Day 65

2 Samuel 22-23

David’s Song of Deliverance

22 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

       “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

3        my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

       my shield, and the horn of my salvation,

my stronghold and my refuge,

my savior; you save me from violence.

4    I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

5    “For the waves of death encompassed me,

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

6    the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

7    “In my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I called.

       From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry came to his ears.

8    “Then the earth reeled and rocked;

the foundations of the heavens trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

9    Smoke went up from his nostrils,

and devouring fire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

10    He bowed the heavens and came down;

thick darkness was under his feet.

11    He rode on a cherub and flew;

he was seen on the wings of the wind.

12    He made darkness around him his canopy,

thick clouds, a gathering of water.

13    Out of the brightness before him

coals of fire flamed forth.

14    The Lord thundered from heaven,

and the Most High uttered his voice.

15    And he sent out arrows and scattered them;

lightning, and routed them.

16    Then the channels of the sea were seen;

the foundations of the world were laid bare,

       at the rebuke of the Lord,

at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17    “He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

18    He rescued me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

19    They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

20    He brought me out into a broad place;

he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

21    “The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

22    For I have kept the ways of the Lord

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

23    For all his rules were before me,

and from his statutes I did not turn aside.

24    I was blameless before him,

and I kept myself from guilt.

25    And the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to my cleanness in his sight.

26    “With the merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

27    with the purified you deal purely,

and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

28    You save a humble people,

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

29    For you are my lamp, O Lord,

and my God lightens my darkness.

30    For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

31    This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

32    “For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

33    This God is my strong refuge

and has made my way blameless.

34    He made my feet like the feet of a deer

and set me secure on the heights.

35    He trains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36    You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your gentleness made me great.

37    You gave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip;

38    I pursued my enemies and destroyed them,

and did not turn back until they were consumed.

39    I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise;

they fell under my feet.

40    For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

41    You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

those who hated me, and I destroyed them.

42    They looked, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

43    I beat them fine as the dust of the earth;

I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

44    “You delivered me from strife with my people;

you kept me as the head of the nations;

people whom I had not known served me.

45    Foreigners came cringing to me;

as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.

46    Foreigners lost heart

and came trembling out of their fortresses.

47    “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,

48    the God who gave me vengeance

and brought down peoples under me,

49    who brought me out from my enemies;

you exalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from men of violence.

50    “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and sing praises to your name.

51    Great salvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

to David and his offspring forever.”

The Last Words of David

23 Now these are the last words of David:

       The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man who was raised on high,

       the anointed of the God of Jacob,

the sweet psalmist of Israel:

2    “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me;

his word is on my tongue.

3    The God of Israel has spoken;

the Rock of Israel has said to me:

       When one rules justly over men,

ruling in the fear of God,

4    he dawns on them like the morning light,

like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,

like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.

5    “For does not my house stand so with God?

For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things and secure.

       For will he not cause to prosper

all my help and my desire?

6    But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away,

for they cannot be taken with the hand;

7    but the man who touches them

arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,

and they are utterly consumed with fire.”

David’s Mighty Men

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three. He wielded his spear against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the Lord brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi, where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the Lord 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all. [1]

Psalms 57, 95, 97, 99

Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

57 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

1    Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul takes refuge;

       in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

till the storms of destruction pass by.

2    I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

3    He will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah

       God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4    My soul is in the midst of lions;

I lie down amid fiery beasts—

       the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,

whose tongues are sharp swords.

5    Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6    They set a net for my steps;

my soul was bowed down.

       They dug a pit in my way,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

7    My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

       I will sing and make melody!

8        Awake, my glory!

       Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

9    I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10    For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

11    Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth! [2]

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

2    Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

3    For the Lord is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

4    In his hand are the depths of the earth;

the heights of the mountains are his also.

5    The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

6    Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

7    For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

       Today, if you hear his voice,

8        do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

9    when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

10    For forty years I loathed that generation

and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

and they have not known my ways.”

11    Therefore I swore in my wrath,

“They shall not enter my rest.” [3]

The Lord Reigns

97 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

2    Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3    Fire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

4    His lightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

5    The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the Lord of all the earth.

6    The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all the peoples see his glory.

7    All worshipers of images are put to shame,

who make their boast in worthless idols;

worship him, all you gods!

8    Zion hears and is glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

9    For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

10    O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

He preserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11    Light is sown for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12    Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and give thanks to his holy name! [4]

The Lord Our God Is Holy

99 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

2    The Lord is great in Zion;

he is exalted over all the peoples.

3    Let them praise your great and awesome name!

Holy is he!

4    The King in his might loves justice.

You have established equity;

       you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

5    Exalt the Lord our God;

worship at his footstool!

Holy is he!

6    Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.

They called to the Lord, and he answered them.

7    In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;

they kept his testimonies

and the statute that he gave them.

8    O Lord our God, you answered them;

you were a forgiving God to them,

but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

9    Exalt the Lord our God,

and worship at his holy mountain;

for the Lord our God is holy! [5]

2 Samuel 24

David’s Census

24 aAgain the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and began from Aroer, and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they went around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

The Lord’s Judgment of David’s Sin

10 But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

15 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded. 20 And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. 21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an[6]