Old/New Testament
Psalm 18
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul.(A) He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,(B)
my God, my rock where I seek refuge,
my shield(C) and the horn of my salvation,(D)
my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,(E)
and I was saved from my enemies.(F)
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.(G)
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.(H)
6 I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,(I)
and my cry to him reached his ears.(J)
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;(K)
they shook because he burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.[a](L)
9 He bent the heavens and came down,(M)
total darkness beneath his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.(N)
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
dark storm clouds his canopy around him.(O)
12 From the radiance of his presence,(P)
his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from[b] heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.[c](Q)
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
he hurled[d] lightning bolts and routed them.(R)
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.(S)
16 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.(T)
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.(U)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.(V)
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;(W)
he rescued me because he delighted in me.(X)
20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;(Y)
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.(Z)
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.(AA)
22 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me[e]
and have not disregarded his statutes.(AB)
23 I was blameless toward him(AC)
and kept myself from my iniquity.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,(AD)
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.(AE)
25 With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
26 with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.(AF)
27 For you rescue an oppressed people,(AG)
but you humble those with haughty eyes.(AH)
28 Lord, you light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.(AI)
29 With you I can attack a barricade,[f]
and with my God I can leap over a wall.(AJ)
30 God—his way is perfect;(AK)
the word of the Lord is pure.(AL)
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.(AM)
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(AN)
And who is a rock? Only our God.(AO)
32 God—he clothes me with strength(AP)
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer(AQ)
and sets me securely on the heights.[g](AR)
34 He trains my hands for war;(AS)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.(AT)
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your right hand upholds me,(AU)
and your humility exalts me.
36 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,(AV)
and my ankles do not give way.(AW)
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.(AX)
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.(AY)
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;(AZ)
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.(BA)
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;[h](BB)
I annihilate those who hate me.(BC)
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them(BD)—
they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them.(BE)
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;(BF)
I trample them[i] like mud in the streets.(BG)
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
you have appointed me the head of nations;(BH)
a people I had not known serve me.(BI)
44 Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear they obey me.(BJ)
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.(BK)
46 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!
The God of my salvation is exalted.(BL)
47 God—he grants me vengeance(BM)
and subdues peoples under me.(BN)
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.(BO)
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.(BP)
50 He gives great victories to his king;(BQ)
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.(BR)
Psalm 19
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse(BS) proclaims the work of his hands.(BT)
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.[j]
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message[k] has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.(BU)
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.(BV)
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;(BW)
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;(BX)
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.(BY)
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;(BZ)
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.(CA)
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;(CB)
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.(CC)
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;(CD)
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.(CE)
11 In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.(CF)
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.(CG)
13 Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;(CH)
do not let them rule me.(CI)
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.(CJ)
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,(CK)
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.(CL)
Farewell Address to the Ephesian Elders
17 Now from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church. 18 When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,(A) 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with tears, and during the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.(B) 20 You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house. 21 I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God(C) and faith in our Lord Jesus.(D)
22 “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit,[a] not knowing what I will encounter there,(E) 23 except that in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.(F) 24 But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course[b] and the ministry(G) I received from the Lord Jesus,(H) to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again. 26 Therefore I declare to you this day that I am innocent[c] of the blood of all of you,(I) 27 because I did not avoid declaring to you the whole plan of God.(J) 28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock(K) of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers,(L) to shepherd the church of God,[d] which he purchased with his own blood.(M) 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them.(N) 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.(O)
32 “And now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace,(P) which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance(Q) among all who are sanctified. 33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.(R) 34 You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who are with me.(S) 35 In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
36 After he said this, he knelt down and prayed with all of them.(T) 37 There were many tears shed by everyone. They embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 grieving most of all over his statement that they would never see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.(U)
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