“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” “For he spoke and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.”
No doubt in my mind. Nothing happened by chance!

“For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
How does He refine us? He turns up the heat. How does He turn up the heat? He puts burdens on our backs. He puts trials in our lives. Why? To make us purer. Easier to take knowing this isn't it?

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
We can cry out to Him, but if we harbor sin, will he listen??? Good reason to confess our sins when we go to Him in prayer. So often in the psalms praising Him is directly related to the blessings.

“From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.”
Now, that puts things in perspective. Does it give us a clue as to how we should interact with our children? Even infants can feel His presence and often they feel God’s presence through us big people! How are all of us doing with that one?

“Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
What great assurance in this passage. He has placed us exactly where He wants us to be. Our salvation is secure. His laws, statutes, precepts, and commands are our boundary lines. Our delightful inheritance awaits us...

After reading Psalm 19, surrounded by this fantastic display, how can anyone say that it happened by chance?

“Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord”
How many people may be watching us, see what we are doing, and because of something we have said or done put their trust in the Lord? We may never know how we have affected others for eternity.

God doesn’t want our meaningless rituals! He wants an attitude of devotion, praise, worship, and thankfulness to Him. He wants us to speak of His faithfulness and salvation. He wants us to tell it to “the great assembly.”

“…my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”
To envy others for their “stuff” puts us on a slippery slope.

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”
AMEN!

Oh…so very much meat in today’s reading!

Blessed is the man whose “…delight is in the law of the Lord…”
The “law of the Lord’ means all Scripture. The more we know of the whole scope of God’s Word, the more resources we will have to guide our daily lives.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season…”
Just as a tree soaks up water and produces luscious fruit, if we soak up God’s Word we’ll bear fruit. The more we soak up His Word, the more fruitful we will be.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
We should all be careful taking Scripture out of context!

“They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”
Ponce de Leon searched for the “fountain of youth”. God offers the "fountain of life"!

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
To delight in someone means to take great pleasure in their presence. This happens only when we know that person well. To delight in the Lord means we must know Him well.

As we begin to know Him well, we will know what He desires for us and then His desires become our desires. What a great plan!

But even better than that…“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm;”
As we delight in the Lord, know that He delights in us. That means He takes great pleasure in our presence! Wow! Ponder that today!

"He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber;"
God is like our night light.

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."
He leads us on level ground. He will not let our foot slip. He watches over us.

"O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?"
This creator of the vast universe, cares enough about us to be our night light? AMAZING!

David records in Psalm 91 a prophecy of the wrath of God and what will happen to believers.

“He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil.”
Cursing and related sins come easily and freely. Cursing becomes familiar the more we use it. It slips out at inappropriate times. It’s “usage familiarity”.

Compare “cursing as his garment” with our “garments of salvation”. (Isa 61:10)

May we be reminded of our “garments of salvation” when “usage familiarity” causes cursing to slip out.

Attention Cradle Christians! These are our verses!
Ps 71:5-6
For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you.
Both of us (Phil and Patti) were brought up in a Christian home. We knew Jesus first as a friend before we even knew we needed a Savior! Praise God for Christian homes!

Lots of questions in Psalm 77;
Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show favor? Has His love vanished? Has His promise failed? Has God forgotten? Has He withheld His compassion?

Whenever we have these same questions, we need only take to heart the following verse found in the same psalm. “I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.”
When we consider His mighty deeds, we won’t question very long!

“…though your footprints were not seen.”
How often does God work in our lives even when we can’t see what He is doing?

“Teach me your way O Lord, and I will walk in your truth.”
Yes, Lord, teach us your way! So that we may walk in your truth.

Psalm 62
These words are applied to God; rock, hope, shelter, refuge, strength, salvation, strong tower, fortress, help, deliverer.
These words are applied to man; leaning wall, tottering fence, nothing, a breath.
Quite a contrast!

“Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.”
These are not the rewards we take to the earthly bank. These are deposited in the heavenly treasury.

