1 CHRONICLES 15:1-16:36
ROMANS 1:18-32
PSALM 10:1-15
PROVERBS 19:6-7
1 CHRONICLES 15:1-16:36
David now built several buildings for himself in the City of David. He also prepared a place for the Ark of God and set up a special tent there to shelter it. 2 Then he issued these instructions: " When we transport the Ark of God this time, no one except the Levites may carry it. The LORD has chosen them to carry the Ark of the LORD and to minister before him forever." 3 Then David summoned all the Israelites to Jerusalem to bring the Ark of the LORD to the place he had prepared for it. 4 These are the priests and Levites who were called together: 5 There were 120 from the clan of Kohath, with Uriel as their leader. 6 There were 220 from the clan of Merari, with Asaiah as their leader. 7 There were 130 from the clan of Gershon, with Joel as their leader. 8 There were 200 descendants of Elizaphan, with Shemaiah as their leader. 9 There were 80 descendants of Hebron, with Eliel as their leader. 10 There were 112 descendants of Uzziel, with Amminadab as their leader.11 Then David summoned the priests, Zadok and Abiathar, and these Levite leaders: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12 He said to them, " You are the leaders of the Levite families. You must purify yourselves and all your fellow Levites, so you can bring the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. 13 Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the LORD our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it in the proper way." 14 So the priests and the Levites purified themselves in order to bring the Ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to Jerusalem. 15 Then the Levites carried the Ark of God on their shoulders with its carrying poles, just as the LORD had instructed Moses. 16 David also ordered the Levite leaders to appoint a choir of Levites who were singers and musicians to sing joyful songs to the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel, Asaph son of Berekiah, and Ethan son of Kushaiah from the clan of Merari to direct the musicians. 18 The following men were chosen as their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers, Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were chosen to sound the bronze cymbals. 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were chosen to play the lyres. 21 Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were chosen to play the harps. 22 Kenaniah, the head Levite, was chosen as the choir leader because of his skill. 23 Berekiah and Elkanah were chosen to guard the Ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer--all of whom were priests--were chosen to blow the trumpets as they marched in front of the Ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were chosen to guard the Ark. 25 Then David and the leaders of Israel and the generals of the army went to the home of Obed-edom to bring the Ark of the LORD's covenant up to Jerusalem with a great celebration. 26 And because God was clearly helping the Levites as they carried the Ark of the LORD's covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven lambs. 27 David was dressed in a robe of fine linen, as were the Levites who carried the Ark, the singers, and Kenaniah the song leader. David was also wearing a priestly tunic. 28 So all Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD's covenant to Jerusalem with shouts of joy, the blowing of horns and trumpets, the crashing of cymbals, and loud playing on harps and lyres. 29 But as the Ark of the LORD's covenant entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David dancing and leaping for joy, she was filled with contempt for him.16:1 SO they brought the Ark of God into the special tent David had prepared for it, and they sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 When he had finished, David blessed the people in the name of the LORD. 3 Then he gave a gift of food to every man and woman in Israel: a loaf of bread, a cake of dates, and a cake of raisins. 4 David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD by asking for his blessings and giving thanks and praise to the LORD, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. His assistants were Zechariah (the second), then Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres. 6 The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God's covenant. 7 That day David gave to Asaph and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the LORD:8 Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness.
Let the whole world know what he has done.
9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.
Tell everyone about his miracles.
10 Exult in his holy name;
O worshipers of the LORD, rejoice!
11 Search for the LORD and for his strength,
and keep on searching.
12 Think of the wonderful works he has done,
the miracles, and the judgments he handed down,
13 O children of Israel, God's servant,
O descendants of Jacob, God's chosen one.
14 He is the LORD our God.
His rule is seen throughout the land.
15 He always stands by his covenant--
the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
16 This is the covenant he made with Abraham
and the oath he swore to Isaac.
17 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
to the people of Israel as a never-ending treaty:
18 " I will give you the land of Canaan
as your special possession."
19 He said this when they were few in number,
a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
20 They wandered back and forth between nations,
from one kingdom to another.
21 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them.
He warned kings on their behalf:
22 " Do not touch these people I have chosen,
and do not hurt my prophets."
23 Let the whole earth sing to the LORD!
Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.
24 Publish his glorious deeds among the nations.
Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
25 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!
He is to be revered above all gods.
26 The gods of other nations are merely idols,
but the LORD made the heavens!
27 Honor and majesty surround him;
strength and beauty are in his dwelling.
28 O nations of the world, recognize the LORD,
recognize that the LORD is glorious and strong.
29 Give to the LORD the glory he deserves!
Bring your offering and come to worship him.
Worship the LORD in all his holy splendor.
30 Let all the earth tremble before him.
The world is firmly established and cannot be shaken.
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice!
Tell all the nations that the LORD is king.
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise!
Let the fields and their crops burst forth with joy!
33 Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the LORD!
For he is coming to judge the earth.
34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
35 Cry out, " Save us, O God of our salvation!
Gather and rescue us from among the nations,
so we can thank your holy name
and rejoice and praise you."
36 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And all the people shouted " Amen!" and praised the LORD.
ROMANS 1:18-32
But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. 19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. 24 So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. 25 Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.28 When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. 32 They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
PSALM 10:1-15
O LORD, why do you stand so far away?
Why do you hide when I need you the most?
2 Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor.
Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
3 For they brag about their evil desires;
they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.
4 These wicked people are too proud to seek God.
They seem to think that God is dead.
5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.
They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
They pour scorn on all their enemies.
6 They say to themselves, " Nothing bad will ever happen to us!
We will be free of trouble forever!"
7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.
Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8 They lurk in dark alleys,
murdering the innocent who pass by.
They are always searching
for some helpless victim.
9 Like lions they crouch silently,
waiting to pounce on the helpless.
Like hunters they capture their victims
and drag them away in nets.
10 The helpless are overwhelmed and collapse;
they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
11 The wicked say to themselves, " God isn't watching!
He will never notice!"
12 Arise, O LORD!
Punish the wicked, O God!
Do not forget the helpless!
13 Why do the wicked get away with cursing God?
How can they think, " God will never call us to account"?
14 But you do see the trouble and grief they cause.
You take note of it and punish them.
The helpless put their trust in you.
You are the defender of orphans.
15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
Go after them until the last one is destroyed!
PROVERBS 19:6-7
Many beg favors from a prince; everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts! If the relatives of the poor despise them, how much more will their friends avoid them. The poor call after them, but they are gone.
