Psalm 53

A PORTRAIT OF SINNERS
For the choir director: on Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;
they do not call on God.
5 Then they will be filled with dread —
dread like no other —
because God will scatter
the bones of those who besiege you.
You will put them to shame,
for God has rejected them.
6 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalm 54

PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went and said to Saul, “Is David not hiding among us? ”

God, save me by your name,
and vindicate me by your might!
2 God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words from my mouth.
3 For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them. Selah
4 God is my helper;
the Lord is the sustainer of my life.
5 He will repay my adversaries for their evil.
Because of your faithfulness, annihilate them.
6 I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you.
I will praise your name, Lord,
because it is good.
7 For he has rescued me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked down on my enemies.

Psalm 55

BETRAYAL BY A FRIEND
For the choir director: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

God, listen to my prayer
and do not hide from my plea for help.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint,
3 because of the enemy’s words,
because of the pressure of the wicked.
For they bring down disaster on me
and harass me in anger.
4 My heart shudders within me;
terrors of death sweep over me.
5 Fear and trembling grip me;
horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “If only I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.
7 How far away I would flee;
I would stay in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hurry to my shelter
from the raging wind and the storm.”
9 Lord, confuse and confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city;
10 day and night they make the rounds on its walls.
Crime and trouble are within it;
11 destruction is inside it;
oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace.
12 Now it is not an enemy who insults me —
otherwise I could bear it;
it is not a foe who rises up against me —
otherwise I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man who is my peer,
my companion and good friend!
14 We used to have close fellowship;
we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
15 Let death take them by surprise;
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.
16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 I complain and groan morning, noon, and night,
and he hears my voice.
18 Though many are against me,
he will redeem me from my battle unharmed.
19 God, the one enthroned from long ago,
will hear and will humiliate them Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.
20 My friend acts violently
against those at peace with him;
he violates his covenant.
21 His buttery words are smooth,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
but they are drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
23 God, you will bring them down
to the Pit of destruction;
men of bloodshed and treachery
will not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.

Psalm 56

A CALL FOR GOD’S PROTECTION
For the choir director: according to “A Silent Dove Far Away.” A Miktam of David. When the Philistines seized him in Gath.

Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me;
he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day,
for many arrogantly fight against me.
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.
7 Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.
8 You yourself have recorded my wanderings.
Put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will retreat on the day when I call.
This I know: God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere humans do to me?
12 I am obligated by vows to you, God;
I will make my thanksgiving sacrifices to you.
13 For you rescued me from death,
even my feet from stumbling,
to walk before God in the light of life.

Psalm 57

PRAISE FOR GOD’S PROTECTION
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.

Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
for I take refuge in you.
I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings
until danger passes.
2 I call to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3 He reaches down from heaven and saves me,
challenging the one who tramples me. Selah
God sends his faithful love and truth.
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down among devouring lions —
people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.
6 They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it! Selah
7 My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident.
I will sing; I will sing praises.
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 God, be exalted above the heavens;
let your glory be over the whole earth.

Psalm 58

A CRY AGAINST INJUSTICE
For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David.

Do you really speak righteously, you mighty ones?
Do you judge people fairly?
2 No, you practice injustice in your hearts;
with your hands you weigh out violence in the land.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb;
liars wander about from birth.
4 They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,
5 that does not listen to the sound of the charmers
who skillfully weave spells.
6 God, knock the teeth out of their mouths;
Lord, tear out the young lions’ fangs.
7 May they vanish like water that flows by;
may they aim their blunted arrows.
8 Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
may they not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns —
whether green or burning —
he will sweep them away.
10 The righteous one will rejoice
when he sees the retribution;
he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
There is a God who judges on earth! ”

Acts 27:27–44

27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.

33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

SHIPWRECK
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. 40 After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.

— Acts 27:27-44 (CSB)

Acts 28:1–10

MALTA’S HOSPITALITY
Once safely ashore, we then learned that the island was called Malta.
2 The local people showed us extraordinary kindness. They lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. 3 As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man, no doubt, is a murderer. Even though he has escaped the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 They expected that he would begin to swell up or suddenly drop dead. After they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

MINISTRY IN MALTA
7 Now in the area around that place was an estate belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 Publius’s father was in bed suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, and praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him. 9 After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. 10 So they heaped many honors on us, and when we sailed, they gave us what we needed.

— Acts 28:1-10 (CSB)