Psalm 30; Psalm 32; 1 Samuel 28:3–25; Acts 4:1–31

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Psalm 30

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of rthe temple.

I will sextol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes trejoice over me.

O Lord my God, I ucried to you for help,

and you have vhealed me.

O Lord, you have brought up my soul from wSheol;

you restored me to life from among those who xgo down to the pit.1

Sing praises to the Lord, O you yhis saints,

and zgive thanks to his holy name.2

aFor his anger is but for a moment,

and bhis favor is for a lifetime.3

cWeeping may tarry for the night,

but djoy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my eprosperity,

I shall never be fmoved.

By your favor, O Lord,

you made my gmountain stand strong;

you hhid your face;

I was idismayed.

To you, O Lord, I cry,

and jto the Lord I plead for mercy:

What profit is there in my death,4

if I go down to the pit?5

Will kthe dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10  lHear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!

11  You have turned for me my mourning into mdancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

12  that my nglory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!


Psalm 32

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil1 of David.

jBlessed is the one whose ktransgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord lcounts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit mthere is no deceit.

For when I kept silent, my nbones wasted away

through my ogroaning all day long.

For day and night your phand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up2 as by the heat of summer. Selah

I qacknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, I rwill confess my transgressions to the Lord,

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Therefore let everyone who is sgodly

offer prayer to you at a time when you tmay be found;

surely in the rush of ugreat waters,

they shall not reach him.

You are a vhiding place for me;

you preserve me from wtrouble;

you surround me with xshouts of deliverance. Selah

I will yinstruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will zcounsel you with my eye upon you.

aBe not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bbit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

10  cMany are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who dtrusts in the Lord.

11  eBe glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and fshout for joy, all you gupright in heart!


1 Samuel 28:3–25

Now jSamuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him kin Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put lthe mediums and the necromancers out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped mat Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped nat Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, othe Lord did not answer him, either pby dreams, or qby Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, rSeek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a medium at sEn-dor.

So Saul tdisguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, uDivine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you. The woman said to him, Surely you know what Saul has done, lhow he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death? 10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, vAs the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. 11 Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? He said, Bring up Samuel for me. 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? You are Saul. 13 The king said to her, Do not be afraid. What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 14 He said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped win a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

15 Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and xGod has turned away from me and yanswers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. 16 And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for zthe Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. 18 aBecause you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you band your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.

20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, Behold, your servant has obeyed you. cI have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. 23 He refused and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. 24 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, 25 and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.


Acts 4:1–31

Peter and John Before the Council

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and lthe captain of the temple and mthe Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming nin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and oput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and pthe number of the men came to about five thousand.

On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with qAnnas the high priest and rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, sBy what power or tby what name did you do this? Then Peter, ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, xwhom God raised from the deadby him this man is standing before you well. 11 yThis Jesus1 is the stone that was zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.2 12 And there is asalvation bin no one else, for cthere is no other dname under heaven given among men3 by which we must be saved.

13 eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed fstanding beside them, gthey had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, hWhat shall we do with these men? For that ia notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them jto speak no more to anyone in this name. 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, kWhether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for lwe cannot but speak of what mwe have seen and heard. 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, nbecause of the people, for all were praising God ofor what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ptogether to God and said, Sovereign Lord, qwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,4 said by the Holy Spirit,

rWhy did the Gentiles rage,

and the peoples plot in vain?

26  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and sthe rulers were gathered together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed5

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your uholy servant Jesus, vwhom you anointed, both wHerod and xPontius Pilate, along ywith the Gentiles and zthe peoples of Israel, 28 ato do whatever your hand and byour plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, clook upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all dboldness, 30 while eyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed fthrough the name of your gholy servant Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, hthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ithey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and jcontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.