Psalms 18; Psalms 19; Acts 20:17-38

Psalms 18

1 "I love You, O LORD , my strength."

2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

3 I call upon the LORD , who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD , And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked; And the foundations of the mountains were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up out of His nostrils, And fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet.

10 He rode upon a cherub and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

12 From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, Hailstones and coals of fire.

13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire.

14 He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.

15 Then the channels of water appeared, And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD , At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.

17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my stay.

19 He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

20 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD , And have not wickedly departed from my God.

22 For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from me.

23 I was also blameless with Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity.

24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

25 With the kind You show Yourself kind; With the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

26 With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the crooked You show Yourself astute.

27 For You save an afflicted people, But haughty eyes You abase.

28 For You light my lamp; The LORD my God illumines my darkness.

29 For by You I can run upon a troop; And by my God I can leap over a wall.

30 As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

31 For who is God, but the LORD ? And who is a rock, except our God,

32 The God who girds me with strength And makes my way blameless?

33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places.

34 He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your right hand upholds me; And Your gentleness makes me great.

36 You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

38 I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; They fell under my feet.

39 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

40 You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me.

41 They cried for help, but there was none to save, Even to the LORD , but He did not answer them.

42 Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind; I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.

43 You have delivered me from the contentions of the people; You have placed me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me.

44 As soon as they hear , they obey me; Foreigners submit to me.

45 Foreigners fade away, And come trembling out of their fortresses.

46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be the God of my salvation,

47 The God who executes vengeance for me, And subdues peoples under me.

48 He delivers me from my enemies; Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man.

49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD , And I will sing praises to Your name.

50 He gives great deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever .

Psalms 19

1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.

4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun,

5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.

6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.

13 Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD , my rock and my Redeemer.

Acts 20:17-38

17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.

18 And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time,

19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews;

20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,

21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there ,

23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.

24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

25 "And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face.

26 "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

27 "For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;

30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.

31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

33 "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes.

34 "You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me.

35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

36 When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all.

37 And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him,

38 grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.