Night Watch Devotion

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
³ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
⁹ Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge—
¹⁰ no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
¹⁴ “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
¹⁵ When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (ESV)

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
¹ Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
² Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,
³ who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows,
⁴ shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?”
⁶ They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
⁷ But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly.
⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads.
⁹ Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done.
¹⁰ Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult! (ESV)

¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” (ESV)

²⁰ And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.
²¹ And Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.
²² And David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and greeted his brothers.
²³ As he talked with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
²⁴ All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.
²⁵ And the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. And 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 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall 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 defy the armies of the living God?”
²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, “So shall it be done to the man who kills him.”
²⁸ Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled 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 presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
²⁹ And David said, “What have I done now? Was it not but a word?”
³⁰ And he turned away from him toward another, and spoke in the same way, and the people answered him again as before.
³¹ When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him.
³² And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
³³ And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”
³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock,
³⁵ I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.
³⁶ Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied 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 will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
³⁸ Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail,
³⁹ and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off.
⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
⁴¹ And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.
⁴² And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.
⁴³ And 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 said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with 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 defied.
⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to 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 saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” (ESV)

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?”
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.”
¹ And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius.
² And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.
³ The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.
⁴ And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.
⁵ And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
⁶ There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board.
⁷ We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.
⁸ Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. (ESV)

²³ These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the LORD.
²⁴ The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops.
²⁵ Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100.
²⁶ Of the Levites 4,600.
²⁷ The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700.
²⁸ Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers’ house.
²⁹ Of the Benjaminites, the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul.
³⁰ Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers’ houses.
³¹ Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were expressly named to come and make David king.
³² Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command.
³³ Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David with singleness of purpose.
³⁴ Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear.
³⁵ Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle.
³⁶ Of Asher 40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle.
³⁷ Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war.
³⁸ All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king.
³⁹ And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them.
⁴⁰ And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel.

¹ David consulted with the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with every leader.
² And David said to all the assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and from the LORD our God, let us send abroad to our brothers who remain in all the lands of Israel, as well as to the priests and Levites in the cities that have pasturelands, that they may be gathered to us.
³ Then let us bring again the ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.”
⁴ All the assembly agreed to do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people.
⁵ So David assembled all Israel from the Nile of Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
⁶ And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim that belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the LORD who sits enthroned above the cherubim.
⁷ And they carried the ark of God on a new cart, from the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio were driving the cart.
⁸ And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.
⁹ And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled.
¹⁰ And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he put out his hand to the ark, and he died there before God.
¹¹ And David was angry because the LORD had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzza to this day.
¹² And David was afraid of God that day, and he said, “How can I bring the ark of God home to me?”
¹³ So David did not take the ark home into the city of David, but took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.
¹⁴ And the ark of God remained with the household of Obed-edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that he had.

¹ And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him.
² And David knew that the LORD had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted for the sake of his people Israel.
³ And David took more wives in Jerusalem, and David fathered more sons and daughters.
⁴ These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon,
⁵ Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet,
⁶ Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia,
⁷ Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.
⁸ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. But David heard of it and went out against them.
⁹ Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the Valley of Rephaim.
¹⁰ And David inquired of God, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you give them into my hand?” And the LORD said to him, “Go up, and I will give them into your hand.”
¹¹ And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood.” Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.
¹² And they left their gods there, and David gave command, and they were burned.
¹³ And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley.
¹⁴ And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees.
¹⁵ And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.”
¹⁶ And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.
¹⁷ And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations. (ESV)

¹⁴ I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
¹⁵ But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God
¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
¹⁸ For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
²⁰ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation,
²¹ but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
²² This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.
²³ But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you,
²⁴ I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.
²⁵ At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.
²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.
²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.
³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,
³¹ that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,
³² so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
³³ May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. (ESV)

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³ You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (ESV)