Psalm 84 and Acts 21:37-40; 22:1-16

Psalm 84

¹   How lovely is your dwelling place,
          O LORD of hosts!
²   My soul longs, indeed it faints
          for the courts of the LORD;
     my heart and my flesh sing for joy
          to the living God.

³   Even the sparrow finds a home,
          and the swallow a nest for herself,
          where she may lay her young,
     at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
          my King and my God.
⁴   Happy are those who live in your house,
          ever singing your praise. Selah

⁵   Happy are those whose strength is in you,
          in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶   As they go through the valley of Baca
          they make it a place of springs;
          the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷   They go from strength to strength;
          the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

⁸   O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
          give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹   Behold our shield, O God;
          look on the face of your anointed.

¹⁰  For a day in your courts is better
          than a thousand elsewhere.
     I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
          than live in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹  For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
          he bestows favor and honor.
     No good thing does the LORD withhold
          from those who walk uprightly.
¹²  O LORD of hosts,
          happy is everyone who trusts in you.

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Acts 21:37-40; 22:1-16

³⁷Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, "May I say something to you?" The tribune replied, "Do you know Greek?³⁸Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?" ³⁹Paul replied, "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people." ⁴⁰When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:

¹"Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you."

²When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said:

³"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. ⁴I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, ⁵as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.

⁶"While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone about me. ⁷I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' ⁸I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' Then he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.' ⁹Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. ¹⁰I asked, 'What am I to do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told everything that has been assigned to you to do.' ¹¹Since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, those who were with me took my hand and led me to Damascus.

¹²"A certain Ananias, who was a devout man according to the law and well spoken of by all the Jews living there,¹³came to me; and standing beside me, he said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. ¹⁴Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; ¹⁵for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.'