Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8

1 Kings 1

Abishag Cares for David

¹ Now king David was old and advanced in years, and they covered him with clothes, but he could not keep warm. ² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young virgin be sought for my lord the king. Let her stand before the king and cherish him, and let her lie in your bosom so that my lord the king may keep warm.” ³ So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel and found Abishag the Shunammite and brought her to the king. ⁴ The young lady was very beautiful, and she cherished the king and served him, but the king did not know her intimately.

Adonijah Usurps the Kingdom

⁵ Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared chariots for himself and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. ⁶ His father had not rebuked him at any time asking, “Why have you done so?” He was also a very handsome man, and he was born after Absalom. ⁷ He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they followed Adonijah and helped him. ⁸ But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. ⁹ Adonijah killed sheep, cattle, and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En Rogel, and he called all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants; ¹⁰ but he did not call Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the warriors, or his brother Solomon.

Nathan and Bathsheba Before David

¹¹ Then Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Haven’t you heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith is reigning as king, and David our lord doesn’t know of it? ¹² Now therefore come, please let me give you counsel, that you may save your own life, and your son Solomon’s life. ¹³ Go in to king David and tell him, ‘Didn’t you, my lord, king, swear to your servant, saying, “Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?” Why then is Adonijah reigning?’ ¹⁴ And while you are still there talking with the king, I will come after you and confirm your words.”

¹⁵ Bathsheba went in to the king in his room. The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was serving the king. ¹⁶ Bathsheba bowed and showed respect to the king. The king said, “What would you like?”

¹⁷ She said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your servant, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ ¹⁸ And now Adonijah is reigning, and you, my lord the king, don’t know about it. ¹⁹ He has slain cattle and fatlings and sheep in abundance and has called all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the army, but he has not called Solomon your servant. ²⁰ You, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, that you should tell them who will sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. ²¹ Otherwise it will happen, when my lord the king rests with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered criminals.”

²² And while she was still talking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. ²³ They told the king, saying, “Look, Nathan the prophet!”

When he had come in before the king, he bowed before the king with his face to the ground. ²⁴ Nathan said, “My lord, king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne?’ ²⁵ For he has gone down today and has slain cattle, fatlings, and sheep in abundance, and has called all the king’s sons, the captains of the army, and Abiathar the priest. They are eating and drinking before him and saying, ‘Long live king Adonijah!’ ²⁶ But he hasn’t called me, your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. ²⁷ Was this thing done by my lord the king, and you haven’t shown to your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”

David Renews his Oath to Bathsheba

²⁸ Then king David answered, “Call Bathsheba in to me.” She came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. ²⁹ The king swore and said, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, ³⁰ most certainly as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Assuredly Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ I will most certainly do this today.”

³¹ Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground and showed respect to the king and said, “Let my lord king David live forever!”

Solomon Anointed King

³² King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” They came before the king. ³³ The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule and bring him down to Gihon. ³⁴ Let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and say, ‘Long live king Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then come up after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne, for he shall be king in my place. I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah.”

³⁶ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, “Amen. May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, say so. ³⁷ As the Lord has been with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David.”

³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on king David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent and anointed Solomon. They blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “Long live king Solomon!”

⁴⁰ All the people came up after him, and the people played pipes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth shook with their sound.

Adonijah Informed of Solomon’s Kingship

⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they had finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “What is all this noise and uproar in the city?”

⁴² While he was still speaking, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came, and Adonijah said, “Come in, for you are a worthy man and bring good news.”

⁴³ Jonathan answered Adonijah, “Most certainly our lord king David has made Solomon king. ⁴⁴ The king has sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and they have caused him to ride on the king’s mule. ⁴⁵ Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon. They have come up from there rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that you have heard. ⁴⁶ Also, Solomon sits on the throne of the kingdom. ⁴⁷ Moreover the king’s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and make his throne greater than your throne,’ and the king bowed himself on the bed. ⁴⁸ Also, thus said the king, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has given one to sit on my throne today, with my own eyes seeing it.’ ”

⁴⁹ All the guests of Adonijah were afraid and rose up, and each man went his way. ⁵⁰ Adonijah was afraid because of Solomon, and he arose and went and hung onto the horns of the altar. ⁵¹ Solomon was told, “Adonijah fears king Solomon, for look, he is hanging onto the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let king Solomon swear to me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’ ”

⁵² Solomon said, “If he shows himself a worthy man, not a hair of his shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.”

⁵³ So king Solomon sent them to bring him down from the altar. He came and bowed down to king Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

Acts 4

Peter and John Before the Council

¹ As they spoke to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came to them, ² being upset because they taught the people and proclaimed the resurrection from the dead through Jesus. ³ They seized them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was now evening. ⁴ But many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men grew to about 5,000.

⁵ In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest. ⁷ When they had stood Peter and John in the midst of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name have you done this?”

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people and elders of Israel, ⁹ if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, ¹⁰ may it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands here before you whole in him. ¹¹ He is ‘the stone which was declared worthless by you, the builders, which has now become the cornerstone.’ ¹² There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”

Peter and John Threatened, Released

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled. They recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ Seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? Because indeed a notable miracle has been done through them, as can be plainly seen by all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we can’t deny it. ¹⁷ But so that this spreads no further among the people, let’s threaten them, that from now on they don’t speak to anyone in this name.” ¹⁸ They called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves, ²⁰ for we can’t help telling the things which we saw and heard.”

²¹ After they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for everyone glorified God for that which was done. ²² For the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.

The Believers’ Prayer for Boldness

²³ Being let go, they came to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard it, they raised their voice to God with one accord, and said, “O Lord, you are God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them; ²⁵ who by the mouth of your servant, David, said,

‘Why do the nations rage,
and the people plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth take a stand,
and the rulers take council together,
against the Lord, and against his anointed.’ ^a

²⁷ “For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, ²⁸ to do whatever your hand and your council foreordained to happen.

²⁹ Now, Lord, look at their threats and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, ³⁰ while you stretch out your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy Servant Jesus.”

³¹ When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Sharing among Believers

³² The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and mind. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³ With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on all of them. ³⁴ For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,³⁵ and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need. ³⁶ Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, ³⁷ having a field, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

^{a Psalm 2:1-2}

Psalm 124

Our Help is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of Ascents. By David.

¹ If the Lord had not been on our side,
let Israel now say,
² if the Lord had not been on our side,
when men rose up against us,
³ then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their wrath burned against us,
⁴ then the waters would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have gone over us;
⁵ then the proud waters would have overwhelmed us.
⁶ Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
⁷ We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare.
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

Proverbs 16:24

²⁴ Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

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