Old/New Testament
Psalm 18[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Help
1 For the director.[b] Of David, the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song after the Lord had rescued him from the clutches of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength,
3 O Lord, my rock,[c] my fortress, my deliverer.
My God is my rock in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy of all praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 The cords of death encompassed me,
and the torrents of destruction assailed me.
6 The cords of the netherworld ensnared me,
and the snares of death[d] rose up before me.
7 In my anguish I cried out to the Lord
and called to my God for help.
From his temple[e] he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
8 [f]The earth swayed and rocked;
the foundations of the mountains shook,
rocking because of his blazing anger.
9 Smoke poured forth from his nostrils,
while a scorching fire blazed out of his mouth
and kindled coals into flame.
10 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds lay under his feet.
11 He rode upon a cherub,[g]
soaring swiftly on the wings of the wind.
12 He used the darkness as his covering,
and dense thunderclouds as his canopy.
13 From the radiance before him thick clouds emerged,
spewing hail and flashes of fire.
14 The Lord thundered from the heavens,
and the Most High let his voice be heard.
15 He shot his arrows[h] and scattered them,
hurled his lightning bolts and routed them.
16 Then the depths of the sea were exposed,
and the earth’s foundations were laid bare,
at the rebuke of the Lord,[i]
at the blast of wind from his nostrils.
17 He reached down from on high and snatched me up;
he drew me out of the watery depths.[j]
18 He delivered me from my powerful enemy,
and from my foes, who were too strong for me.
19 They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,
but the Lord came forward to uphold me.
20 He led me forth into the open field;
he set me free because he was pleased with me.
21 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;[k]
because my hands were pure, he has rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the Lord[l]
and refused to turn away from my God.
23 His laws are clearly known to me,
and I have not failed to observe his decrees.
24 I was blameless in his sight,
and I kept myself free of sin.
25 Therefore, the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
because of the cleanness of my hands in his eyes.
26 To the loyal, you show yourself to be loyal;
to the blameless, you show yourself to be blameless;
27 to the pure, you show yourself to be pure;
but to the perverse,[m] you show yourself to be shrewd.
28 For you save the humble,
but you bring down the haughty.
29 You, O Lord, are light for my lamp;[n]
O my God, you make my darkness turn to light.
30 With your help I can storm a rampart;
with my God to aid me, I can scale any wall.
31 The way of God is blameless,
and the Lord’s promise proves true;
he is a shield to all
who flee to him for safety.
32 Indeed, who is God except the Lord?
Who is the Rock besides our God?
33 It is God who clothes me with strength
and makes my way blameless.
34 He gives me the swift feet of a deer
and places me securely on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war
and my arms to bend a bow of bronze.[o]
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your right hand sustains me,
and your goodness makes me great.
37 You broadened the path beneath me
so that my feet have never stumbled.
38 I went after my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back until they were defeated.
39 When I knocked them down, they were unable to rise;
they fell down at my feet.
40 You clothed me with strength for the battle
and cast down my adversaries beneath me.
41 You made my enemies retreat before me,
so that I could scatter those who hated me.
42 They called for help, but there was no one to deliver them;
they called to the Lord, but no answer came.
43 I crushed them like fine dust before the wind;
I trod on them like mud in the streets.
44 You delivered me from a people in rebellion,
and you placed me in charge of the nations;
people I did not know have become my subjects.
45 As soon as they heard me, they obeyed;
foreigners groveled before me.
46 Then they became disheartened
and came forth trembling from their strongholds.
47 The Lord lives! Blessed[p] be my Rock!
Exalted be God, my Savior!
48 O God, you obtained vindication for me,
subjected nations under me,
49 and freed me from my enemies.
You exalted me over my adversaries
and delivered me from the violent.
50 For this, O Lord, I will praise you among the nations
and sing praise to your name.[q]
51 You have bestowed great victories on your king,
and you have shown kindness to your anointed,[r]
to David and his descendants forever.
Psalm 19[s]
God’s Glory in Creation
1 For the director.[t] A psalm of David.
2 [u]The heavens proclaim the glory of God;
the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
3 One day imparts that message to the next,
and night conveys that knowledge to night.
4 All this occurs without speech or utterance;
no voice can be heard.
5 [v]Yet their message goes forth throughout the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
[w]In the heavens he has placed a tent for the sun,
6 which comes forth like a bridegroom from his wedding chamber,
rejoicing like an athlete who runs his course.
7 It rises from one end of the heavens,
and its circuit is completed at the other;
nothing can be hidden from its heat.
8 The law of the Lord is perfect,
affording refreshment to the soul.
The decree of the Lord is worthy of trust,
imparting wisdom to the simple.[x]
9 The precepts of the Lord are right,
causing the heart[y] to rejoice.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving light to the eyes.
10 The fear of the Lord[z] is pure,
destined to endure forever.
The ordinances of the Lord are true,
and all of them are just.
11 They are even more precious than gold,
than an abundance of the purest gold;
they are also sweeter than honey
that drips from the comb.[aa]
12 [ab]By these your servant is instructed;
obedience in following them will ensure a great reward.
13 But who can fully recognize his shortcomings?
Cleanse me of my hidden faults.
14 From willful sins preserve your servant;
never let them gain power over me.
Then I will be blameless
and innocent of serious sin.
15 Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart[ac]
find favor in your sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
17 Paul’s Farewell Speech at Miletus.[a] From Miletus, he sent a message to Ephesus, summoning the elders of the Church. 18 When they came to him, he addressed them as follows:
“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that befell me as a result of the intrigues of the Jews. 20 I did not hesitate to tell you what was for your benefit as I proclaimed the word to you and taught you publicly as well as from house to house. 21 I have attested to Jews and Gentiles alike about repentance before God and faith in our Lord Jesus.
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that I will face imprisonment and hardships. 24 As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.
25 “I have gone among you proclaiming the kingdom, but now I realize that none of you will ever see my face again. 26 Therefore, I solemnly declare to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, 27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, and be shepherds of the Church of God that he purchased with the price of his own blood.
29 “I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own ranks men will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. 31 Therefore, be on your guard. Remember that for three years I never ceased night and day to warn every one of you with tears.
32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace that is able to build you up and give you your inheritance among all who are sanctified. 33 I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. 34 You are aware that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. 35 In all this, I have shown you that by such hard work we must help the weak, keeping in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”[b]
36 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down and prayed with them. 37 They were all weeping loudly as they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 for they were deeply distressed at his words that they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.
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