1 Cor 3:11-14
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.

Made a deposit in the heavenly treasury today?

“Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
Does this sound like Jesus speaking of Judas?

Psalm 46 sounds as if David has been given a keyhole view of the Day of the Lord, the wrath of God.

Ps 55:17
Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

“Evening, morning, noon…”
Sounds like its out of order, but it isn’t. David’s day started at 6:00 PM, so first came evening, then morning, and then noon. In the story of creation in Genesis, “There was evening and morning…”

David has a great answer in Psalm 17 to the question “Why do the wicked prosper?”
“…men of this world whose reward is in this life.”
They have no eternal reward. Whatever reward they may get is in this life only.

I (Patti) have always wanted to write a book entitled, My Cup Overflows. (see Psalm 23)
Whenever I contemplate my life and all my blessings…that seems to be the theme. Maybe one day I’ll write that book!

There is so much meat in Psalm 23. To sum it up, it might sound like this.

The Lord takes care of me. I have everything I need.
He takes me to peaceful surroundings. He encourages me.
He disciplines and protects me.
He makes me feel safe. I have no fear of death.
I am anointed. I belong to HIM.
His goodness and love follow me wherever I go.
He has made a room just for me in His house.
I will live with HIM forever!

Psalm 5:3b
“In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”
Wow! Lay our requests before Him and let Him answer according to His plan...in His way...and in His time!

Enough said for today! Let's rest in this!

The preparations for Solomon’s building of the temple is a foreshadow of the Millennial Kingdom temple.

The plans for the temple were not David’s plans, they were God’s plans.
“I have in writing from the hand of the Lord upon me, and he gave me understanding in all the details of the plan.”
Same thing happened to Moses concerning the tabernacle.

David gave his resources for the building of the temple, including his personal treasures. He, in effect, gave away Solomon’s inheritance. But that’s okay, God had plans to financially take care of Solomon.

At the end of David’s address to the assembly, he spoke these words.
“Now who is willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?”
What a great admonition to us today! Indeed, who IS willing to consecrate himself today to the Lord?

David asked for WILLING givers. The leaders stepped up to the plate and set the example for the people. The people then willingly followed their example.

Look what David did next…he praised God…not the people for their generosity…he praised God! Read 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 and count all the times that the words either “you” or “yours” appear. Pretty clear David was quick to give God the credit for everything.

Another foreshadowing:
1 Chr 29:22
They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.

Zadok is to be priest. His descendants will hold a high position in the Millennial Kingdom temple. Details in the book THESE LAST DAYS.

Did you get a good grip on how many people will be supervising the work on the building of the temple? And what a choir…4,000 voices praising the Lord. Imagine that!

Part of the duties of the Levites were to serve the Lord by standing every morning and evening to praise and thank the Lord, in addition to other prescribed times. Should we behave any differently? Shouldn’t we be praising and thanking God morning and night? Do we praise Him in all things and for all things?

1Thes 5:16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Eph 5:19-20
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So even when we don’t feel like praising and thanking Him, even when we don’t like our circumstances, even when the world seems to be against us, even when we are suffering and experiencing trying times, even then….we should pray and praise! Chances are…when we do that; things won’t seem so gloomy anymore

David succumbed to the temptation of Satan to take a census. Was David feeling pride in his own strength? Pride…something Satan is very familiar with. And something that we should always be on our guard against!

Prov 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering. Joab knew it was wrong. Once David realized that God was going to punish Israel, he cried out to God. Instead of speaking to David directly, God spoke to him through David’s seer, Gad.

The angel of the Lord stood at the threshing floor with a drawn sword in his hand. David and the elders fell facedown. A similar thing happened with Joshua. When the four sons of Araunah saw the angel, they hid. Quite a commanding presence this angel of the Lord!

David redeemed himself when he bought the threshing site and built an altar there (very prophetic). This is the place where the temple will be built, but not by David. He shed too much blood. His son Solomon will have that honor.

