holds us tenderly in His hands as we repent and turn to Him daily. And we have the added blessing of a relationship with Him.

We sing that song in church the “I’m not here for blessings” – BUT YES I AM! I am here for those very promises He promised! Those very promises of victory, deliverance, salvation – and His love felt through a real relationship with a living and powerful God.

If not – why would I be here? If God offered me the same defeat and destruction the world offered, what would be the point?!

The song continues “I just want you” and I agree one hundred percent –cause His love, promised providence and protection (aka blessings) are completely entangled with who God is – so much so the Bible literally says “God is Love”. You too can have a relationship with God if you don’t already.

Thank you for reading.
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!

BIBLE READING: Psalm 108-110 NKJV

Assurance of God’s Victory over Enemies
A Song. A Psalm of David.

108 O God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
²Awake, lute and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.
³I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
⁴For Your mercy is great above the ^[^a^]heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth;
⁶That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and ^[b]hear me.

⁷God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
⁸Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the ^[^c^]helmet for My head;
Judah is My lawgiver.
⁹Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Over Philistia I will triumph.”

¹⁰Who will bring me into the strong city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
¹²Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
¹³Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.

Plea for Judgment of False Accusers
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

109 Do not keep silent,
O God of my praise!
²For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
⁴In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give myself to prayer.
⁵Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.

⁶Set a wicked man over him,
And let an ^[^d^]accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
⁸Let his days be few,
And let another take his office.
⁹Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
¹⁰Let his children ^[^e^]continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them ^[^f^]seek their bread also from their desolate places.
¹¹Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
¹²Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
¹³Let his ^[^g^]posterity be cut off,
And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.

¹⁴Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
¹⁵Let them be continually before the Lord,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
¹⁶Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
¹⁷As he loved cursing, so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing, so let it be far from him.
¹⁸As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
¹⁹Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
²⁰Let this be the Lord’s reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.

²¹But You, O God the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
²²For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
²³I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
²⁵I also have become a reproach to them;
When they look at me, they shake their heads.

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
²⁷That they may know that this is Your hand—
That You, Lord, have done it!
²⁸Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.
²⁹Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.

³⁰I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth;
Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.
³¹For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor,
To save him from those ^[^h^]who condemn him.

Announcement of the Messiah’s Reign
A Psalm of David.

110 The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
²The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion.
Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

³Your people shall be volunteers
In the day of Your power;
In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning,
You have the dew of Your youth.
⁴The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵The Lord is at Your right hand;
He shall ^[ⁱ^]execute kings in the day of His wrath.
⁶He shall judge among the nations,
He shall fill the places with dead bodies,
He shall ^[^j^]execute the heads of many countries.
⁷He shall drink of the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He shall lift up the head.

Footnotes

Psalm 108:4 skies
Psalm 108:6 Lit. answer
Psalm 108:8 Lit. protection
Psalm 109:6 Heb. satan
Psalm 109:10 wander continuously
Psalm 109:10 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Vg. be cast out
Psalm 109:13 descendants be destroyed
Psalm 109:31 Lit. judging his soul
Psalm 110:5 Lit. break kings in pieces
Psalm 110:6 Lit. break in pieces

23 May 202115 May 2021

Weekend Reading (May 23)

BIBLE READING: 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22 and Psalm 30 NKJV

2 Samuel 24

David’s Census of Israel and Judah

24 Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, ^[^a^]number Israel and Judah.”

²So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

³And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” ⁴Nevertheless the king’s word ^[^b^]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. ⁶Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; ⁷and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

The Judgment on David’s Sin

¹⁰And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

¹¹Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, ¹²“Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹³So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall seven^[^c^] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. ¹⁶And when the ^[^d^]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of ^[^e^]Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

The Altar on the Threshing Floor

¹⁸And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. ²⁰Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²²Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. ²³All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

²⁴Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

Footnotes

2 Samuel 24:1 take a census of
2 Samuel 24:4 overruled
2 Samuel 24:13 So with MT, Syr., Tg., Vg.; LXX three (cf. 1 Chr. 21:12)
2 Samuel 24:16 Or Angel
2 Samuel 24:16 Ornan, 1 Chr. 21:15

1 Chronicles 21-22

The Census of Israel and Judah

21 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to ^[^a^]number Israel. ²So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”

³And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”

⁴Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. ⁵Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. ⁶But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s ^[^b^]word was abominable to Joab.

⁷And ^[^c^]God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. ⁸So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, ¹⁰“Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ”

¹¹So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, ¹²either ^[^d^]three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the ^[^e^]angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹³And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁴So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. ¹⁵And God sent ^[^f^]an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As ^[^g^]he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain ^[^h^]your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of ^[ⁱ^]Ornan the Jebusite.

¹⁶Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. ¹⁷And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

¹⁸Therefore, the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ¹⁹So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. ²⁰Now Ornan turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. ²¹So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. ²²Then David said to Ornan, ^[^j^]“Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²³But Ornan said to David, “Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering; I give it all.”

