Psalms 43; Psalms 44; Psalms 45; Acts 27:27-44

1 Establish justice for me, God! Argue my case against ungodly people! Rescue me from the dishonest and unjust!

2 Because you are my God, my protective fortress! Why have you rejected me? Why do I have to walk around, sad, oppressed by enemies?

3 Send your light and truth—those will guide me! Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling place.

4 Let me come to God's altar— let me come to God, my joy, my delight— then I will give you thanks with the lyre, God, my God!

5 Why, I ask myself, are you so depressed? Why are you so upset inside? Hope in God! Because I will again give him thanks, my saving presence and my God.

1 We have heard it, God, with our own ears; our ancestors told us about it: about the deeds you did in their days, in days long past.

2 You, by your own hand, removed all the nations, but you planted our ancestors. You crushed all the peoples, but you set our ancestors free.

3 No, not by their own swords did they take possession of the land— their own arms didn't save them. No, it was your strong hand, your arm, and the light of your face because you were pleased with them.

4 It's you, God! You who are my king, the one who orders salvation for Jacob.

5 We've pushed our foes away by your help; we've trampled our enemies by your name.

6 No, I won't trust in my bow; my sword won't save me

7 because it's you who saved us from our foes, you who put those who hate us to shame.

8 So we glory in God at all times and give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But now you've rejected and humiliated us. You no longer accompany our armies.

10 You make us retreat from the enemy; our adversaries plunder us.

11 You've handed us over like sheep for butchering; you've scattered us among the nations.

12 You've sold your people for nothing, not even bothering to set a decent price.

13 You've made us a joke to all our neighbors; we're mocked and ridiculed by everyone around us.

14 You've made us a bad joke to the nations, something to be laughed at by all peoples.

15 All day long my disgrace confronts me, and shame covers my face

16 because of the voices of those who make fun of me and bad-mouth me, because of the enemy who is out for revenge.

17 All this has come upon us, but we haven't forgotten you or broken your covenant.

18 Our hearts haven't turned away, neither have our steps strayed from your way.

19 But you've crushed us in the place where jackals live, covering us with deepest darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to some strange deity,

21 wouldn't God have discovered it? After all, God knows every secret of the heart.

22 No, God, it's because of you that we are getting killed every day— it's because of you that we are considered sheep ready for slaughter.

23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, Lord? Get up! Don't reject us forever!

24 Why are you hiding your face, forgetting our suffering and oppression?

25 Look: we're going down to the dust; our stomachs are flat on the ground!

26 Stand up! Help us! Save us for the sake of your faithful love.

1 A marvelous word has stirred my heart as I mention my works to the king. My tongue is the pen of a skillful scribe.

2 You are the most handsome of men; grace has been poured out on your lips. No wonder God has blessed you forever!

3 Strap on your sword, great warrior, with your glory and grandeur.

4 Go and succeed in your grandeur! Ride out on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness! Let your strong hand perform awesome deeds.

5 Let the peoples fall beneath you. May your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies.

6 Your divine throne is eternal and everlasting. Your royal scepter is a scepter of justice.

7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness. No wonder God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than all your companions!

8 All your clothes have the pleasing scent of myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. The music of stringed instruments coming from ivory palaces entertains you.

9 The royal princess is standing in your precious jewels; the queen stands at your right, dressed in the gold of Ophir.

10 Listen, daughter; pay attention, and listen closely! Forget your people and your father's house.

11 Let the king desire your beauty. Because he is your master, bow down to him now.

12 The city of Tyre, the wealthiest of all, will seek your favor with gifts,

13 with riches of every sort for the royal princess, dressed in pearls, her robe embroidered with gold.

14 In robes of many colors, she is led to the king. Her attendants, the young women servants following her, are presented to you as well.

15 As they enter the king's palace, they are led in with celebration and joy.

16 Your sons, great king, will succeed your fathers; you will appoint them as princes throughout the land.

17 I will perpetuate your name from one generation to the next so the peoples will praise you forever and always.

27 On the fourteenth night, we were being carried across the Adriatic Sea. Around midnight the sailors began to suspect that land was near.

28 They dropped a weighted line to take soundings and found the water to be about one hundred twenty feet deep. After proceeding a little farther, we took soundings again and found the water to be about ninety feet deep.

29 Afraid that we might run aground somewhere on the rocks, they hurled out four anchors from the stern and began to pray for daylight.

30 The sailors tried to abandon the ship by lowering the lifeboat into the sea, pretending they were going to lower anchors from the bow.

31 Paul said to the centurion and his soldiers, "Unless they stay in the ship, you can't be saved from peril."

32 The soldiers then cut the ropes to the lifeboat and let it drift away.

33 Just before daybreak, Paul urged everyone to eat. He said, "This is the fourteenth day you've lived in suspense, and you've not had even a bite to eat.

34 I urge you to take some food. Your health depends on it. None of you will lose a single hair from his head."

35 After he said these things, he took bread, gave thanks to God in front of them all, then broke it and began to eat.

36 Everyone was encouraged and took some food. (

37 In all, there were two hundred seventy-six of us on the ship.)

38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

39 In the morning light they saw a bay with a sandy beach. They didn't know what land it was, but they thought they might possibly be able to run the ship aground.

40 They cut the anchors loose and left them in the sea. At the same time, they untied the ropes that ran back to the rudders. They raised the foresail to catch the wind and made for the beach.

41 But they struck a sandbar and the ship ran aground. The bow was stuck and wouldn't move, and the stern was broken into pieces by the force of the waves.

42 The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners to keep them from swimming to shore and escaping.

43 However, the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he stopped them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and head for land.

44 He ordered the rest to grab hold of planks or debris from the ship. In this way, everyone reached land safely.