161 And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had spread for it; and they presented burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before God. 2 And when David had ended offering up the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah. 3 And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a measure [of wine] and a raisin-cake. 4 And he appointed certain of the Levites to do the service before the ark of Jehovah, and to celebrate, and to thank and praise Jehovah the God of Israel: 5 Asaph the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah and Obed-Edom, and Jeiel, with instruments of lutes and with harps; and Asaph sounding with cymbals; 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests with trumpets continually, before the ark of the covenant of God.
7 Then on that day David delivered first [this psalm] to give thanks to Jehovah through Asaph and his brethren. 8 Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name; Make known his acts among the peoples. 9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; Meditate upon all his wondrous works. 10 Glory in his holy name: Let the heart of them rejoice that seek Jehovah. 11 Seek Jehovah and his strength, Seek his face continually; 12 Remember his wondrous works which he hath done; His miracles, and the judgments of his mouth: 13 Ye seed of Israel his servant, Ye sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 14 He, Jehovah, is our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 15 Be ye ever mindful of his covenant, The word which he commanded to a thousand generations,— 16 Which he made with Abraham, And of his oath unto Isaac; 17 And he confirmed it unto Jacob for a statute, Unto Israel for an everlasting covenant, 18 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance; 19 When ye were a few men in number, Of small account, and strangers in it. 20 And they went from nation to nation, And from one kingdom to another people. 21 He suffered no man to oppress them, And reproved kings for their sakes, 22 [Saying,] Touch not mine anointed ones, And do my prophets no harm. 23 Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth; Publish his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, His wondrous works among all peoples. 25 For Jehovah is great, and exceedingly to be praised; And he is terrible above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols; But Jehovah made the heavens. 27 Majesty and splendour are before him; Strength and gladness in his place. 28 Give unto Jehovah, ye families of peoples, Give unto Jehovah glory and strength! 29 Give unto Jehovah the glory of his name! Bring an oblation, and come before him: Worship Jehovah in holy splendour. 30 Tremble before him, all the earth: The world also is established, it shall not be moved. 31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth! 32 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; Let the field exult, and all that is therein. 33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing out at the presence of Jehovah, For he cometh to judge the earth. 34 Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he is good; For his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever. 35 And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, And gather us, and deliver us from the nations, To give thanks unto thy holy name, To triumph in thy praise. 36 Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, from eternity and to eternity! And all the people said, Amen! and praised Jehovah.
37 And he left there, before the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Asaph and his brethren, to do the service before the ark continually, as every day's duty required; 38 and Obed-Edom, and their brethren, sixty-eight; Obed-Edom also, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah as doorkeepers. 39 And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of Jehovah in the high place that was at Gibeon, 40 to offer up burnt-offerings to Jehovah on the altar of burnt-offering continually, morning and evening, and according to all that is written in the law of Jehovah, which he commanded Israel; 41 and with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to Jehovah, because his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever; 42 and with them, [with] Heman and Jeduthun, trumpets and cymbals for those that should sound aloud; and the musical instruments of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were at the gate. 43 And all the people departed every one to his house; and David returned to bless his household.
171 And it came to pass as David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Behold, I dwell in a house of cedars, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah under curtains. 2 And Nathan said to David, Do all that is in thy heart; for God is with thee. 3 And it came to pass that night that the word of God came to Nathan saying, 4 Go and say to David my servant, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in; 5 for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day; but I have been from tent to tent, and from [one] tabernacle [to another]. 6 In all my going about with all Israel, did I speak a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why build ye me not a house of cedars? 7 And now, thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: I took thee from the pasture-grounds, from following the sheep, to be prince over my people Israel; 8 and I have been with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name, like unto the name of the great men that are on the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and be disturbed no more; neither shall the sons of wickedness waste them any more, as formerly, 10 and since the days that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will subdue all thine enemies; and I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house. 11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days are fulfilled that thou must go [to be] with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 It is he who shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne for ever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son; and I will not take away my mercy from him, as I took it from him that was before thee; 14 and I will settle him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for ever. 15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak to David.
16 And king David went in and sat before Jehovah, and said, Who am I, Jehovah Elohim, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 17 And this hath been a small thing in thy sight, O God; and thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the rank of a man of high degree, Jehovah Elohim. 18 What can David [say] more to thee for the glory of thy servant? thou indeed knowest thy servant. 19 Jehovah, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 20 Jehovah, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And who is like thy people Israel, the one nation in the earth that God went to redeem to be a people to himself, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, which thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? 22 And thy people Israel hast thou made thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, art become their God. 23 And now, Jehovah, let the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. 24 Let it even be established, and let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, is God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. 25 For thou, my God, hast revealed to thy servant that thou wilt build him a house; therefore hath thy servant found [in his heart] to pray before thee. 26 And now, Jehovah, thou art that God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant; 27 and now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou, Jehovah, hast blessed [it], and it shall be blessed for ever.
