Psalms 40; Psalms 41; Psalms 42; Acts 27:1-26

1 I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.

2 He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet on a rock, making my steps secure.

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

4 How happy is the man who has put his trust in the Lord and has not turned to the proud or to those who run after lies!

5 Lord my God, You have done many things- Your wonderful works and Your plans for us; none can compare with You. If I were to report and speak [of them], they are more than can be told.

6 You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.

7 Then I said, "See, I have come; it is written about me in the volume of the scroll.

8 I delight to do Your will, my God; Your instruction resides within me."

9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; see, I do not keep my mouth closed -as You know, Lord.

10 I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart; I spoke about Your faithfulness and salvation; I did not conceal Your constant love and truth from the great assembly.

11 Lord, do not withhold Your compassion from me; Your constant love and truth will always guard me.

12 For troubles without number have surrounded me; my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my courage leaves me.

13 Lord, be pleased to deliver me; hurry to help me, Lord.

14 Let those who seek to take my life be disgraced and confounded. Let those who wish me harm be driven back and humiliated.

15 Let those who say to me, "Aha, aha!" be horrified because of their shame.

16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation continually say, "The Lord is great!"

17 I am afflicted and needy; the Lord thinks of me. You are my help and my deliverer; my God, do not delay.

1 Happy is one who cares for the poor; the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.

2 The Lord will keep him and preserve him; he will be blessed in the land. You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.

3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed; You will heal him on the bed where he lies.

4 I said, "Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against You."

5 My enemies speak maliciously about me: "When will he die and be forgotten?"

6 When one [of them] comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully; he stores up evil in his heart; he goes out and talks.

7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they plan to harm me.

8 "Lethal poison has been poured into him, and he won't rise again from where he lies!"

9 Even my friend in whom I trusted, one who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up; then I will repay them.

11 By this I know that You delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

12 You supported me because of my integrity and set me in Your presence forever.

13 May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen. BOOK II (Psalms 42-72)

1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God.

2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, "Where is your God?"

4 I remember this as I pour out my heart: how I walked with many, leading the festive procession to the house of God, with joyful and thankful shouts.

5 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

6 I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.

8 The Lord will send His faithful love by day; His song will be with me in the night- a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God, my rock, "Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about in sorrow because of the enemy's oppression?"

10 My adversaries taunt me, as if crushing my bones, while all day long they say to me, "Where is your God?"

11 Why am I so depressed? Why this turmoil within me? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

1 When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.

2 So when we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of the province of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us.

3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care.

4 When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast of Cyprus because the winds were against us.

5 After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia.

6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.

7 Sailing slowly for many days, we came with difficulty as far as Cnidus. But since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone.

8 With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast, and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.

9 By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast was already over, Paul gave his advice

10 and told them, "Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives."

11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said.

12 Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete open to the southwest and northwest, and to winter there.

13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose; they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete.

14 But not long afterwards, a fierce wind called the "northeaster" rushed down from the island.

15 Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along.

16 After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the skiff.

17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along.

18 Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day.

19 On the third day, they threw the ship's gear overboard with their own hands.

20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging; finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing.

21 Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, "You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss.

22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship.

23 For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me,

24 saying, 'Don't be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.'

25 Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me.

26 However, we must run aground on a certain island."