A reading from 1 Samuel. As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy and with musical instruments, and the women sang to one another as they celebrated. Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, they have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands. And what more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day on. The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the Lear, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand, and Saul hurled the spear for he thought, I will pin David to the wall, but David evaded him twice. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul, so Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand, and he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him, and when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fear for all of him, but all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. Then Saul said to David, here is my elder daughter, Myra, I will give her to you for a wife, only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul thought, let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him. And David said to Saul, Who am I, and who are my relatives, my fathers clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? But at the time when Myra, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel, the meholothite for a wife. Now Saul's daughter, Michael, loved David, and they told Saul and the thing pleased him. Saul thought, let me give her to him, that she may be a snare for him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David a second time, You shall now be my son-in-law. And Saul commanded his servants, speak to David in private and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law. And Saul's servant spoke those words in the ears of David, and David said, Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation? And the servants of Saul told him, Thus and so did David speak. Then Saul said, Thus shall you say to David, The king desires no bride-price except a hundred foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines, and when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had expired, David arose and went along with his men and killed two hundred of the Philistines, and David brought their foreskins which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter, Michael, for a wife. But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michael Saul's daughter loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David, so Saul was David's enemy continually. Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed. And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David, and Jonathan told David, Saul, my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself, and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you, and if I learn anything, I will tell you. And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have wrought good to you, for he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause? And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things, and Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. And there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the Lear. Saul sought to pin David to the wall with a spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled and escaped that night. Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning, but Michael, David's wife, told him, If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed, so Michael let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped. Michael took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goat's hair at its head and covered it with the clothes, and when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. Then Saul sent the messengers to see David saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him. And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed with a pillow of goat's hair at its head, Saul said to Michael, Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped? And Michael answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go, why should I kill you? Now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel and Reema, and told him all that Saul had done to him, and he and Samuel went and lived at Naoth, and it was told Saul, David is at Naoth and Reema. Then Saul sent messengers to take David, and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Reema and came to the great well that is in Siku, and he asked, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naoth and Reema, and he went there to Naoth and Reema, and the spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied until he came to Naoth and Reema. And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night, thus it is said, is Saul also among the prophets. A reading from the book of Psalms. A reading from the book of 2 Corinthians. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel to you? Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you, in all things. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you, and when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need, so I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do. And what I am doing, I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission, they work on the same terms as we do, for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. I repeat, let no one think me foolish, but even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would, but as a fool, since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast, for you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves, for you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on heirs or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I am talking like a bad man, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea, on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, dangers from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Eridus was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. I must go on boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. And he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man, I will boast, but on my own behalf, I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth, but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times, I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me, but He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong. I have been a fool, you forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works, for in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong. Here, for the third time, I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours, but you, for children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less, but granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus to go and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ and all for your upbuilding beloved, for I fear that perhaps when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish, that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and so forth. Gossip, conceit, and disorder. I fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced. This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warned them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not spare them, since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you, for he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God, for we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you, we will live with him by the power of God. Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith, test yourselves, or do you not realize this about yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you fail to meet the test. I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test, but we pray to God that you may not do wrong. Not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth, for we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For there's reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally, brothers, rejoice, aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss, all the saints greet you, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Be with you all.
