Psalms 20; Psalms 21; Psalms 22; Acts 21:1-17

Psalms 20

1 May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble; may the name of Jacob's God protect you.

2 May He send you help from the sanctuary and sustain you from Zion.

3 May He remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offering. Selah

4 May He give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.

5 Let us shout for joy at your victory and lift the banner in the name of our God. May the Lord fulfill all your requests.

6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with mighty victories from His right hand.

7 Some take pride in a chariot, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.

8 They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand firm.

9 Lord, give victory to the king! May He answer us on the day that we call.

Psalms 21

1 Lord, the king finds joy in Your strength. How greatly he rejoices in Your victory!

2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not denied the request of his lips. Selah

3 For You meet him with rich blessings; You place a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked You for life, and You gave it to him- length of days forever and ever.

5 His glory is great through Your victory; You confer majesty and splendor on him.

6 You give him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.

7 For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken.

8 Your hand will capture all your enemies; your right hand will seize those who hate you.

9 You will make them [burn] like a fiery furnace when you appear; the Lord will engulf them in His wrath, and fire will devour them.

10 You will wipe their descendants from the earth and their offspring from the human race.

11 Though they intend to harm you and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.

12 Instead, you will put them to flight when you aim your bow at their faces.

13 Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your might.

Psalms 22

1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? [Why are You] so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning?

2 My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.

3 But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You rescued them.

5 They cried to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disgraced.

6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by people.

7 Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads:

8 "He relies on the Lord; let Him rescue him; let the Lord deliver him, since He takes pleasure in him."

9 You took me from the womb, making me secure while at my mother's breast.

10 I was given over to You at birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb.

11 Do not be far from me, because distress is near and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me; strong ones of Bashan encircle me.

13 They open their mouths against me- lions, mauling and roaring.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me.

15 My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me; they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones; people look and stare at me.

18 They divided my garments among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing.

19 But You, Lord, don't be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword, my very life from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the congregation.

23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!

24 For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He did not hide His face from him, but listened when he cried to Him for help.

25 I will give praise in the great congregation because of You; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.

26 The humble will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down before You,

28 for kingship belongs to the Lord; He rules over the nations.

29 All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down; all those who go down to the dust will kneel before Him- even the one who cannot preserve his life.

30 Descendants will serve Him; the next generation will be told about the Lord.

31 They will come and tell a people yet to be born about His righteousness- what He has done.

Acts 21:1-17

1 After we tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we came by a direct route to Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

2 Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded and set sail.

3 After we sighted Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we sailed on to Syria and arrived at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there.

4 So we found some disciples and stayed there seven days. They said to Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem.

5 When our days there were over, we left to continue our journey, while all of them, with their wives and children, escorted us out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach to pray,

6 we said good-bye to one another. Then we boarded the ship, and they returned home.

7 When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we reached Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and stayed with them one day.

8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea, where we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven, and stayed with him.

9 This man had four virgin daughters who prophesied.

10 While we were staying there many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.

11 He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into Gentile hands.' "

12 When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

13 Then Paul replied, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

14 Since he would not be persuaded, we stopped talking and simply said, "The Lord's will be done!"

15 After these days we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.

16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, a Cypriot and an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.

17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.