Old/New Testament
To the director: A song of David.
40 I called[a] to the Lord, and he heard me.
He heard my cries.
2 He lifted me out of the grave.[b]
He lifted me from that muddy place.[c]
He picked me up, put me on solid ground,
and kept my feet from slipping.
3 He put a new song[d] in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see what he did and worship him.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
4 Great blessings belong to those who trust in the Lord,
for those who do not turn to demons and false gods[e] for help.
5 Lord my God, you have done many amazing things!
You have made great plans for us—too many to list.
I could talk on and on about them,
because there are too many to count.
6 Lord, you made me understand this:[f]
You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings.
You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 So I said, “Here I am,
ready to do what was written about me in the book.
8 My God, I am happy to do whatever you want.
I never stop thinking about your teachings.”
9 I told the good news of victory[g] to the people in the great assembly.
And, Lord, you know that I will never stop telling that good news.
10 I told about the good things you did.
I did not hide these things in my heart.
I spoke of how you can be trusted to save us.
I did not hide your love and loyalty from those in the great assembly.
11 Lord, do not hide your mercy from me.
Let your love and loyalty always protect me.
12 Troubles have surrounded me.
They are too many to count!
My sins have caught me,
and I cannot escape them.
They are more than the hairs on my head.
I have lost my courage.
13 Please, Lord, rescue me!
Lord, hurry and help me!
14 People are trying to kill me.
Please disappoint them.
Humiliate them completely!
They wanted to hurt me.
Make them run away in shame!
15 May those who make fun of me
be too embarrassed to speak!
16 But may those who come to you be happy and rejoice.
May those who love being saved by you always be able to say, “Praise the Lord!”[h]
17 My Lord, I am only a poor, helpless man,
but please pay attention to me.
You are my helper, the one who can save me.
My God, don’t be too late.
To the director: A song of David.
41 Those who help the poor succeed will get many blessings.[i]
When trouble comes, the Lord will save them.
2 The Lord will protect them and save their lives.
He will bless them in this land.
He will not let their enemies harm them.
3 When they are sick in bed,
the Lord will give them strength and make them well!
4 I say, “Lord, be kind to me.
I sinned against you, but forgive me and make me well.”
5 My enemies say bad things about me.
They ask, “When will he die and be forgotten?”
6 If they come to see me,
they don’t say what they are really thinking.
They come to gather a little gossip
and then go to spread their rumors.
7 Those who hate me whisper about me.
They think the worst about me.
8 They say, “He did something wrong.
That is why he is sick.
He will never get well.”
9 My best friend, the one I trusted,
the one who ate with me—even he has turned against me.
10 Lord, please be kind to me.
Let me get up, and I will pay them back.
11 Don’t let my enemy defeat me.
Then I will know that you care for me.
12 I was innocent and you supported me.
You let me stand and serve you forever.
13 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
He always was, and he always will be.
Amen and Amen!
Book 2
(Psalms 42-72)
To the director: A maskil from the Korah family.
42 Like a deer drinking from a stream,
I reach out to you, my God.[j]
2 My soul thirsts for the living God.
When can I go to meet with him?
3 Instead of food, I have only tears day and night,
as my enemies laugh at me and say, “Where is your God?”
4 My heart breaks as I remember the pleasant times in the past,
when I walked with the crowds as I led them up to God’s Temple.
I remember the happy songs of praise
as they celebrated the festival.
5-6 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again be able to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
In my sadness I say, “I will remember you from here on this small hill,[k]
where Mount Hermon and the Jordan River meet.”
7 I hear the roar of the water coming from deep within the earth.
It shouts to the water below as it tumbles down the waterfall.
God, your waves come one after another,
crashing all around and over me.[l]
8 By day the Lord shows his faithful love,
and at night I have a song for him—a prayer for the God of my life.[m]
9 I say to God, my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I suffer this sadness that my enemies have brought me?”
10 Their constant insults are killing me.
They never stop asking, “Where is your God?”
11 Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I tell myself, “Wait for God’s help!
You will again be able to praise him,
your God, the one who will save you.”
Paul Sails for Rome
27 It was decided that we would sail for Italy. An army officer named Julius, who served in the emperor’s special army, was put in charge of guarding Paul and some other prisoners on the trip. 2 We got on a ship from the city of Adramyttium that was ready to sail to different places in Asia. Aristarchus, a man from Thessalonica in Macedonia, went with us.
3 The next day we came to the city of Sidon. Julius was very good to Paul and gave him freedom to go visit his friends there, who gave him whatever he needed. 4 We left that city and sailed close to the island of Cyprus because the wind was blowing against us. 5 We went across the sea by Cilicia and Pamphylia. Then we came to the city of Myra in Lycia. 6 There the army officer found a ship from the city of Alexandria that was going to Italy. So he put us on it.
7 We sailed slowly for many days. It was hard for us to reach the city of Cnidus because the wind was blowing against us. We could not go any farther that way, so we sailed by the south side of the island of Crete near Salmone. 8 We sailed along the coast, but the sailing was hard. Then we came to a place called Safe Harbors, near the city of Lasea.
9 We had lost much time, and it was now dangerous to sail, because it was already after the Jewish day of fasting.[a] So Paul warned them, 10 “Men, I can see that there will be a lot of trouble on this trip. The ship, everything in it, and even our lives may be lost!” 11 But the captain and the owner of the ship did not agree with Paul. So the army officer accepted what they said instead of believing Paul. 12 Also, that harbor was not a good place for the ship to stay for the winter, so most of the men decided that we should leave there. They hoped we could reach Phoenix, where the ship could stay for the winter. Phoenix was a city on the island of Crete. It had a harbor that faced southwest and northwest.
The Storm
13 Then a good wind began to blow from the south. The men on the ship thought, “This is the wind we wanted, and now we have it!” So they pulled up the anchor. We sailed very close to the island of Crete. 14 But then a very strong wind called the “Northeaster” came from across the island. 15 This wind took the ship and carried it away. The ship could not sail against the wind, so we stopped trying and let the wind blow us.
16 We went below a small island named Cauda. With the island protecting us from the wind, we were able to bring in the lifeboat, but it was very hard to do. 17 After the men brought the lifeboat in, they tied ropes around the ship to hold it together. The men were afraid that the ship would hit the sandbanks of Syrtis. So they lowered the sail and let the wind carry the ship.
18 The next day the storm was blowing against us so hard that the men threw some things out of the ship.[b] 19 A day later they threw out the ship’s equipment. 20 For many days we could not see the sun or the stars. The storm was very bad. We lost all hope of staying alive—we thought we would die.
21 The men did not eat for a long time. Then one day Paul stood up before them and said, “Men, I told you not to leave Crete. You should have listened to me. Then you would not have all this trouble and loss. 22 But now I tell you to be happy. None of you will die, but the ship will be lost. 23 Last night an angel came to me from God—the God I worship and belong to. 24 The angel said, ‘Paul, don’t be afraid! You must stand before Caesar. And God has given you this promise: He will save the lives of all those sailing with you.’ 25 So men, there is nothing to worry about. I trust God, and I am sure everything will happen just as his angel told me. 26 But we will crash on an island.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International