Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 01 June 2018

Another weird day.  Even from the start.  I had a song in mind through half the night, even when I was crawling out of bed.  Then it vanished, and I can't get it back. It meant a great deal to me in that odd region my sleep often takes me.  Now?  I have no idea what is going on.

But I do have another.  Some of us truly like Southern gospel music.  Vince Gill wrote this after his own brother passed.  Be a good one for some funerals.  Go Rest High On That Mountain.  Sing along with it.

Wife and I are both a bit under the weather.  Got some stuff done, surely, but am anything but 100 per cent "on".  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.

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1st Kings 9

1  And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,

2  That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

3  And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

4  And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

5  Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

6  But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

7  Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

8  And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house?

9  And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.

10  And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king's house,

11  (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12  And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.

13  And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.

14  And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

15  And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

16  For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.

17  And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth–horon the nether,

18  And Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land,

19  And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

20  And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

21  Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

22   But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

23  These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24  But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

25  And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.

26  And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion–geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom

27  And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.

28  And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

1st Kings 10

1  And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.

2  And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

3  And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.

4  And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,

5  And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.

6  And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.

7  Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.

8  Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.

9  Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.

10  And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.

11  And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.

12  And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.

13  And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.

14  Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,

15  Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.

16  And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.

17  And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.

18  Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

19  The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.

20  And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.

21  And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.

22  For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.

23  So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.

24  And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.

25  And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.

26  And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.

27  And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

28  And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.

29  And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.

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Psalm 110

A Psalm of David.

 

1  The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2  The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.

3  Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

4  The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

5  The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

6  He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

7  He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.

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Acts 21

1  And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara:

2  And finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and set forth.

3  Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

4  And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days: who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem.

5  And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.

6  And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took ship; and they returned home again.

7  And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day.

8  And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

9  And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

10  And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

11  And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

12  And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13  Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

14  And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

15  And after those days we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.

16  There went with us also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

17  And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

18  And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

19  And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:

21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

25  As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.

26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

27  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,

28  Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.

29  (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

30  And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

31  And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

32  Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.

33  Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.

34  And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.

35  And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people.

36  For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

37  And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?

38  Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?

39  But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

40  And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,