Pretty gutsy of Joab to call David to task. David had dishonored the fighting men by mourning over Absalom. Joab told David to go out and encourage the men. Does David know that it was Joab who struck the three javelins in Absalom’s heart?

Concerning Mephibosheth and Ziba, just who was the good guy here? They told conflicting stories.

What a great illustration we have in Barzillia. He remained faithful and waited for the king’s return. Wow! Can we say that about ourselves? Are we faithful as we wait for THE King’s return?

Interesting thing happens with Absalom. He was left hanging in midair after his hair got caught in the tree. In 2 Samuel 14:11 a woman from Takoa tells the King David a story about her sons. David says to her, “not one hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
Seems prophetic on the part of David. Not one hair of David’s son Absalom falls to the ground.

Notice when David sends out troops, he doesn’t inquire of the Lord. He only says to his men “I will do whatever seems best to you.”

He was listening to the advice of men and not asking the will of God. How often do we do that as well?

How easily the people fell for Absalom’s trickery. “If only I were appointed judge of the land!”
He ingratiated himself to the people. What he said and did sounded good.

“They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently…” Isn’t that what Satan does? He works in the hearts of men. What he says sounds good and the “innocents” are led astray.

2 Cor 2:11
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
How can we be aware of Satan’s schemes and not be like the “innocents” who are easily led astray?

When David left Jerusalem for fear of Absalom, he crossed the Kidron Valley and “continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went”.
Suppose David took the same path that Jesus took as he traveled from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives?

In 2 Samuel 3:2-5 are listed sons born to David in Hebron. In 1 Chronicles 3:4-9 the sons of David born in Jerusalem are listed. Only one daughter is named but it doesn’t mean that David only had one daughter. In fact in the following Scripture, it says there were daughters (plural).
2 Sam 5:13
After he left Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.

With as many wives and concubines that David had, there surely were several daughters.
Since Tamar is listed as the sister of Absalom, they must have had the same mother. Tamar was the half-sister of Amnon. Amnon raped Tamar which led to the murder of Amnon by Absalom's men.

Even though David had some bloodthirsty offspring, one was singled out for some great things...Solomon.

At hearing of the death of his son by Bathsheba, David spoke these words concerning his son:
2 Sam 12:23b
I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

David is making in this one little sentence a huge statement. He is acknowledging eternal life, not only for him but for his child.

David laments the following at the cave of Adullam.
“Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
Ponder this verse. When we think of Bethlehem, we automatically think of Jesus, born in Bethlehem. Remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well?

John 4:10
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

So when David longed for a drink of water from Bethlehem, was he speaking prophetically?

When David went to fight against the Philistines “he became exhausted.” Was it because he was fighting in his own power and not depending on God?

There is an absence of his inquiring of the Lord before going into battle. His men suggested that he stay out of the battle. So in the spring “when kings go off to war” David stayed (KJV says “tarried”) in Jerusalem. Bad idea! It was because David “tarried” that he had time on his hands to give in to his wandering eye and to lust after Bathsheba. And if the lusting weren’t enough, he sent for her, slept with her and she conceived. After finding out that Bathsheba was pregnant, David sent for her husband Uriah in hopes that he would sleep with her and that the baby would be mistaken for Uriah’s. This would let David off the hook. However it didn’t work. David sunk to an unprecedented low when he ordered that Uriah be sent to the front line of battle. At the death of Uriah, David was then free to marry Bathsheba.

Using the parable of the "one little ewe lamb," the prophet Nathan confronted David ("You are the man!") with his double sin, the murder of Uriah the Hittite and his adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife (2 Sam. 12:1-15) David in effect pronounced his own sentence when he responded to the prophet Nathan’s story about the poor man and his ewe lamb. David's reign was one of constant battle with his enemies.

And yet, David is known as a man after God’s own heart. What grace! I believe it’s called Amazing Grace.

At hearing of the death of his son by Bathsheba, David spoke these words concerning his son:
2 Sam 12:23b
I will go to him, but he will not return to me."

