Old/New Testament

Song of Thanks for Being Kept Safe

18 I love You, O Lord, my strength. ² The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock, in Whom I am safe. He is my safe-covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower. ³ I call to the Lord, Who has the right to be praised. And I am saved from those who hate me.

⁴ The ropes of death were all around me. The floods of death make me afraid. ⁵ The ropes of the grave were all around me. The traps of death were set for me. ⁶ I called to the Lord in my trouble. I cried to God for help. He heard my voice from His holy house. My cry for help came into His ears.

⁷ Then the earth shook. The mountains were shaking. They shook because He was angry. ⁸ Smoke went out from His nose and the fire that kept coming from His mouth burned everything around it. ⁹ He parted the heavens and came down. Dark clouds were under His feet. ¹⁰ He sat upon a cherub and flew. He traveled on the wings of the wind. ¹¹ He made darkness His hiding place, the covering around Him, the dark rain clouds of the sky. ¹² Through the light before Him passed His dark clouds, hail stones and fire. ¹³ The Lord made thunder in the heavens. The voice of the Most High spoke out, hail stones and fire. ¹⁴ He sent out His arrows and divided them. He threw down lightning and sent them running. ¹⁵ Then the deep part of the sea could be seen. And the deep part of the earth was opened up, because of Your sharp words, O Lord, because of the powerful breath from Your nose.

¹⁶ He sent from above, and took me. He lifted me out of many waters. ¹⁷ He took me away from the powerful one who fights against me, and from those who hated me. They were too strong for me. ¹⁸ They stood against me in the day of my trouble. But the Lord was my strength. ¹⁹ He brought me out into a big place. He gave me a safe place, because He was pleased with me.

²⁰ The Lord has paid me because of my being right with Him. Because of my clean hands He has paid me. ²¹ For I have kept the ways of the Lord. And I have not sinned by turning from my God. ²² All His Laws are in front of me. I have not set His Laws aside. ²³ Before Him I was without blame. And I have kept myself from sin. ²⁴ So the Lord has paid me back for being right with Him, and for my hands being clean in His eyes.

²⁵ To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful. To those without blame, You show Yourself without blame. ²⁶ With the pure, You show Yourself pure. With the sinful You show Yourself to be against them. ²⁷ You save those who are suffering, but You bring low those who have pride in their eyes. ²⁸ You make my lamp bright. The Lord my God lights my darkness. ²⁹ With Your help I can go against many soldiers. With my God I can jump over a wall.

³⁰ As for God, His way is perfect. The Word of the Lord has stood the test. He is a covering for all who go to Him for a safe place. ³¹ For Who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? ³² It is God Who covers me with strength and makes my way perfect. ³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. And He sets me on my high places. ³⁴ He teaches me how to fight, so that I can use a bow of brass. ³⁵ You have also given me the covering that saves me. Your right hand holds me up. And Your care has made me great. ³⁶ You make the road wide for my steps, and my feet have not tripped.

³⁷ I went after those who fight against me, and caught them. And I did not return until they were destroyed. ³⁸ I hit them so they were not able to rise. They fell under my feet. ³⁹ You have given me strength for war. You have put under me those who have fought against me. ⁴⁰ You have made them turn their backs to me also. And I destroyed those who hated me. ⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was no one to save. They cried to the Lord, but He did not answer them. ⁴² Then I beat them as small as the dust in the wind. I emptied them out like mud in the streets.

⁴³ You have taken me away from the fighting of the people. You have made me the leader of nations. People whom I have not known will serve me. ⁴⁴ As soon as they hear, they obey me. Those from other lands obey me. ⁴⁵ These people from other lands lose their strength of heart. And they come shaking from behind their walls. ⁴⁶ The Lord lives! How great is my Rock! Praise be to the God Who saves me! ⁴⁷ He is the God Who punishes those who have done wrong to me. He puts nations under my rule. ⁴⁸ He saves me from those who hate me. Yes, You lift me above those who rise up against me. You save me from those who want to hurt me. ⁴⁹ So I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord. And I will sing praises to Your name. ⁵⁰ He gives His king great power over trouble. And He shows loving-kindness to His chosen one, to David, and to his children after him forever.

The Works and the Word of God

19 The heavens are telling of the greatness of God and the great open spaces above show the work of His hands. ² Day to day they speak. And night to night they show much learning. ³ There is no speaking and no words where their voice is not heard. ⁴ Their sound has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun. ⁵ It is as a man soon to be married coming out of his room and as a strong man who is happy to run his race. ⁶ Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and it makes its way to the other end. Nothing is hidden from its heat.

⁷ The Law of the Lord is perfect, giving new strength to the soul. The Law He has made known is sure, making the child-like wise. ⁸ The Laws of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The Word of the Lord is pure, giving light to the eyes. ⁹ The fear of the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The Lord is always true and right in how He judges. ¹⁰ The Word of the Lord is worth more than gold, even more than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey straight from the comb. ¹¹ And by them Your servant is told to be careful. In obeying them there is great reward.

¹² Who can see his own mistakes? Forgive my sins that I do not see. ¹³ And keep Your servant from sinning by going my own way. Do not let these sins rule over me. Then I will be without blame. And I will not be found guilty of big sins. ¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in Your eyes, O Lord, my Rock and the One Who saves me.

Paul Meets with the Leaders of the Church of Ephesus

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent word to Ephesus. He asked the leaders of the church to come to him. ¹⁸ When they got there, he said to them, “From the first day that I came to Asia you have seen what my life has been like. ¹⁹ I worked for the Lord without pride. Because of the trouble the Jews gave me, I have had many tears. ²⁰ I always told you everything that would be a help to you. I taught you in open meetings and from house to house. ²¹ I preached to the Jews and to the Greeks. I told them to turn from their sin to God and to put their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²² “As you see, I am on my way to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit makes me go. I do not know what will happen to me there. ²³ But in every city I have been, the Holy Spirit tells me that trouble and chains will be waiting for me there. ²⁴ But I am not worried about this. I do not think of my life as worth much, but I do want to finish the work the Lord Jesus gave me to do. My work is to preach the Good News of God’s loving-favor.

²⁵ “All of you have heard me preach the Good News. I am sure that none of you will ever see my face again. ²⁶ I tell you this day that I am clean and free from the blood of all men. ²⁷ I told you all the truth about God. ²⁸ Keep a careful watch over yourselves and over the church. The Holy Spirit has made you its leaders. Feed and care for the church of God. He bought it with His own blood.

²⁹ “Yes, I know that when I am gone, hungry wolves will come in among you. They will try to destroy the church. ³⁰ Also men from your own group will begin to teach things that are not true. They will get men to follow them. ³¹ I say again, keep watching! Remember that for three years I taught everyone of you night and day, even with tears.

³² “And now, my brothers, I give you over to God and to the word of His love. It is able to make you strong and to give you what you are to have, along with all those who are set apart for God. ³³ I have not tried to get anyone’s money or clothes. ³⁴ You all know that these hands worked for what I needed and for what those with me needed. ³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we can help those who are weak. We must remember what the Lord Jesus said, ‘We are more happy when we give than when we receive.’ ”

³⁶ As he finished talking, he got down on his knees and prayed with them all. ³⁷ They cried and put their arms around Paul and kissed him. ³⁸ What made them sad most of all was he said that they would never see his face again. Then they went with him to the ship.