181 And after this it came to pass that David smote the Philistines, and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines. 2 And he smote the Moabites; and the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts. 3 And David smote Hadarezer king of Zobah, at Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates. 4 And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariot [horses], but reserved of them [for] a hundred chariots. 5 And the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, and David smote of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men. 6 And David put [garrisons] in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, [and] brought gifts. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went. 7 And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 And from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, David took very much brass, of which Solomon made the brazen sea, and the pillars, and the vessels of brass.
9 And Tou king of Hamath heard that David had smitten all the forces of Hadarezer king of Zobah; 10 and he sent Hadoram his son to king David to inquire of his welfare, and to congratulate him, because he had fought against Hadarezer and smitten him; for Hadarezer was continually at war with Tou; [he sent] also all manner of vessels of gold and silver and bronze. 11 Them also king David dedicated to Jehovah, with the silver and the gold that he had brought from all the nations: from the Edomites, and from the Moabites, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from the Amalekites. 12 And Abishai the son of Zeruiah smote of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. 13 And he put garrisons in Edom; and all they of Edom became servants to David. And Jehovah preserved David whithersoever he went.
14 And David reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and justice to all his people. 15 And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was chronicler; 16 and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; 17 and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were the first at the king's hand.
28 Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, Ye both know me and ye know whence I am; and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye do not know. 29 I know him, because I am from him, and he has sent me. 30 They sought therefore to take him; and no one laid his hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 But many of the crowd believed on him, and said, Will the Christ, when he comes, do more signs than those which this [man] has done?
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers that they might take him. 33 Jesus therefore said, Yet a little while I am with you, and I go to him that has sent me. 34 Ye shall seek me and shall not find [me], and where I am ye cannot come. 35 The Jews therefore said to one another, Where is he about to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? 36 What word is this which he said, Ye shall seek me and shall not find [me]; and where I am ye cannot come?
37 In the last, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. 38 He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 But this he said concerning the Spirit, which they that believed on him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
40 [Some] out of the crowd therefore, having heard this word, said, This is truly the prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. Others said, Does then the Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes of the seed of David, and from the village of Bethlehem, where David was? 43 There was a division therefore in the crowd on account of him. 44 But some of them desired to take him, but no one laid hands upon him.
45 The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, Why have ye not brought him? 46 The officers answered, Never man spoke thus, as this man [speaks]. 47 The Pharisees therefore answered them, Are ye also deceived? 48 Has any one of the rulers believed on him, or of the Pharisees? 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, are accursed. 50 Nicodemus says to them (being one of themselves), 51 Does our law judge a man before it have first heard from himself, and know what he does? 52 They answered and said to him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, that no prophet arises out of Galilee.
53 And every one went to his home.
(Read John 7:25-30)
Christ proclaimed aloud, that they were in error in their thoughts about his origin. He was sent of God, who showed himself true to his promises. This declaration, that they knew not God, with his claim to peculiar knowledge, provoked the hearers; and they sought to take him, but God can tie men's hands, though he does not turn their hearts.
(Read John 7:31-36)
The discourses of Jesus convinced many that he was the Messiah; but they had not courage to own it. It is comfort to those who are in the world, but not of it, and therefore are hated by it and weary of it, that they shall not be in it always, that they shall not be in it long. Our days being evil, it is well they are few. The days of life and of grace do not last long; and sinners, when in misery, will be glad of the help they now despise. Men dispute about such sayings, but the event will explain them.
(Read John 7:37-39)
On the last day of the feast of tabernacles, the Jews drew water and poured it out before the Lord. It is supposed that Christ alluded to this. If any man desires to be truly and for ever happy, let him apply to Christ, and be ruled by him. This thirst means strong desires after spiritual blessings, which nothing else can satisfy; so the sanctifying and comforting influences of the Holy Spirit, were intended by the waters which Jesus called on them to come to Him and drink. The comfort flows plentifully and constantly as a river; strong as a stream to bear down the opposition of doubts and fears. There is a fulness in Christ, of grace for grace. The Spirit dwelling and working in believers, is as a fountain of living, running water, out of which plentiful streams flow, cooling and cleansing as water. The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit we do not expect, but for his more common and more valuable influences we may apply. These streams have flowed from our glorified Redeemer, down to this age, and to the remote corners of the earth. May we be anxious to make them known to others.
(Read John 7:40-53)
The malice of Christ's enemies is always against reason, and sometimes the staying of it cannot be accounted for. Never any man spake with that wisdom, and power, and grace, that convincing clearness, and that sweetness, wherewith Christ spake. Alas, that many, who are for a time restrained, and who speak highly of the word of Jesus, speedily lose their convictions, and go on in their sins! People are foolishly swayed by outward motives in matters of eternal moment, are willing even to be damned for fashion's sake. As the wisdom of God often chooses things which men despise, so the folly of men commonly despises those whom God has chosen. The Lord brings forward his weak and timid disciples, and sometimes uses them to defeat the designs of his enemies.
