Psalm 7; Psalm 8; 1 Kings 8:22–30; 1 Kings 9:1–3; Acts 13:1–26

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Psalm 7

In You Do I Take Refuge

A lShiggaion1 of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I mtake refuge;

nsave me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

lest like oa lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with pnone to deliver.

O Lord my God, qif I have done this,

if there is rwrong in my hands,

if I have repaid smy friend2 with evil

or tplundered my enemy without cause,

let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him utrample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

vArise, O Lord, in your anger;

wlift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

xawake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

The Lord yjudges the peoples;

zjudge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous

you who atest bthe minds and hearts,3

O righteous God!

10  My shield is cwith God,

who saves dthe upright in heart.

11  God is ea righteous judge,

and a God who feels findignation every day.

12  If a man4 does not repent, God5 will gwhet his sword;

he has hbent and ireadied his bow;

13  he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his jarrows kfiery shafts.

14  Behold, the wicked man lconceives evil

and is lpregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15  He makes ma pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

16  His nmischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

17  I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will osing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.


Psalm 8

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the choirmaster: according to The pGittith.1 A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your qname in all the earth!

You have set your rglory above the heavens.

sOut of the mouth of babies and infants,

you have established tstrength because of your foes,

to still uthe enemy and the avenger.

When I vlook at your heavens, the work of your wfingers,

the moon and the stars, xwhich you have set in place,

ywhat is man that you are zmindful of him,

and athe son of man that you bcare for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than cthe heavenly beings2

and crowned him with dglory and honor.

You have given him edominion over the works of your hands;

fyou have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen,

and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!


1 Kings 8:22–30

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

22 Then Solomon mstood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and nspread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, O Lord, God of Israel, othere is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, pkeeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. eYou spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, qYou shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me. 26 rNow therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, sheaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 tthat your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, uMy name shall be there, that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.


1 Kings 9:1–3

The Lord Appears to Solomon

jAs soon as Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord kand the king’s house and lall that Solomon desired to build, mthe Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. And the Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your plea, which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built, nby putting my name there forever. oMy eyes and my heart will be there for all time.


Acts 13:1–26

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

Now there were in the church at Antioch nprophets and nteachers, oBarnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,1 Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of pHerod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, qthe Holy Spirit said, rSet apart for me Barnabas and Saul sfor the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and tpraying they laid their hands on them and usent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

So, being sent out vby the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God win the synagogues of the Jews. And they had xJohn to yassist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain zmagician, aa Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with bthe proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the zmagician (for that is the meaning of his name) copposed them, seeking to turn dthe proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, efilled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, You fson of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and gvillainy, will you not stop hmaking crooked ithe straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, jthe hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time. Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking kpeople to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at lthe teaching of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And mJohn left them and returned nto Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And oon the Sabbath day pthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After qthe reading from rthe Law and the Prophets, sthe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, Brothers, if you have any tword of encouragement for the people, say it. 16 So Paul stood up, and umotioning with his hand said:

Men of Israel and vyou who fear God, listen. 17 wThe God of this people Israel xchose our fathers and ymade the people great zduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and awith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about bforty years che put up with2 them in the wilderness. 19 And dafter destroying eseven nations in the land of Canaan, fhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that ghe gave them judges until hSamuel the prophet. 21 Then ithey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul jthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And kwhen he had removed him, lhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, mI have found in David the son of Jesse na man after my heart, owho will do all my will. 23 pOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel qa Savior, Jesus, ras he promised. 24 Before his coming, sJohn had proclaimed ta baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, uhe said, What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.

26 Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you vwho fear God, to us has been sent wthe message of xthis salvation.