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Book of Common Prayer

Daily Old and New Testament readings based on the Book of Common Prayer.

Duration: 861 days

Psalm 140

Psalm 140^[a]

Prayer for Deliverance from the Snares of the Wicked

¹For the director.^[b] A psalm of David.

²^[c]Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from those who are violent,
³who plan evil schemes in their hearts^[d]
    and stir up strife continually.
⁴Their tongues^[e] are as sharp as those of a serpent,
    while the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
⁵Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from those who are violent,
    who are determined to cause my downfall.
⁶The arrogant^[f] have set a hidden trap for me;
    they have spread out cords as a net,
    laying snares for me along the way. Selah
⁷^[g]I say to the Lord, “You are my God.
    Listen, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
⁸O Lord, my God, my strong deliverer,
    you shield my head on the day of battle.
⁹Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O Lord;
    do not permit their evil plots to succeed,
    or they will become proud. Selah
¹⁰^[h]Those who surround me raise up their heads;
    let them be overwhelmed by the malice they threaten.
¹¹May burning coals rain down on them;
    may they be flung down into the miry depths,
    never again to rise.^[i]
¹²Do not permit slanderers to find rest in the land;
    may evil hunt the violent to their death.
¹³^[j]I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor
    and upholds the cause of the needy.
¹⁴Then the upright will give thanks to your name,
    and the righteous will dwell in your presence.

Footnotes

Psalm 140:1 More than once already we have heard the voice of a suffering, righteous person; he is the persecuted victim of the wicked, thieves, and calumniators. He calls down the vengeance of God on his enemies, while retaining his trust in the Lord. The state of the righteous and the harshness of the wicked are expressed in images often used. The opposition that biblical prayer places between poverty and violence, humility and arrogance, simplicity and falsehood is inescapable. To recite this psalm is to bear human misfortune, to become poor.
We can pray this psalm in the name of the Church who is continuously assailed by treacherous adversaries, both material and spiritual. Knowing the futility of earthly help, the Church takes her heavenly Spouse, Christ, as her sole refuge. He provides spiritual armor that is efficacious against the attacks of the enemy (see Eph 6:13-17; 1 Thes 5:8).
Psalm 140:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation.
Psalm 140:2 The psalmist prays for deliverance from evildoers who sow discord with their speech and devise evil schemes, leading to anarchy and continuous agitation. Instead of following God’s way, they have chosen the alternative way of the “father of lies” who was “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44).
Psalm 140:3 Hearts: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 140:4 Tongues: see note on Ps 5:10.
Psalm 140:6 The wicked seek to entrap the righteous as a fowler catches animals with a snare, net, or trap (see Pss 31:5; 119:110; 141:10; 142:4; Mt 22:15; Lk 11:54). Arrogant: see note on Ps 31:24.
Psalm 140:7 The psalmist seeks protection from the Lord of the covenant, for he alone is God and the Master of the world.
Psalm 140:10 The psalmist’s plea now becomes an imprecatory prayer, which is an expression for God’s just rule. Using metaphors for the divine judgment (burning coals and miry depths), he asks for redress (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).
Psalm 140:11 Allusion to Sodom (see Gen 19) and Dathan (see Num 16). See also Pss 11:6; 36:13; 55:24; 141:10.
Psalm 140:13 The psalmist is confident that the Lord, the just Judge (see Pss 7:9f; 9:5), will vindicate the righteous poor (see notes on Pss 22:27; 34:7), who will then praise his name (see note on Ps 7:18) and live in his presence (see notes on Pss 23:5-6; 27:4).

Psalm 142

Psalm 142^[a]

Prayer in Time of Abandonment

¹A maskil^[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.

²^[c]I cry out to the Lord with my plea;
    I entreat the Lord to grant me mercy.
³Before him I pour out my complaint
    and tell my troubles in his presence.
⁴^[d]No matter how faint my spirit is within me,
    you are there to guide my steps.
Along the path on which I travel^[e]
    they have hidden a trap for me.
⁵I look to my right,
    but there is no friend who knows me.
There is no refuge available to me;
    no one cares whether I live or perish.^[f]
⁶^[g]I cry out to you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my refuge,
    my portion in the land of the living.”^[h]
⁷Listen to my plea for help,
    for I am in desperate straits.
Rescue me from those who seek to persecute me,
    for they are too strong for me.^[i]
⁸Set me free from my prison,^[j]
    so that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will assemble around me
    because of your great generosity to me.

