Morning Devotion

A Miktam of David.
¹ Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
² I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
³ As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
⁴ The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
⁵ The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
⁶ The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
⁷ I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
⁸ I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (ESV)

¹ Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
² The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
⁴ He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
⁶ The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.
⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!
⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹ He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.
¹⁰ His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
¹¹ but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
¹² Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!
¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you.
¹⁴ He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat.
¹⁵ He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
¹⁶ He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.
¹⁷ He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸ He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
¹⁹ He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel.
²⁰ He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD! (ESV)

¹ You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
² “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
⁴ And you will say in that day: “Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵ “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
⁶ Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.” (ESV)

⁹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
¹⁰ “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
¹¹ then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
¹² The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
¹³ And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
¹⁴ You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
¹⁵ These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.
¹⁶ “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
¹⁷ And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
¹⁸ Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.
¹⁹ The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
²⁰ And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,
²¹ or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
²² “But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait
²³ or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,
²⁴ then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
²⁵ And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
²⁶ But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled,
²⁷ and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood.
²⁸ For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
²⁹ And these things shall be for a statute and rule for you throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
³⁰ “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. (ESV)

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther,
²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
³⁶ As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
³⁷ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
³⁸ And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
³⁹ See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
⁴⁰ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
⁴¹ And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
⁴³ and he took it and ate before them.
⁴⁴ Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
⁴⁶ and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
⁴⁷ and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.
⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God. (ESV)

¹ And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David.
² And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself.
³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.”
⁴ And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.
⁵ For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?”
⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”
⁷ And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
⁸ And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him.
⁹ Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
¹⁰ And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
¹¹ Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”
¹² So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
¹³ Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.
¹⁴ And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”
¹⁵ Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.”
¹⁶ And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head.
¹⁷ Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go. Why should I kill you?’”
¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth.
¹⁹ And it was told Saul, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”
²⁰ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
²¹ When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.
²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And one said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
²³ And he went there to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
²⁴ And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹ Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
² And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.”
³ But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening.
⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’
⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him.
⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
⁹ And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?”
¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?”
¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
¹² And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?
¹³ But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father.
¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die;
¹⁵ and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
¹⁶ And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.”
¹⁷ And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
¹⁹ On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.
²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
²¹ And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
²² But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away.
²³ And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.”
²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.
²⁵ The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty.
²⁶ Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”
²⁷ But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
²⁹ He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
³⁰ Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
³² Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”
³³ But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.
³⁴ And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy.
³⁶ And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
³⁷ And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
³⁸ And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
³⁹ But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
⁴⁰ And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.”
⁴¹ And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.
⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. (ESV)

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.
¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.
²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (ESV)

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished;
¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
¹¹ The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host:
¹² “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil—
¹³ though you men lie among the sheepfolds— the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold.
¹⁴ When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon. (ESV)