January 9, 2010 (2 Samuel 10, I Chronicles 19, Psalm 20, 65-67, 69)

It's important to surround yourself with wise and godly people and to be careful who you take counsel from. The Ammonites had been good to David, and when their king died, he sent people to express sympathy to the king's son. You can see what happened below:

2 Samuel 10

¹ Some time after this, King Nahash of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king. ² David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

So, you can imagine how this ended. Hanun mobilized others to help him and David mobilized the entire Israelite army to fight him. Joab went into battle with these words:

¹² Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”

And God brought them the victory.

Psalm 20

¹ In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
² May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
³ May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

⁴ May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
⁵ May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
He will answer him from his holy heaven
and rescue him by his great power.
⁷ Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ Those nations will fall down and collapse,
but we will rise up and stand firm.

⁹ Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help.

Psalm 66

⁵ Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
⁶ He made a dry path through the Red Sea,^a]">[a]
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
⁷ For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance.
Interlude

⁸ Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
⁹ Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
¹⁰ You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
¹⁷ For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
¹⁸ If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
²⁰ Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

Psalm 69

¹³ But I keep praying to you, Lord,
hoping this time you will show me favor.
In your unfailing love, O God,
answer my prayer with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mud;
don’t let me sink any deeper!
Save me from those who hate me,
and pull me from these deep waters.
¹⁵ Don’t let the floods overwhelm me,
or the deep waters swallow me,
or the pit of death devour me.

¹⁶ Answer my prayers, O Lord,
for your unfailing love is wonderful.
Take care of me,
for your mercy is so plentiful.
¹⁷ Don’t hide from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in deep trouble!
¹⁸ Come and redeem me;
free me from my enemies.

³⁰ Then I will praise God’s name with singing,
and I will honor him with thanksgiving.
³¹ For this will please the Lord more than sacrificing cattle,
more than presenting a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The humble will see their God at work and be glad.
Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
³³ For the Lord hears the cries of the needy;
he does not despise his imprisoned people.