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Psalms 1-3 (Listen)

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1:1 Blessed is the man [1]
  who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
  nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law [2] of the Lord,
  and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree
  planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
  and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
  but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2:1 Why do the nations rage [3]
  and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
  and the rulers take counsel together,
  against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
  and cast away their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
  the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
  and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
  on Zion, my holy hill.”

I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;
  today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
  and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break [4] them with a rod of iron
  and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
  be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
  and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
  lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
  for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

3:1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah [5]

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

Acts 16:1-15 (Listen)

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16:1 Paul [6] came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers [7] at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

The Macedonian Call

And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when Paul [8] had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the [9] district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Footnotes

[1] 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see preface
[2] 1:2 Or instruction
[3] 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble
[4] 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule
[5] 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction
[6] 16:1 Greek He
[7] 16:2 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 40
[8] 16:10 Greek he
[9] 16:12 Or that