Footnotes

Psalm 142:1 The psalmist issues a prayer for deliverance from powerful enemies. Whether he is King David (see 1 Sam 22:10) or someone unknown, he has been trodden upon by everyone and is undergoing the agony and passion of so many others. He is also an image of Christ, isolated and suffering without protest.
Often we too find ourselves exhausted on our journey through life, strewn as it is with many snares. For some, it is social or political oppression that prevents us from leading a fully human and Christian existence. For others, religious persecution itself intervenes to restrain or destroy our goods and freedom. Upon each one, our spiritual enemies (the world and the devil) impose a continuous struggle, both fierce and treacherous, that each must wage practically without human help. In these struggles, we can make use of this psalm to direct to God an ardent and confident appeal.
Psalm 142:1 Maskil: see note on Ps 32; When he was in the cave: see Ps 57:1; 1 Sam 22:10; 24:1f.
Psalm 142:2 The psalmist uses the formal third person (customary when addressing kings) to pour out his troubles to God.
Psalm 142:4 The psalmist is at the point of spiritual exhaustion (see Pss 76:13; 77:3; 143:4; Jon 2:8), and only God can help for he knows the faithful’s destiny, his present and future life (see Ps 139:24). Yet the Lord is not present to help him along this path of his enemies, which is filled with snares. My right: i.e., the place where one’s witness or legal counsel stood (see Pss 16:8; 109:31; 110:5; 121:5).
Psalm 142:4 Along the path on which I travel: the present path on which the psalmist is traveling, i.e., the path of his opponents, which is covered with such snares as to fill him with dread, in contrast to the path of the Lord, which leads to such salvation as to fill him with hope (vv. 7-8).
Psalm 142:5 No one cares whether I live or perish: the psalmist is like an outcast for whom no one cares and whom no one comes forward to protect. He is alone and extremely vulnerable.
Psalm 142:6 The psalmist reiterates his distress and his plea for deliverance, confessing that the Lord is his refuge (see Ps 91:2; Jer 17:17) and his hope (my portion in the land of the living: see Pss 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; Lam 3:24). In turn, he will give thanks for his deliverance (see note on Ps 7:18), and the righteous will rejoice in the Lord with him (see Pss 22:25; 34:3; 64:10; 107:42).
Psalm 142:6 Hence, the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help. The Lord is his Covenant God; he most of all should be solicitous for his servant. In the land of the living: i.e., here below, during his earthly life (see Ps 27:13).
Psalm 142:7 The enemies of the psalmist are too strong for him. Unless the Lord comes to his aid, the afflicted man is lost. There is no one else who can save him.
Psalm 142:8 Prison: a word that may denote actual imprisonment or may be a metaphor for the psalmist’s desperate plight characterized by adversity and isolation (see Ps 107:10; Isa 42:7). Assemble around me: the Greek and Syriac translate this phrase as “hope [or wait] around me” (see Job 36:2). All the friends of God are united in praise and joy (see Pss 22:26; 34:4; 64:11; 107:42).

Psalm 141

Psalm 141^[a]

Prayer for Protection against Evildoers

¹^[b]A psalm of David.

O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to my aid;
    listen to my plea when I call out to you.
²May my prayer be like incense^[c] before you,
    the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
³^[d]Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
    keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do not permit my heart to be drawn to evil,
    or to the pursuit of wicked deeds
in the company of those who do evil;
    let me not share in their corruption.
⁵^[e]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
    if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.^[f]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
    for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
⁶^[g]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
    they will learn that my prayers were heard.
⁷As the soil is shattered when the ground is plowed,
    so our bones are scattered at the mouth of the netherworld.
⁸^[h]But my eyes are turned to you, O Lord God;
    in you I seek refuge;
    do not take my life away.
⁹Keep me safe from the traps they have laid for me,
    from the snares of evildoers.
¹⁰Let the wicked tumble into their own nets all together
    while I pass by unharmed.^[i]

