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Psalm 56

1  Have mercy on me, O God, for they trample over me; ♦︎
   all day long they assault and oppress me.
2  My adversaries trample over me all the day long; ♦︎
   many are they that make proud war against me.
3  In the day of my fear I put my trust in you, ♦︎
   in God whose word I praise.
4  In God I trust, and will not fear, ♦︎
   for what can flesh do to me?
5  All day long they wound me with words; ♦︎
   their every thought is to do me evil.
6  They stir up trouble; they lie in wait; ♦︎
   marking my steps, they seek my life.
7  Shall they escape for all their wickedness? ♦︎
   In anger, O God, cast the peoples down.
8  You have counted up my groaning;
      put my tears into your bottle; ♦︎
   are they not written in your book?
9  Then shall my enemies turn back
      on the day when I call upon you; ♦︎
   this I know, for God is on my side.
10  In God whose word I praise,
      in the Lord whose word I praise, ♦︎
   in God I trust and will not fear:
      what can flesh do to me?
11  To you, O God, will I fulfil my vows; ♦︎
   to you will I present my offerings of thanks,
12  For you will deliver my soul from death
      and my feet from falling, ♦︎
   that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Psalm 57

1  Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, ♦︎
   for my soul takes refuge in you;
2  In the shadow of your wings will I take refuge ♦︎
   until the storm of destruction has passed by.
3  I will call upon the Most High God, ♦︎
   the God who fulfils his purpose for me.
4  He will send from heaven and save me
      and rebuke those that would trample upon me; ♦︎
   God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
5  I lie in the midst of lions, ♦︎
   people whose teeth are spears and arrows,
      and their tongue a sharp sword.
6  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦︎
   and your glory over all the earth.
7  They have laid a net for my feet;
      my soul is pressed down; ♦︎
   they have dug a pit before me
      and will fall into it themselves.
8  My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; ♦︎
   I will sing and give you praise.
9  Awake, my soul; awake, harp and lyre, ♦︎
   that I may awaken the dawn.
10  I will give you thanks, O Lord, among the peoples; ♦︎
   I will sing praise to you among the nations.
11  For your loving-kindness is as high as the heavens, ♦︎
   and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
12  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, ♦︎
   and your glory over all the earth.

Paul Visits James at Jerusalem

17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. ¹⁸The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. ¹⁹After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰When they heard it, they praised God. Then they said to him, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. ²¹They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²²What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. ²³So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. ²⁴Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. ²⁵But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgement that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled^* and from fornication.’ ²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.