171 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle ; and they were gathered at Socoh which belongs to Judah , and they camped between Socoh and Azekah , in Ephes-dammim . 2 Saul and the men of Israel were gathered and camped in the valley of Elah , and drew up in battle array to encounter the Philistines . 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on one side while Israel stood on the mountain on the other side , with the valley between them. 4 Then a champion e came out from the armies of the Philistines named Goliath , from Gath , whose height was six cubits and a span . 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head , and he was clothed with scale-armor which weighed five thousand shekels of bronze . 6 He also had bronze greaves on his legs and a bronze javelin slung between his shoulders . 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam , and the head of his spear weighed six hundred shekels of iron ; his shield-carrier e also walked before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, "Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul ? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me. 9 " If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants ; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us." 10 Again the Philistine said , " I defy the ranks of Israel this day ; give me a man that we may fight together ." 11 When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine , they were dismayed and greatly afraid .
12 Now David was the son of the Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah , whose name was Jesse , and he had eight sons . And Jesse was old in the days of Saul , advanced in years among men . 13 The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle . And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn , and the second to him Abinadab , and the third Shammah . 14 David was the youngest . Now the three oldest followed e Saul , 15 but David went e back and forth from Saul to tend his father's flock at Bethlehem . 16 The Philistine came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand . 17 Then Jesse said to David his son , " Take now for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain and these ten loaves and run to the camp to your brothers . 18 " Bring also these ten cuts of cheese to the commander of their thousand , and look into the welfare of your brothers , and bring back news of them. 19 "For Saul and they and all the men of Israel are in the valley of Elah , fighting with the Philistines ." 20 So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry . 21 Israel and the Philistines drew up in battle array, army against army . 22 Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper , and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet e his brothers . 23 As he was talking with them, behold , the champion e , the Philistine from Gath named Goliath , was coming up from the army of the Philistines , and he spoke these same words ; and David heard them. 24 When all the men of Israel saw the man , they fled from him and were greatly afraid . 25 The men of Israel said , "Have you seen this man who is coming up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel . And it will be that the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel ." 26 Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying , "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel ? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine , that he should taunt the armies of the living God ?" 27 The people answered him in accord with this word , saying , " Thus it will be done for the man who kills him." 28 Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men ; and Eliab's anger burned against David and he said , "Why have you come down ? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness ? I know your insolence and the wickedness of your heart ; for you have come down in order to see the battle ." 29 But David said , "What have I done now ? Was it not just a question ?" 30 Then he turned away e from him to another and said the same thing ; and the people answered the same thing as before .
31 When the words which David spoke were heard , they told them to Saul , and he sent for him. 32 David said to Saul , " Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine ." 33 Then Saul said to David , " You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth ." 34 But David said to Saul , "Your servant was tending his father's sheep . When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock , 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth ; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear ; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God ." 37 And David said , " The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear , He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine ." And Saul said to David , " Go , and may the Lord be with you." 38 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head , and he clothed him with armor . 39 David girded his sword over e his armor and tried to walk , for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul , "I cannot e go with these , for I have not tested them." And David took them off e .
40 He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook , and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch , and his sling was in his hand ; and he approached the Philistine . 41 Then the Philistine came on and approached David , with the shield-bearer e in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David , he disdained him; for he was but a youth , and ruddy , with a handsome appearance . 43 The Philistine said to David , " Am I a dog , that you come to me with sticks ?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods . 44 The Philistine also said to David , "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field ." 45 Then David said to the Philistine , "You come to me with a sword , a spear , and a javelin , but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts , the God of the armies of Israel , whom you have taunted . 46 "This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands , and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth , that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel , 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear ; for the battle is the Lord'S and He will give you into our hands ."