David is making in this one little sentence a huge statement. He is acknowledging eternal life, not only for him but for his child.

David laments the following at the cave of Adullam.
“Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!”
Ponder this verse. When we think of Bethlehem, we automatically think of Jesus, born in Bethlehem. Remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well?

John 4:10
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

So when David longed for a drink of water from Bethlehem, was he speaking prophetically?

Fascinating story about Zadok the priest…the descendants of Zadok will serve in the Millennial Kingdom temple.

Ezek 40:46
and the room facing north is for the priests who have charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who are the only Levites who may draw near to the LORD to minister before him."

Out of all the Levites, it will be the descendants of Zadok who will be chosen to minister before the Lord. What was so special that God would single them out specifically for this honored task? Is it because they were faithful to carry out God's instructions?

Ezek 44:15-16
"'But the priests, who are Levites and descendants of Zadok and who faithfully carried out the duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign LORD.

What kind of job may the Lord have set aside for us because we were faithful in carrying out our duties?

David’s first wife, Michal, daughter of Saul despised David when she saw him dancing and celebrating at the return of the Ark. Why? Could it be because she was jealous? She later accuses David of disrobing in front of the slave girls. (2 Sam 6:20)

In David’s Songs of Praise, Psalm 105 and 96, he reviews and summarizes the story from Joseph to Moses. This keeps a remembrance before the people of all that God had done for them. How are we doing? Do we review and summarize things God has done for us? Do we proclaim “his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”

“…worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness…”When we gather before the Lord as a congregation, do we truly worship Him as He deserves? What would it look like to worship Him in the splendor of His holiness?

David arranges for the ark to be returned to the City of David. However, it didn't make it there. They moved the ark on an oxen cart with two men guiding it, Uzzah and Ahio. Uzzah reaches up to steady the ark. Uzzah is killed. Sounds like pretty stiff punishment, doesn't it?

Well....we, humans always want to rationalize with statements such as this. Uzzah was only trying to help. The oxen had stumbled. He was only trying to steady the ark. He only touched the ark. Why was he killed?

Well....Suppose it has anything to do with God's commandments about who was to carry the ark, how they were to carry the ark, etc.???

In today's reading, we find this most wonderful of verses!
Ps 18:35b
you stoop down to make me great.

Think about the significance of that verse. You (God) stoop down to make me (put your name there) great. God certainly did stoop down when He came to earth to die for our sins so that we could be made great. Wow!

David becomes king. For the first seven years he is king over only Judah and the remaining time over all Israel. There is a split between Israel and Judah. Solomon, David’s son will also rule over all Israel. After that Israel and Judah split again and are split still today. They won’t come back together until the millennium.

We read a lot about Hebron. It’s located in the hills of Judea about 20 miles southwest of Bethlehem. Hebron was one of the cities of refuge. Not even the avenger of death could slay a murderer without a trial.

Interesting thing in 2 Samuel 3:22-27. Abner was killed by Joab to avenge his brother Asahel’s death…but Hebron was a city of refuge. Oops.

Oh my…David had – count them – seven wives. What did God say about that?

Oh boy! What was Saul thinking??? Consulting a medium…how does God feel about that?

Deut 18:10-12
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.

If the above mentioned things are detestable to God, how does He feel about some of the things we as Christians are doing? (movies, books, video games, etc.)

Notice when the medium calls up Samuel, she is the only one who “sees” him. Saul only hears his voice. The medium has to describe him to Saul.

Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. What does Rom 6:23 say about the wages of sin?

Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But praise God...the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Abigail's husband, Nabal, was an illtempered, drunken man. When David was hiding from the jealous King Saul, he asked Nabal for food for himself and his men. Nabal blatantly refused. Angered, David threatened to plunder Nabal's possessions and kill Nabal himself. Abigail, in her wisdom, gathered enough food for David's men, rode out to meet David, and bowed before him to show her respect. By agreeing with David that Nabal had acted with great disrespect, she stemmed David's anger. To Abigail's credit, she did not leave her godless husband. When Nabal died, apparently from shock at discovering his near brush with death, David married Abigail.
Just because David had multiple wives doesn’t mean that God condones it.

