Bring my soul out of prison,-that I may praise thy name: The righteous shall compass me about ;-for thou shalt deal bountifully with me. PROMISE-Ps. lxxi. 20, 21; Isa. xli. 10; xliii. 2. Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, And shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness,-and comfort me on every side. Fear thou not; for I am with thee :-be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. Enquiring of the Lord. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.-John vii. 17. Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. -1 John ii. 20. 1 SAM. xxiii. 1. They told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the thrashing-floors. Therefore David enquired of the Lord, saying, PRAYER-v. 2. SHALL I go and smite these Philistines? ANSWER-v. 2, 9. And the Lord said unto David, Go and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod. Then said David, PRAYER-v. 10. LORD GOD of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to . destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. ANSWER-v. 11. And the Lord said, He will come down. Then said David, PRAYER-v. 12. WILL the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? ANSWER-v. 12, 13. And the Lord said, They will deliver thee up. Then David and his men, which were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah. 1 SAM. XXX. 1, 8. It came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burnt it with fire; . . . . And David enquired at the Lord, saying, PRAYER-v. 8. HALL I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? ANSWER. And he answered him, Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all. 2 SAM. ii. 1. David enquired of the Lord, saying, PRAYER. SHALL I go up into any of the cities of Judah ? ANSWER. And the Lord said unto him, Go up. And David So David went up And he said, Unto Hebron. thither,. . . . and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. 2 SAM. v. 19. David enquired of the Lord, saying, PRAYER. SHALL I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? ANSWER. And the Lord said unto David, Go up; for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand. PROMISE-Ps. xxxvii. 34; Prov. iii. 5, 6. Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;-and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,—and he shall direct thy paths. On receiving God's Promise. We declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.-Acts xiii. 32, 33. 1 CHRON. xvii. 16. David the king came and sat before the Lord, and said, PRAYER-v. 16-27. WHO HO am I, O Lord God, and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me according to the estate What can of a man of high degree, O Lord God. David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant. O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God. Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be established for ever, and do as thou hast said. Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee. For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee. And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever. ANSWER-ACTS xiii. 23. Of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus. |