The Steadfast Love of the Lord
1 fShout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
gPraise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
hmake melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with iloud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
jthe earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 kBy the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 lHe gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
mhe puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 nLet all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 oThe Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
phe frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 qBlessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 uThe war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the veye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
on those who whope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive xin famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our yshield.
21 For our heart is zglad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your asteadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
1 Of David, when he bchanged his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ccontinually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its dboast in the Lord;
elet the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
faround those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, gtaste and see that the Lord is good!
hBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him ihave no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack jno good thing.
11 kCome, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 lWhat man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 mKeep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 nTurn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and opursue it.
15 The peyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the qbrokenhearted
and saves the rcrushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord sdelivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
tnot one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea
1 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the ogovernor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain1 you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, one who pstirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 qHe even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.2 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
r“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my sdefense. 11 You can verify that it is not more than ttwelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a uhope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a vresurrection of both the wjust and the unjust. 16 So I always take pains to have a xclear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now after several years I came yto bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me zpurified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— 19 they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the acouncil, 21 other than bthis one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
Paul Kept in Custody
22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some cliberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and dself-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, e“Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And fdesiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