David is given yet another opportunity to kill Saul. All the men in Saul’s camp were sleeping “because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.” Was this a test for David?

David knew he would be king at the death of Saul. He still did the Lord’s will and still insists that the Lord’s anointed is not to be killed. David's kingship was in God's hands and in God's time.

Our lives are in God's hands and He operates according to His time. Not so easy for us to accept at times, is it?

Bad guy Doeg, on orders from King Saul kills 85 priests and the entire town of Nob. The people blamed David for the deaths of the 85 priests. However, it was because of a lie that David told that Saul ordered the deaths of the priests. David takes the high ground and accepts responsibility.

David has an opportunity to kill King Saul in the cave yet he doesn’t, calling Saul the Lord’s anointed. Again David takes the high ground.

Saul knows that David will be king and pleads for the safety of his family. It was customary for a new king to destroy the family of the former king. David gives his oath that he will not destroy Saul's descendants. And again, David takes the high ground.
Read Psalm 57 in light of current political and economic unrest and take heart with these words of David:

Ps 57:7a
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

Do we as Christians take the high ground? Is our heart steadfast as we trust in Him?

“Record my lament; list my tears on your scrolls…”
Kind of hidden away there isn’t it? An insignificant verse you say? Don’t think so!

A better translation of the Hebrew word–“no’d” for the word “scrolls” means a “skin or bag for fluids,” or more commonly known today in Israel as a “tear bottle”. Tears were (and are) very significant to the Hebrew and Jewish people. These people preserve their tears. The tears are kept in small bottles (three inches or so) as a memory of either joyful or sorrowful experiences. In this psalm David is asking God to preserve his tears, to put them in His tear bottle. Lots of bad things were happening to David. David turns things over to the Lord. He is asking God to take revenge on his enemies. David says at the end of the psalm, “What can man do to me? I “walk before God in the light of life.”

Do we ask God to put all the wrongful actions done against us in a tear bottle to keep? If we haven’t done that then we must be holding grudges. I believe God’s tear bottle is a bit bigger than the average Jewish tear bottle. He can take care of a multitude of tears.

And speaking of tears…a sea of tears flows throughout the Bible. One of the first instances of weeping is when Abraham buried Sarah in the cave near Hebron. Many others shed tears; Jacob, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, David, Hezekiah, Nehemiah…and of course Jesus shed tears over Jerusalem. The last recorded instance of the shedding of tears is this.
Rev 5:4
I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.

God Himself, takes care of all tears for all time!
Rev 21:4
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

You might want to read Psalm 34 again and just count all the great promises from God. Look especially at the last one. “The Lord redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”
Wrap your mind around the meaning of that verse.

Jesus said from the cross. “It is finished.” The Lord has indeed redeemed us. Now there is no condemnation. (Rom 8:1)

Hallelujah! (Every day should be a Hallelujah day. It’s not just a word for Easter Sunday morning!)

Soul mates, Jonathan and David. Many people have a difficult time understanding the feelings between these two men. Is it because we are so busy with our lives that we don’t develop those kinds of friendships? Is it because we are connected by trivial pursuits only? Is it because we are so self-centered? Just what is it about the friendship between Jonathan and David that we don’t get?

“Saul was very angry…” He let pride creep in. What a contrast with Saul's feelings toward David and Jonathan’s feelings toward David.

Interesting that David was asked to bring Saul a gift of 100 and David brought 200. Sounds like David really wanted Michal in marriage.

Could it be that the evil spirit from the Lord that came upon Saul was so that David would be favored by the people? By the time David became king most of the people were already in David’s “camp”.

Even Saul began prophesying when he went to Ramah for David. He was speaking God’s words. Too bad he wasn’t thinking God’s thoughts.

How goes it with us as Christians? Do we think God's thoughts or are we giving "lip service"?