Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve 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 as a serpent;
(F)Poison of a viper is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Preserve me from violent men
Who have [b]purposed to [c](I)trip up my feet.
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 the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Lord, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 “O [e]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [f]battle.
8 “Do not grant, O Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)mischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into [g]deep pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 “May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed 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;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
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,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O 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 men who (I)do iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me [d]in kindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
[e]For still my prayer (M)is [f]against their wicked 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 [g]Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O [h]God, the Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not [i]leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the [j](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [k](X)safely.
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
(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 servant,
For in Your sight (E)no man living is righteous.
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]is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your doings;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, as a [c]parched land. [d]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)lovingkindness (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)Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
[e]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 [f]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [g](AE)cut off my enemies
And (AF)destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
9 Now hear this, (A)heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who (B)abhor justice
And twist everything that is straight,
10 Who (C)build Zion with bloodshed
And Jerusalem with violent injustice.
11 Her leaders pronounce (D)judgment for a bribe,
Her (E)priests instruct for a price
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord saying,
“(F)Is not the Lord in our midst?
Calamity will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore, on account of you
(G)Zion will be plowed as a field,
(H)Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the (I)mountain of the [a]temple will become high places of a forest.
Peaceful Latter Days
4 And it will come about in the (J)last days
That the (K)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [b]as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the (L)peoples will stream to it.
2 (M)Many nations will come and say,
“(N)Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That (O)He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For (P)from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And He will (Q)judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, [c]distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords (R)into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they [d]train for war.
4 Each of them will (S)sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With (T)no one to make them afraid,
For the (U)mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk
Each in the (V)name of his god,
As for us, (W)we will walk
In the name of the (X)Lord our God forever and ever.
24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his [a]wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about (A)faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing (B)righteousness, (C)self-control and (D)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.” 26 At the same time too, he was hoping that (E)money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix [b]was succeeded by Porcius (F)Festus, and (G)wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul (H)imprisoned.
Paul before Festus
25 Festus then, having arrived in (I)the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from (J)Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (K)brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, 3 requesting a [c]concession against [d]Paul, that he might [e]have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, (L)setting an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then (M)answered that Paul (N)was being kept in custody at (O)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you [f]go there with me, and if there is anything wrong [g]about the man, let them [h]prosecute him.”
6 After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (P)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (Q)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (R)many and serious charges against him (S)which they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, “(T)I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, (U)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “(V)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and [i]stand trial before me on these charges?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s (W)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I (X)appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with [j]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”
Ministering Women
8 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, (A)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2 and also (B)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: (C)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, (D)Herod’s (E)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.
Parable of the Sower
4 (F)When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the [a]air ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “(G)He who has ears to hear, [b]let him hear.”
9 (H)His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “(I)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that (J)seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
11 “Now the parable is this: (K)the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; [c]they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with [d]perseverance.
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