Psalms 38; Psalms 39; Psalms 40; Acts 23:12-35

Psalms 38

1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

2 Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me.

3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin.

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.

6 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning.

7 My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body.

8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

9 All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you.

10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes.

11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away.

12 Those who want to kill me set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they scheme and lie.

13 I am like the deaf, who cannot hear, like the mute, who cannot speak;

14 I have become like one who does not hear, whose mouth can offer no reply.

15 LORD, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.

16 For I said, “Do not let them gloat or exalt themselves over me when my feet slip.”

17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

18 I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.

19 Many have become my enemies without cause ; those who hate me without reason are numerous.

20 Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good.

21 LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.

22 Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.

Psalms 39

1 I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.”

2 So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased;

3 my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:

4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.

5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

6 “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be.

7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

8 Save me from all my transgressions; do not make me the scorn of fools.

9 I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for you are the one who has done this.

10 Remove your scourge from me; I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

11 When you rebuke and discipline anyone for their sin, you consume their wealth like a moth— surely everyone is but a breath.

12 “Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. I dwell with you as a foreigner, a stranger, as all my ancestors were.

13 Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again before I depart and am no more.”

Psalms 40

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORDand put their trust in him.

4 Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.

5 Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened — burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.

8 I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

9 I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, LORD, as you know.

10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

12 For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me.

13 Be pleased to save me, LORD; come quickly, LORD, to help me.

14 May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.

16 But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say, “The LORD is great!”

17 But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.

Acts 23:12-35

12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.

13 More than forty men were involved in this plot.

14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.

15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

18 So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

20 He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.

21 Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

22 The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

25 He wrote a letter as follows:

26 Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings.

27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen.

28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin.

29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment.

30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris.

32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks.

33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him.

34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

35 he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.