Footnotes

Psalm 141:1 Surrounded by the wicked who persecute him in order to drag him with them into impiety, the psalmist offers up an evening prayer, matching the morning prayer referred to in Ps 5:4. The poet begs God to protect him against every defection, to help him refuse all connivance with the wicked, and to enable him ultimately to escape their plots against him.
This psalm is a reminder to us that, impelled by the devil, our greatest enemy, the world hates us because we are not of the world (see Jn 15:19; 17:14). By every available means, it strives to snatch us away from Christ to serve the devil. Aware of our weakness, we should “pray that [we] may not enter into temptation” (Mk 14:38), reciting this psalm when necessary.
Psalm 141:1 The psalmist is in a precarious position, so he hopes his prayer for help will be like a pleasing offering before the Lord.
Psalm 141:2 Incense: literally, “smoke,” i.e., the fragrant fumes that wafted from the altar at the daily burning of sacrificial animals or aromatic spices. The lifting up of my hands: a symbol of dependence on and praise of the Lord (see Pss 28:2; 63:5; 1 Tim 2:8).
Psalm 141:3 The psalmist, like the sages, carefully watches over his heart so as not to give in to sins of speech or action, for he knows that the wicked use their tongues for destruction (see Ps 140:4) while the righteous express love and fidelity (see Ps 15:2f). He begs the Lord to keep his heart from sin and temptation so that he may do God’s will (see Ps 119:10, 36, 133). Let me not share in their corruption: literally, “let me not eat of their delicacies.”
Psalm 141:5 The psalmist delineates the fate of evil rulers at God’s hands, and hopes that the shock may bring their followers to their senses.
Psalm 141:5 Oil was poured on the head in a gesture of welcome and hospitality (see Lk 7:46).
Psalm 141:6 The text of these verses is obscure and their meaning uncertain. As it stands here, the meaning of verse 7 may be: “As a farmer breaks up the soil and brings up the rocks, so the bones of the wicked will be scattered without a decent burial” (see Ps 79:2-3).
Psalm 141:8 The psalmist prays for deliverance and for vindication, for he remains with eyes of faith fixed on the Lord (see Ps 25:15).
Psalm 141:10 God’s vindication comes in the form of retribution; the schemes of the wicked will recoil upon them (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35).

Psalm 143

Psalm 143^[a]

Prayer of a Penitent in Distress

¹^[b]A psalm of David.

O Lord, hear my prayer,
    incline your ear to my supplications.
In your faithfulness respond to me
    with your righteousness.
²Do not subject your servant to your judgment,
    for no one living is righteous before you.^[c]
³^[d]An enemy has stalked me unrelentingly
    and crushed me into the ground;
he has left me to live in darkness^[e]
    like those long dead.
⁴My spirit is faint within me,
    and my heart^[f] has succumbed to fear.
⁵I remember the days of old,
    reflecting on all your actions
    and meditating on the works of your hands.^[g]
⁶I stretch out my hands^[h] to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
⁷^[i]Answer me quickly, O Lord,
    for my spirit grows faint.
Do not hide your face from me
    or I will be like those who go down to the pit.^[j]
⁸At dawn^[k] let me experience your kindness,
    for in you I place my trust.
Show me the path I must walk,
    for to you I lift up my soul.
⁹Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,
    for in you I seek refuge.
¹⁰Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.^[l]
Let your gracious Spirit lead me
    along a level path.
¹¹For your name’s sake,^[m] O Lord, preserve my life;
    in your righteousness deliver me from distress.
¹²In your kindness, destroy my enemies,
    and annihilate all those who oppress me,
    for I am your servant.^[n]

Footnotes

Psalm 143:1 This is the seventh and last of the Penitential Psalms (Pss 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143), probably because of verse 2, with its admission of universal guilt, the only reference to sin and forgiveness in it. Throughout the Psalter, amid praise and joy, there is the lament of the poor person who is dependent on God for everything. Here is the last pressing supplication of the sufferer who cannot despair of God, of his love and his righteousness. The true Israel, the community of the poor of the Lord, understood it even unto suffering. As Paul indicates (Rom 3:20ff), no one merits to be delivered from evil, not even the person who observes the law; one can only rely on the Lord’s unfailing love for human beings. Those who truly pray will experience the Lord’s deliverance.
There are many occasions on which we, too, can pray this simple and ardent psalm to implore divine aid. The demons and all those whom they incite never cease to threaten us, either in our material sustenance or in our physical and spiritual life.
Psalm 143:1 The psalmist cries out to God to have mercy because of his faithfulness and righteousness, for he knows that God’s judgment could find him guilty of sin and condemn him to remain afflicted (see 130:3).
Psalm 143:2 For no one living is righteous before you: this text is used in Rom 3:20 (see Pss 51:7; 130:3; Job 9:2; 14:3f; 15:14; Eccl 7:20).
Psalm 143:3 The psalmist sketches the distress he suffers and is encouraged by the memory of God’s past acts of deliverance.
Psalm 143:3 The same images are found in Ps 7:6; Lam 3:6; Mic 7:8. Darkness: see note on Ps 27:1.
Psalm 143:4 Heart: see note on Ps 4:8.
Psalm 143:5 See Pss 42:5; 77:6, 12f.
Psalm 143:6 Stretch out my hands: in supplication (see Pss 44:21; 88:10; Ex 9:29). Soul: see note on Ps 6:4. Thirsts for you: see Ps 63:2.
Psalm 143:7 The psalmist here appends a mosaic of prayers for deliverance, guidance, and commitment to the Lord.
Psalm 143:7 See similar phrases in Pss 10:1; 28:1; 69:18; 84:3; 88:5; 102:3; 141:1.
Psalm 143:8 At dawn: see notes on Pss 57; 57:9; see also Pss 17:15; 90:14; 101:8; 108:3. Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5. I lift up my soul: see Pss 25:1; 27:8; 32:6; 33:22; 86:4.
Psalm 143:10 Teach me . . . my God: see Pss 25:4f; 118:28. Spirit: the divine Spirit was regarded as a force and not yet as a person (see Ps 51:13; Neh 9:20; Ezek 36:27). Lead . . . path: see note on Ps 26:12 (see also Pss 27:11; 139:24).
Psalm 143:11 For your name’s sake: see Ps 25:11. Deliver me from distress: see Pss 31:5; 119:25, 88; 142:8.
Psalm 143:12 The psalmist calls upon the Lord to deal righteously with his adversaries, reflecting a hope that is expressed in the imprecatory psalms (see notes on Pss 5:11; 35; see also Ps 54:5). Kindness: see note on Ps 6:5.

