10 He found him in a desolate land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, cared for him, and protected him as the pupil of His eye.
11 He watches over His nest like an eagle and hovers over His young; He spreads His wings, catches him, and lifts him up on His pinions.
12 The LORD alone led him, with no help from a foreign god.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Deuteronomy 32:10–12.
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), 1 Samuel 16:14–23.
1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: But a just weight is his delight.
2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: But with the lowly is wisdom.
3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: But the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: But righteousness delivereth from death.
5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: But transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: And the hope of unjust men perisheth.
8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
9 An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: But through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: And when the wicked perish, there is shouting.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.
12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: But a man of understanding holdeth his peace.
13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: But in the multitude of counsellers there is safety.
15 He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: And he that hateth suretiship is sure.
16 A gracious woman retaineth honour: And strong men retain riches.
17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: But to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
19 As righteousness tendeth to life: So he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
20 They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: But such as are upright in their way are his delight.
21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: But the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.
22 As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good: But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself.
26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: But blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.
27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: But he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: But the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: Much more the wicked and the sinner.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Proverbs 11:1–31.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Matthew 28:18.
1 therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ephesians 4:1–3.
7 But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.
8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ the righteousness from God based on faith.
10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
11 assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
Reaching Forward to God’s Goal
12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,
14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you.
16 In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Philippians 3:7–16.