Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit felt weak 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;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]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 [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge 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 [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
21 “And I will place My (A)glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22 And the house of Israel will (B)know that I am the Lord their God, from that day onward. 23 The nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their (C)wrongdoing, because they were disloyal to Me, and I (D)hid My face from them; so I handed them over to their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword. 24 (E)In accordance with their uncleanness and their offenses I dealt with them, and I hid My face from them.”’”
Israel Restored
25 Therefore this is what the Lord God says: “Now I will (F)restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on all the (G)house of Israel; and I will be (H)jealous for My holy name. 26 They will [a](I)forget their disgrace and all their [b]treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they (J)live securely on their own land with (K)no one to make them afraid. 27 When I (L)bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall (M)show Myself holy [c]through them in the sight of the many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then I gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. 29 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 the Lord God.
Children of God Love One Another
3 See [a](A)how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called (B)children of God; and in fact 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 appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He (G)appears, we will be (H)like Him, because we will (I)see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this (J)hope set on Him (K)purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and (L)sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He (M)appeared in order to (N)take away sins; and (O)in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who remains in Him (P)sins continually; no one who sins continually has seen Him or [b](Q)knows Him. 7 (R)Little children, make sure no one (S)deceives you; (T)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is (U)of the devil; for the devil [c]has been sinning from the beginning. (V)The Son of God (W)appeared for this purpose, (X)to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who has been (Y)born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the (Z)children of God and the (AA)children of the devil are obvious: [d]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who (AB)does not love his (AC)brother and sister.
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 may 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 will they insult the members of his household!
26 “So do not (D)fear them, (E)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (F)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (G)on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of 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 two sparrows not sold for an [d]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (K)even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not fear; (L)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
32 “Therefore, (M)everyone who [e]confesses Me before people, I will also confess [f]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (N)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
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