Book of Common Prayer
Rescue Me, O Yahweh, from Evil Men
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men;
Guard me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)think up evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(F)Poison of an asp is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Yahweh, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Guard me from violent men
Who [b]give thought to [c](I)trip up my steps.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a (K)net by the [d]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah.
6 I (M)said to Yahweh, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Yahweh, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 O Yahweh, O Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil [f]scheme, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)trouble from their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals be shaken out upon them;
May He (V)cause them to fall into the fire,
Into [g]bottomless pits from which they (W)can never rise.
11 May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
My Prayer as Incense Before You
A Psalm of David.
141 O Yahweh, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be established as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Yahweh, [a]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds in wickedness
With men who are (I)workers of iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me in lovingkindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Let not my head refuse it,
[b]For still my prayer (M)is [c]against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and splits open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O Yahweh, O Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not pour out my soul to death.
9 Keep me from the [d](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
As for myself—meanwhile, (X)I am passing by.
My Soul Reaches for You
A Psalm of David.
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
(A)Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your slave,
For (E)no one living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit was faint within me;
My heart was [a](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all You have done;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul reaches for You like a weary land. [b]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Yahweh, my (P)spirit wastes away;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your (S)lovingkindness (T)in the morning;
For I trust (U)in You;
Cause me to know the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,
I have concealed myself in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [c]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [d](AE)cut off my enemies
And cause all those who assail my soul to (AF)perish,
For (AG)I am Your slave.
21 “And I will put My (A)glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed and My hand which I have placed on them. 22 And the house of Israel will (B)know that I am Yahweh their God from that day onward. 23 And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their (C)iniquity because they acted unfaithfully against Me, and I (D)hid My face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 (E)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”
Israel Will Live in Security
25 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh, “Now I will return the [a](F)fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole (G)house of Israel; and I will be (H)jealous for My holy name. 26 So they will [b](I)forget their dishonor and all their unfaithfulness which they [c]perpetrated against Me, when they (J)live securely on their own land with (K)no one to make them tremble. 27 When I (L)return them from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall (M)prove Myself holy [d]through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am Yahweh their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then collected them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have (N)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares Lord Yahweh.
Children of God, Love One Another
3 See [a](A)how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called (B)children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because (C)it did not know Him. 2 (D)Beloved, now we are (E)children of God, and (F)it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He (G)is manifested, we will be (H)like Him, because we will (I)see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this (J)hope fixed on Him (K)purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and (L)sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He (M)was manifested in order to (N)take away sins, and (O)in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him (P)sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [b](Q)has come to know Him. 7 (R)Little children, let no one (S)deceive you. (T)The one who does righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 The one who does sin is (U)of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. (V)The Son of God (W)was manifested for this purpose, (X)to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Everyone who has been [c](Y)born of God (Z)does not sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been [d]born of God. 10 By this the (AA)children of God and the (AB)children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who (AC)does not love his (AD)brother.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(A)A [a]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (B)If they have called the head of the house [b](C)Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (D)fear them, (E)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 (F)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (G)upon the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (H)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [c](I)hell. 29 (J)Are not two sparrows sold for an [d]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (K)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (L)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (M)everyone who [e]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [f]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (N)whoever [g]denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
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