Study Desk

But in my distress I cried out to the Lord ; yes, I cried to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry reached his ears.

He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

The Lord rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord ; I have not turned from my God to follow evil.

The Lord rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence.

"God's way is perfect. All the Lord 's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

For who is God except the Lord ? Who but our God is a solid rock?

He trains my hands for battle; he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.

You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.

You have armed me with strength for the battle; you have subdued my enemies under my feet.

They looked for help, but no one came to their rescue. They even cried to the Lord , but he refused to answer.

For this, O Lord , I will praise you among the nations; I will sing praises to your name.

But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, for they tear the hand that touches them.

Having gone through the entire land for nine months and twenty days, they returned to Jerusalem.

But after he had taken the census, David's conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord , "I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord , for doing this foolish thing."

"I'm in a desperate situation!" David replied to Gad. "But let us fall into the hands of the Lord , for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands."

So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days. A total of 70,000 people died throughout the nation, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south.

"Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish," Araunah said to David. "Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and you can use the threshing boards and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar.

But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on buying it, for I will not present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing." So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen.

David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.