1 SAMUEL 23

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David Delivers Keilah  23:1 Then they told David, saying, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are plundering the threshing floors.” 2 So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and deliver Keilah.” 3 But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the ranks of the Philistines?” 4 Then David inquired of the LORD once more. And the LORD answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines; and he led away their livestock and struck them with a great slaughter. Thus David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.
    6 Now it came about, when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand. 7 When it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered him into my hand, for he shut himself in by entering a city with double gates and bars.” 8 So Saul summoned all the people for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. 9 Now David knew that Saul was plotting evil against him; so he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O LORD God of Israel, Your servant has heard for certain that Saul is seeking to come to Keilah to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down just as Your servant has heard? O LORD God of Israel, I pray, tell Your servant.” And the LORD said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the LORD said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When it was told Saul that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the pursuit. 14 David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
Saul Pursues David    15 Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. 16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. 17 Thus he said to him, “Do not be afraid, because the hand of Saul my father will not find you, and you will be king over Israel and I will be next to you; and Saul my father knows that also.” 18 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD; and David stayed at Horesh while Jonathan went to his house.
    19 Then Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is David not hiding with us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? 20 Now then, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to do so; and our part shall be to surrender him into the king’s hand.” 21 Saul said, “May you be blessed of the LORD, for you have had compassion on me. 22 Go now, make more sure, and investigate and see his place where his haunt is, and who has seen him there; for I am told that he is very cunning. 23 So look, and learn about all the hiding places where he hides himself and return to me with certainty, and I will go with you; and if he is in the land, I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.”
    24 Then they arose and went to Ziph before Saul. Now David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the Arabah to the south of Jeshimon. 25 When Saul and his men went to seek him, they told David, and he came down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. And when Saul heard it, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. 26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David and his men on the other side of the mountain; and David was hurrying to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men to seize them. 27 But a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Hurry and come, for the Philistines have made a raid on the land.” 28 So Saul returned from pursuing David and went to meet the Philistines; therefore they called that place the Rock of Escape. 29 David went up from there and stayed in the strongholds of Engedi.

PSALM 107

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The LORD Delivers Men from Manifold Troubles.107:1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,

Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary

3 And gathered from the lands,

From the east and from the west,

From the north and from the south.

4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region;

They did not find a way to an inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty;

Their soul fainted within them.

6 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He delivered them out of their distresses.

7 He led them also by a straight way,

To go to an inhabited city.

8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

9 For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,

And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

10 There were those who dwelt in darkness and in the shadow of death,

Prisoners in misery and chains,

11 Because they had rebelled against the words of God

And spurned the counsel of the Most High.

12 Therefore He humbled their heart with labor;

They stumbled and there was none to help.

13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death

And broke their bands apart.

15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

16 For He has shattered gates of bronze

And cut bars of iron asunder.

17 Fools, because of their rebellious way,

And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.

18 Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,

And they drew near to the gates of death.

19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;

He saved them out of their distresses.

20 He sent His word and healed them,

And delivered them from their destructions.

21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

And tell of His works with joyful singing.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters;

24 They have seen the works of the LORD,

And His wonders in the deep.

25 For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,

Which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26 They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;

Their soul melted away in their misery.

27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken man,

And were at their wits’ end.

28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,

And He brought them out of their distresses.

29 He caused the storm to be still,

So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

30 Then they were glad because they were quiet,

So He guided them to their desired haven.

31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness,

And for His wonders to the sons of men!

32 Let them extol Him also in the congregation of the people,

And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

33 He changes rivers into a wilderness

And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

34 A fruitful land into a salt waste,

Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

35 He changes a wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water;

36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,

So that they may establish an inhabited city,

37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,

And gather a fruitful harvest.

38 Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly,

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

39 When they are diminished and bowed down

Through oppression, misery and sorrow,

40 He pours contempt upon princes

And makes them wander in a pathless waste.

41 But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,

And makes his families like a flock.

42 The upright see it and are glad;

But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

43 Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things,

And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.

PSALM 108

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God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.A Song, a Psalm of David.
108:1 My heart is steadfast, O God;

I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul.

2 Awake, harp and lyre;

I will awaken the dawn!

3 I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples,

And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

4 For Your lovingkindness is great above the heavens,

And Your truth reaches to the skies.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

And Your glory above all the earth.

6 That Your beloved may be delivered,

Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

7 God has spoken in His holiness:

“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem

And measure out the valley of Succoth.

8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;

Ephraim also is the helmet of My head;

Judah is My scepter.

9 “Moab is My washbowl;

Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;

Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”

10 Who will bring me into the besieged city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11 Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?

And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?

12 Oh give us help against the adversary,

For deliverance by man is in vain.

13 Through God we will do valiantly,

And it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.

PROVERBS 18

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked18:1 He who separates himself seeks his own desire,

He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

2 A fool does not delight in understanding,

But only in revealing his own mind.

3 When a wicked man comes, contempt also comes,

And with dishonor comes scorn.

4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good,

Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

6 A fool’s lips bring strife,

And his mouth calls for blows.

7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

And his lips are the snare of his soul.

8 The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels,

And they go down into the innermost parts of the body.

9 He also who is slack in his work

Is brother to him who destroys.

10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

The righteous runs into it and is safe.

11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

And like a high wall in his own imagination.

12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,

But humility goes before honor.

13 He who gives an answer before he hears,

It is folly and shame to him.

14 The spirit of a man can endure his sickness,

But as for a broken spirit who can bear it?

15 The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge,

And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

16 A man’s gift makes room for him

And brings him before great men.

17 The first to plead his case seems right,

Until another comes and examines him.

18 The cast lot puts an end to strife

And decides between the mighty ones.

19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,

And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.

20 With the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied;

He will be satisfied with the product of his lips.

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing

And obtains favor from the LORD.

23 The poor man utters supplications,

But the rich man answers roughly.

24 A man of too many friends comes to ruin,

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.