Book of Common Prayer
To the Overcomer, A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man; preserve me from the man of violence.
2 Who devise evil in their heart; they are continually gathered together for war.
3 They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
4 Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the man of violence, who have purposed to overthrow my steps.
5 The proud have hid a snare for me and cords; they have spread a net; on the path they have set snares for me. Selah.
6 I said unto the LORD, Thou art my God: hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my saving health, cover thou my head in the day of battle.
8 ¶ Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further his wicked thought lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the perversion of their own lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into deep pits, that they not rise up again.
11 The man with an evil tongue shall not be established in the earth; evil shall hunt the man of violence to overthrow him.
12 I know that the LORD will effect the judgment of the poor and the judgment of the destitute.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name; the upright shall dwell in thy presence.
Maschil of David; A Prayer when he was in the cave.
1 ¶ I shall cry unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice shall I ask the LORD for mercy.
2 I shall pour out my complaint before him; before him I shall tell of my trouble.
3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou didst know my path. In the way in which I walked have they secretly laid a snare for me.
4 ¶ I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no one that would know me; I had no refuge; no one cared for my soul.
5 I cried unto thee, O LORD; I said, Thou art my hope and my portion in the land of the living.
6 Attend unto my cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ LORD, I have called unto thee: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, the gift of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a watch, O LORD, upon my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to do works with ungodliness with the men that work iniquity, and let me not eat of their dainties.
5 ¶ Let the righteous smite me in mercy, and let him reprove me: and let not a flattering evil prince anoint my head, for my prayer shall ever be against his evil.
6 Their judges shall be thrown down from strong places; they shall hearken unto my words; for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol, as when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the earth.
8 Therefore mine eyes look unto thee, O GOD the Lord; in thee is my trust; leave not my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from the hands of the snare which they have laid for me, and from the snares of the workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall together into their own nets, whilst I pass on ahead forever.
A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my supplications for the sake of thy truth; answer me for the sake of thy righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with thy slave; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul; he has smitten my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit has become overwhelmed within me; my heart within me has become desolate.
5 I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all thy works; I mused on the work of thy hands.
6 I stretched forth my hands unto thee; my soul thirsted after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
7 ¶ Hear me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails; hide not thy face from me lest I be like those that go down into the grave.
8 Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning, for in thee do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9 Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I flee unto thee.
10 Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness.
11 By thy name, O LORD, thou shalt give me life; by thy righteousness thou shalt bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And by thy mercy thou shalt scatter my enemies and destroy all the adversaries of my soul; for I am thy slave.
9 Now hear this, ye heads of the house of Jacob and captains of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment and pervert all equity;
10 that build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity;
11 the heads thereof judge for bribes, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they come near unto the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? No evil can come upon us.
12 Therefore for your sake Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
4 ¶ But it shall come to pass in the last of the times that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the top of the mountains and higher than all the hills, and peoples shall flow unto it.
2 And many Gentiles shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
3 And he shall judge among many peoples and correct strong nations even afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they train for war any more.
4 But each one shall sit under their vine and under their fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of the hosts has spoken it.
5 Even if all the peoples should walk each one in the name of their gods; with all this we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and eternally.
24 And after certain days when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard of him the faith which is in Christ.
25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, Go away for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
26 He hoped also that money should have been given him from Paul, that he might loose him; therefore he sent for him many times and communed with him.
27 But after two years Felix received Porcius Festus as successor; and Felix, wanting to win the grace of the Jews, left Paul bound.
25 ¶ Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
2 Then the prince of the priests and the principals of the Jews informed him against Paul and besought him,
3 asking for grace against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, they placing an ambush in the way to kill him.
4 But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself would depart shortly there.
5 Let them, therefore, said he, who among you are able, go down with me and accuse this man, if there is anything in him.
6 And when he had tarried among them no more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea and the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, commanded Paul to be brought.
7 And when he was come, the Jews who came down from Jerusalem stood round about and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
8 While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar have I sinned in anything at all.
9 But Festus, willing to ingratiate himself with the Jews, answered Paul and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?
10 Then said Paul, I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged; to the Jews I have done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.
11 For if I am an offender or have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there are none of these things of which these accuse me, no one may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.
12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.
8 ¶ And it came to pass afterward that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and announcing the gospel of the kingdom of God, and the twelve with him,
2 and certain women, who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who ministered unto him of their substance.
4 ¶ And when many people were gathered together and were come to him out of every city, he spoke by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell along the way, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon the rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
8 And some fell on good ground and sprang up and bore fruit a hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the others in parables that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those along the way are those that hear; then comes the devil and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 Those on the rock are those that when they hear, receive the word with joy, but these have no root, who for a while believe and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are those who when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are those who in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.
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