48 Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David , that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine . 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead . And the stone sank into his forehead , so that he fell on his face to the ground . 50 Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone , and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand . 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead , they fled . 52 The men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines as far as the valley , and to the gates of Ekron . And the slain Philistines lay along the way to Shaaraim , even to Gath and Ekron . 53 The sons of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines and plundered their camps . 54 Then David took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem , but he put his weapons in his tent . 55 Now when Saul saw David going out against the Philistine , he said to Abner the commander of the army , "Abner , whose son is this young man ?" And Abner said , "By your life , O king , I do not know ." 56 The king said , "You inquire whose son the youth is." 57 So when David returned from killing the Philistine , Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine's head in his hand . 58 Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man ?" And David answered , " I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite ."
181 Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul , that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David , and Jonathan loved him as himself . 2 Saul took him that day and did not let him return to his father's house . 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself . 4 Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David , with his armor , including his sword and his bow and his belt . 5 So David went out wherever e Saul sent him, and prospered ; and Saul set him over the men of war . And it was pleasing in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants .
6 It happened as they were coming , when David returned from killing the Philistine , that the women came out of all the cities of Israel , singing and dancing , to meet King Saul , with tambourines , with joy and with musical instruments . 7 The women sang as they played , and said , " Saul has slain his thousands , And David his ten thousands ." 8 Then Saul became very angry , for this saying displeased e him; and he said , "They have ascribed to David ten thousands , but to me they have ascribed thousands . Now what more can he have but the kingdom ?" 9 Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. 10 Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from God came mightily upon Saul , and he raved in the midst of the house , while David was playing the harp with his hand , as usual ; and a spear was in Saul's hand . 11 Saul hurled the spear for he thought , "I will pin David to the wall ." But David escaped from his presence twice .
12 Now Saul was afraid of David , for the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul . 13 Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand ; and he went out and came in before the people . 14 David was prospering in all his ways for the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw that he was prospering greatly , he dreaded him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David , and he went out and came in before them. 17 Then Saul said to David , " Here is my older daughter Merab ; I will give her to you as a wife , only be a valiant man for me and fight the Lord'S battles ." For Saul thought , "My hand shall not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him." 18 But David said to Saul , " Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel , that I should be the king's son-in-law ?" 19 So it came about at the time when Merab , Saul's daughter , should have been given to David , that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife . 20 Now Michal , Saul's daughter , loved David . When they told Saul , the thing was agreeable to him. 21 Saul thought , "I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." Therefore Saul said to David , " For a second time you may be my son-in-law today ." 22 Then Saul commanded his servants , "Speak to David secretly , saying , 'Behold , the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king's son-in-law .' " 23 So Saul's servants spoke these words to David . But David said , "Is it trivial in your sight to become the king's son-in-law , since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed ?" 24 The servants of Saul reported to him according to these words which David spoke . 25 Saul then said , "Thus you shall say to David , 'The king does not desire any dowry except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines , to take vengeance on the king's enemies .' " Now Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines . 26 When his servants told David these words , it pleased e David to become the king's son-in-law . Before the days had expired 27 David rose up and went , he and his men , and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines . Then David brought their foreskins , and they gave them in full number to the king , that he might become the king's son-in-law . So Saul gave him Michal his daughter for a wife . 28 When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David , and that Michal , Saul's daughter , loved him, 29 then Saul was even more e afraid of David . Thus Saul was David's enemy continually e . 30 Then the commanders of the Philistines went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul . So his name was highly esteemed .
111 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place , after He had finished , one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord , teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples ." 2 And He said to them, " When you pray , say : 'Father , hallowed be Your name . Your kingdom come . 3 'Give us each day our daily bread . 4 'And forgive us our sins , For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation .' " 5 Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend , and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend , lend me three loaves ; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey , and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and from inside he answers and says , 'Do not bother e me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed ; I cannot e get up and give you anything.' 8 "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend , yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs . 9 "So I say to you, ask , and it will be given to you; seek , and you will find ; knock , and it will be opened to you. 10 "For everyone who asks , receives ; and he who seeks , finds ; and to him who knocks , it will be opened . 11 "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish ; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish , will he? 12 "Or if he is asked for an egg , he will not give him a scorpion , will he? 13 " If you then , being evil , know how to give good gifts to your children , how much more will your heavenly e Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
14 And He was casting out a demon , and it was mute ; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke ; and the crowds were amazed . 15 But some of them said , "He casts out demons by Beelzebul , the ruler of the demons ." 16 Others , to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven . 17 But He knew their thoughts and said to them, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste ; and a house divided against itself falls . 18 "If Satan also is divided against himself , how will his kingdom stand ? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul . 19 "And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons , by whom do your sons cast them out? So e they will be your judges . 20 "But if I cast out demons by the finger of God , then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 "When a strong man, fully armed , guards his own house , his possessions are undisturbed e . 22 "But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away from him all his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder . 23 " He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters .
24 " When the unclean spirit goes out of a man , it passes through waterless places seeking rest , and not finding any, it says , 'I will return to my house from which I came .' 25 "And when it comes , it finds it swept and put in order . 26 "Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself , and they go in and live there ; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first ."
27 While Jesus was saying these things , one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, " Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed ." 28 But He said , "On the contrary e , blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
(Read Luke 11:1-4)
"Lord, teach us to pray," is a good prayer, and a very needful one, for Jesus Christ only can teach us, by his word and Spirit, how to pray. Lord, teach me what it is to pray; Lord, stir up and quicken me to the duty; Lord, direct me what to pray for; teach me what I should say. Christ taught them a prayer, much the same that he had given before in his sermon upon the mount. There are some differences in the words of the Lord's prayer in Matthew and in Luke, but they are of no moment. Let us in our requests, both for others and for ourselves, come to our heavenly Father, confiding in his power and goodness.
(Read Luke 11:5-13)
Christ encourages fervency and constancy in prayer. We must come for what we need, as a man does to his neighbour or friend, who is kind to him. We must come for bread; for that which is needful. If God does not answer our prayers speedily, yet he will in due time, if we continue to pray. Observe what to pray for; we must ask for the Holy Spirit, not only as necessary in order to our praying well, but as all spiritual blessings are included in that one. For by the influences of the Holy Spirit we are brought to know God and ourselves, to repent, believe in, and love Christ, and so are made comfortable in this world, and meet for happiness in the next. All these blessings our heavenly Father is more ready to bestow on every one that asks for them, than an indulgent parent is to give food to a hungry child. And this is the advantage of the prayer of faith, that it quiets and establishes the heart in God.
(Read Luke 11:14-26)
Christ's thus casting out the devils, was really the destroying of their power. The heart of every unconverted sinner is the devil's palace, where he dwells, and where he rules. There is a kind of peace in the heart of an unconverted soul, while the devil, as a strong man armed, keeps it. The sinner is secure, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state, nor any dread of the judgment to come. But observe the wonderful change made in conversion. The conversion of a soul to God, is Christ's victory over the devil and his power in that soul, restoring the soul to its liberty, and recovering his own interest in it and power over it. All the endowments of mind of body are now employed for Christ. Here is the condition of a hypocrite. The house is swept from common sins, by a forced confession, as Pharaoh's; by a feigned contrition, as Ahab's; or by a partial reformation, as Herod's. The house is swept, but it is not washed; the heart is not made holy. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner, the beloved sin, is untouched. The house is garnished with common gifts and graces. It is not furnished with any true grace; it is all paint and varnish, not real nor lasting. It was never given up to Christ, nor dwelt in by the Spirit. Let us take heed of resting in that which a man may have, and yet come short of heaven. The wicked spirits enter in without any difficulty; they are welcomed, and they dwell there; there they work, there they rule. From such an awful state let all earnestly pray to be delivered.
(Read Luke 11:27-28)
While the scribes and Pharisees despised and blasphemed the discourses of our Lord Jesus, this good woman admired them, and the wisdom and power with which he spake. Christ led the woman to a higher consideration. Though it is a great privilege to hear the word of God, yet those only are truly blessed, that is, blessed of the Lord, that hear it, keep it in memory, and keep to it as their way and rule.
