Psalms 1; Psalms 2; Psalms 3; Acts 17:1-15

1 How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or join a group of mockers!

2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord's instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not survive the judgment, and sinners will not be in the community of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

1 Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One:

3 "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints."

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them.

5 Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath:

6 "I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain."

7 I will declare the Lord's decree: He said to Me, "You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

8 Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance and the ends of the earth Your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron; You will shatter them like pottery."

10 So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth.

11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe, and rejoice with trembling.

12 Pay homage to the Son, or He will be angry, and you will perish in your rebellion, for His anger may ignite at any moment. All those who take refuge in Him are happy.

1 Lord, how my foes increase! There are many who attack me.

2 Many say about me, "There is no help for him in God." Selah

3 But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.

6 I am not afraid of the thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side.

7 Rise up, Lord! Save me, my God! You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the Lord; may Your blessing be on Your people. Selah

1 Then they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

2 As usual, Paul went to them, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

3 explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying: "This is the Messiah, Jesus, whom I am proclaiming to you."

4 Then some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.

5 But the Jews became jealous, and when they had brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace and formed a mob, they set the city in an uproar. Attacking Jason's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.

6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too,

7 and Jason has received them as guests! They are all acting contrary to Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king-Jesus!"

8 The Jews stirred up the crowd and the city officials who heard these things.

9 So taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea. On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men.

13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that God's message had been proclaimed by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, agitating and disturbing the crowds.

14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to go to the sea, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.

15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.