Ezekiel 39:21-29

²¹Israel’s Reunion.^[a] I will display my glory among the nations, and all the nations will see the punishment that I inflict and the hand that I lay upon them. ²²From that day forward, the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord, their God.

²³Furthermore, the nations will know that the people of the house of Israel were exiled because of their iniquity, inasmuch as they dealt treacherously with me. Therefore, I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword. ²⁴I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and their offenses, and I hid my face from them.

²⁵Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. ²⁶They will forget their disgrace and all the acts of infidelity they committed against me when they will live in security in their land, with no one to make them afraid.

²⁷When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from the lands of their enemies, I will display through them my holiness in the sight of many nations. ²⁸Then they will know that I am the Lord, their God, because, having sent them into exile among the nations, I then reunited them into their own land and left none of them behind. ²⁹Never again will I hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord God.

1 John 3:1-10

Chapter 3

¹See what love
the Father has bestowed on us,
enabling us to be called the children of God,
and that is what we are.
If the world does not recognize us,
that is because it did not know him.
²Beloved,
we are God’s children now.
What we shall be
has not yet been revealed.
However, we do know that when he appears
we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he really is.
³Everyone who has this hope in him
keeps himself pure,
just as he is pure.

The Rupture with Sin^[a]

⁴Everyone who sins breaks the law,
for sin is lawlessness.
⁵You know that he appeared
in order to take away sins,
and that there is no sin in him.
⁶Whoever remains in him does not sin,^[b]
and whoever sins has not seen him
nor known him.
⁷Dear children,
do not let anyone deceive you.
Everyone who does what is right is righteous,
just as he is righteous.
⁸Everyone who sins comes from the devil,
for the devil has been a sinner
from the very beginning.
The Son of God appeared for this very purpose:
to destroy the work of the devil.
⁹Whoever is born of God
does not sin,
because his seed^[c] remains in him.
He cannot sin
because he is begotten by God.
¹⁰This is what distinguishes
the children of God from the children of the devil:
anyone who fails to live righteously
does not belong to God;
neither does anyone who fails to love a brother.

Matthew 10:24-33

²⁴“No student is greater than his teacher, nor a servant greater than his master. ²⁵It is enough for the student to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,^[a] how much more those of his household?

²⁶The Conditions of Discipleship.^[b]“Therefore, do not be afraid of them. There is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, proclaim in the daylight, and what you hear whispered, shout from the housetops.

²⁸“Have no fear of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.^[c]

²⁹“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them can fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. ³⁰Even the hairs on your head have all been counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are worth far more than any number of sparrows.

³²“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my heavenly Father.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)

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Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 140[a]

Prayer for Deliverance from the Snares of the Wicked

Footnotes

Psalm 142[a]

Prayer in Time of Abandonment

Footnotes

Psalm 141[a]

Prayer for Protection against Evildoers

Footnotes

Psalm 143[a]

Prayer of a Penitent in Distress

Footnotes

Footnotes

Chapter 3

The Rupture with Sin[a]

Footnotes

Footnotes

Psalm 140^[a]

Psalm 142^[a]

Psalm 141^[a]

Psalm 143^[a]

The Rupture with Sin^[a]