²⁴Then King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” ²⁵So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place. ²⁶And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord; and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.

²⁸At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. ²⁹For the tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon. ³⁰But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

David Prepares to Build the Temple

22 Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ²So David commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of Israel; and he appointed masons to cut hewn stones to build the house of God. ³And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints, and bronze in abundance beyond measure, ⁴and cedar trees in abundance; for the Sidonians and those from Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.

⁵Now David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all countries. I will now make preparation for it.” So David made abundant preparations before his death.

⁶Then he called for his son Solomon, and ^[^k^]charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷And David said to Solomon: “My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house to the name of the Lord my God; ⁸but the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have made great wars; you shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. ⁹Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around. His name shall be ^[^l^]Solomon, for I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. ¹⁰He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son, and I will be his Father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’ ¹¹Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. ¹²Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. ¹³Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord ^[^m^]charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed. ¹⁴Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold and one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them. ¹⁵Moreover there are workmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work. ¹⁶Of gold and silver and bronze and iron there is no limit. Arise and begin working, and the Lord be with you.”

¹⁷David also commanded all the leaders of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying, ¹⁸“Is not the Lord your God with you? And has He not given you rest on every side? For He has given the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and before His people. ¹⁹Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God. Therefore arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 21:1 take a census of
1 Chronicles 21:6 command
1 Chronicles 21:7 Lit. it was evil in the eyes of God
1 Chronicles 21:12 seven, 2 Sam. 24:13
1 Chronicles 21:12 Or Angel, and so throughout the chapter
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or the Angel
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or He
1 Chronicles 21:15 Or Your
1 Chronicles 21:15 Araunah, 2 Sam. 24:16, 18–24
1 Chronicles 21:22 Lit. Give
1 Chronicles 22:6 com-manded
1 Chronicles 22:9 Lit. Peaceful
1 Chronicles 22:13 commanded

Psalm 30

The Blessedness of Answered Prayer

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the house of David.

30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my foes rejoice over me.
²O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You healed me.
³O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, ^[^a^]that I should not go down to the pit.

⁴Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of ^[^b^]His holy name.
⁵For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But ^[^c^]joy comes in the morning.

⁶Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be ^[^d^]moved.”
⁷Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
You hid Your face, and I was troubled.

⁸I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
⁹“What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have put off ^[^e^]my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
¹²To the end that my ^[^f^]glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 30:3 So with Qr., Tg.; Kt., LXX, Syr., Vg. from those who descend to the pit
Psalm 30:4 Or His holiness
Psalm 30:5 a shout of joy
Psalm 30:6 shaken
Psalm 30:11 The sackcloth of my mourning
Psalm 30:12 soul

22 May 202115 May 2021

Weekend Reading (May 22)

BIBLE READING: Psalms 95 & 97-99 NKJV

Psalm 95

A Call to Worship and Obedience

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
²Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
³For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
⁴^[^a^]In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
⁵The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
⁷For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep ^[^b^]of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
⁸“Do not harden your hearts, as in the ^[^c^]rebellion,
As in the day of ^[^d^]trial in the wilderness,
⁹When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
¹⁰For forty years I was ^[^e^]grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
¹¹So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

Footnotes

Psalm 95:4 In His possession
Psalm 95:7 Under His care
Psalm 95:8 Or Meribah, lit. Strife, Contention
Psalm 95:8 Or Massah, lit. Trial, Testing
Psalm 95:10 disgusted

Psalm 97-99

A Song of Praise to the Sovereign Lord

97 The Lord reigns;
Let the earth rejoice;
Let the multitude of ^[^a^]isles be glad!

²Clouds and darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
³A fire goes before Him,
And burns up His enemies round about.
⁴His lightnings light the world;
The earth sees and trembles.
⁵The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
⁶The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples see His glory.

⁷Let all be put to shame who serve carved images,
Who boast of idols.
Worship Him, all you gods.
⁸Zion hears and is glad,
And the daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
⁹For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
¹¹Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
¹²Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks ^[^b^]at the remembrance of ^[^c^]His holy name.

A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment

A Psalm.

98 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
²The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the ^[^d^]nations.
³He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

⁴Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
⁵Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
⁶With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

⁷Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
⁸Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
⁹ before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with ^[^e^]equity.

Praise to the Lord for His Holiness

99 The Lord reigns;
Let the peoples tremble!
He dwells between the cherubim;
Let the earth be ^[^f^]moved!
²The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is high above all the peoples.
³Let them praise Your great and awesome name—
^[^g^]He is holy.

⁴The King’s strength also loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
⁵Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.

⁶Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;
They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
⁷He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;
They kept His testimonies and the ^[^h^]ordinance He gave them.

⁸You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
⁹Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.

Footnotes

Psalm 97:1 Or coastlands
Psalm 97:12 Or for the memory
Psalm 97:12 Or His holiness
Psalm 98:2 Gentiles
Psalm 98:9 uprightness
Psalm 99:1 shaken
Psalm 99:3 Or It
Psalm 99:7 statute