June 2: 2 Samuel 22; Acts 26; Psalm 121; Proverbs 16:28–30

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 22 2 Samuel 22 (Listen) 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     my1 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;26   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,3    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 my4 way blameless.534   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 feet6 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,7    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;8    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 trembling9 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 brings10 to his king,    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,    to David and his offspring forever.” Footnotes [1] 22:3 Septuagint (compare Psalm 18:2); Hebrew lacks my [2] 22:5 Or terrified me [3] 22:9 Or in his wrath [4] 22:33 Or his; also verse 34 [5] 22:33 Compare Psalm 18:32; Hebrew he has blamelessly set my way free, or he has made my way spring up blamelessly [6] 22:37 Hebrew ankles [7] 22:41 Or You gave me my enemies’ necks [8] 22:44 Septuagint with the peoples [9] 22:46 Compare Psalm 18:45; Hebrew equipped themselves [10] 22:51 Or He is a tower of salvation (ESV) New Testament: Acts 26 Acts 26 (Listen) Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa 26 So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: 2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently. 4 “My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? 9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities. Paul Tells of His Conversion 12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,1 ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ 19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” 24 And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. 26 For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”2 29 And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” 30 Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were sitting with them. 31 And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” Footnotes [1] 26:14 Or the Hebrew dialect (probably Aramaic) [2] 26:28 Or In a short time you would persuade me to act like a Christian! (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 121 Psalm 121 (Listen) My Help Comes from the Lord A Song of Ascents. 121   I lift up my eyes to the hills.    From where does my help come?2   My help comes from the LORD,    who made heaven and earth. 3   He will not let your foot be moved;    he who keeps you will not slumber.4   Behold, he who keeps Israel    will neither slumber nor sleep. 5   The LORD is your keeper;    the LORD is your shade on your right hand.6   The sun shall not strike you by day,    nor the moon by night. 7   The LORD will keep you from all evil;    he will keep your life.8   The LORD will keep    your going out and your coming in    from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV) Proverb: Proverbs 16:28–30 Proverbs 16:28–30 (Listen) 28   A dishonest man spreads strife,    and a whisperer separates close friends.29   A man of violence entices his neighbor    and leads him in a way that is not good.30   Whoever winks his eyes plans1 dishonest things;    he who purses his lips brings evil to pass. Footnotes [1] 16:30 Hebrew to plan (ESV)