A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies

351 Contend , O Lord , with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help . 3 Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul , "I am your salvation ." 4 Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life ; Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me. 5 Let them be like chaff before the wind , With the angel of the Lord driving them on. 6 Let their way be dark and slippery , With the angel of the Lord pursuing them. 7 For without cause they hid their net for me; Without cause they dug a pit for my soul . 8 Let destruction come upon him unawares e , And let the net which he hid catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall . 9 And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord ; It shall exult in His salvation . 10 All my bones will say , "Lord , who is like You, Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?"

11 Malicious witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I do not know . 12 They repay me evil for good , To the bereavement of my soul . 13 But as for me, when they were sick , my clothing was sackcloth ; I humbled my soul with fasting , And my prayer kept returning to my bosom . 14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother ; I bowed down mourning , as one who sorrows for a mother . 15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together; The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me, They slandered me without ceasing . 16 Like godless jesters at a feast , They gnashed at me with their teeth .

17 Lord , how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages , My only life from the lions . 18 I will give You thanks in the great congregation ; I will praise You among a mighty throng . 19 Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously e . 20 For they do not speak peace , But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land . 21 They opened their mouth wide against me; They said , " Aha , aha , our eyes have seen it!" 22 You have seen it, O Lord , do not keep silent ; O Lord , do not be far from me. 23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right And to my cause , my God and my Lord . 24 Judge me, O Lord my God , according to Your righteousness , And do not let them rejoice over me. 25 Do not let them say in their heart , " Aha , our desire !" Do not let them say , "We have swallowed him up!" 26 Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress ; Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me. 27 Let them shout for joy and rejoice , who favor my vindication ; And let them say continually , "The Lord be magnified , Who delights in the prosperity of His servant ." 28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness And Your praise all day long.

The Steadfast Love of God

361 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart ; There is no fear of God before his eyes . 2 For it flatters him in his own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit ; He has ceased to be wise and to do good . 4 He plans wickedness upon his bed ; He sets himself on a path that is not good ; He does not despise evil .

5 Your lovingkindness , O Lord , extends to the heavens , Your faithfulness reaches to the skies . 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God ; Your judgments are like a great deep . O Lord , You preserve man and beast . 7 How precious is Your lovingkindness , O God ! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings . 8 They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house ; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights . 9 For with You is the fountain of life ; In Your light we see light . 10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart . 11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away . 12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen ; They have been thrust down and cannot e rise .

Paul Appeals to Caesar

251 Festus then , having arrived in the province , three days later went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea . 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul , and they were urging him, 3 requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way ). 4 Festus then answered that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly . 5 "Therefore ," he said , "let the influential men among you go there with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man , let them prosecute him." 6 After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea , and on the next day he took his seat on the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought . 7 After Paul arrived , the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges against him which they could not prove , 8 while Paul said in his own defense , " I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar ." 9 But Festus , wishing to do the Jews a favor , answered Paul and said , " Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges?" 10 But Paul said , "I am standing before Caesar's tribunal , where I ought to be tried . I have done no wrong to the Jews , as you also very well know . 11 "If , then , I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death , I do not refuse to die ; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar ." 12 Then when Festus had conferred with his council , he answered , "You have appealed to Caesar , to Caesar you shall go ."

Paul Brought before Agrippa and Bernice

13 Now when several days had elapsed , King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus . 14 While they were spending many days there , Festus laid Paul's case e before the king , saying , "There is a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix ; 15 and when I was at Jerusalem , the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 "I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges . 17 "So after they had assembled here , I did not delay , but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. 18 "When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting , 19 but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man , Jesus , whom Paul asserted to be alive . 20 " Being at a loss how to investigate such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. 21 "But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the Emperor's decision , I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar ." 22 Then Agrippa said to Festus , "I also would like to hear the man myself ." "Tomorrow ," he said , "you shall hear him." 23 So , on the next day when Agrippa came together with Bernice amid great pomp , and entered the auditorium accompanied by the commanders and the prominent men of the city , at the command of Festus , Paul was brought in. 24 Festus said , "King Agrippa , and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here , loudly declaring that he ought not to live any longer . 25 "But I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death ; and since he himself appealed to the Emperor , I decided to send him. 26 "Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord . Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa , so that after the investigation has taken place , I may have something to write . 27 "For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner , not to indicate also the charges against him."