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.
The Commendation of Wisdom
8 Does not (A)wisdom call,
And understanding [a]lift up her voice?
2 On top of (B)the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 Beside the (C)gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
4 “To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
5 “O [b](D)naive ones, understand prudence;
And, O (E)fools, understand [c]wisdom.
6 “Listen, for I will speak (F)noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal (G)right things.
7 “For my (H)mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing (I)crooked or perverted in them.
9 “They are all (J)straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who (K)find knowledge.
10 “Take my (L)instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.
11 “For wisdom is (M)better than [d]jewels;
And (N)all desirable things cannot compare with her.
12 “I, wisdom, (O)dwell with prudence,
And I find (P)knowledge and discretion.
13 “The (Q)fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
(R)Pride and arrogance and (S)the evil way
And the (T)perverted mouth, I hate.
14 “(U)Counsel is mine and (V)sound wisdom;
I am understanding, (W)power is mine.
15 “By me (X)kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.
16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.
17 “I (Y)love those who love me;
And (Z)those who diligently seek me will find me.
18 “(AA)Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring (AB)wealth and righteousness.
19 “My fruit is (AC)better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than (AD)choicest silver.
20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
21 To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may (AE)fill their treasuries.
Salutation
1 (A)Paul, (B)a prisoner of (C)Christ Jesus, and (D)Timothy [a]our brother,
To Philemon our beloved brother and (E)fellow worker, 2 and to Apphia [b](F)our sister, and to (G)Archippus our (H)fellow soldier, and to (I)the church in your house: 3 (J)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 (K)I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, 5 because I (L)hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the [c]saints; 6 and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective [d]through the (M)knowledge of every good thing which is in you [e]for Christ’s sake. 7 For I have come to have much (N)joy and comfort in your love, because the [f]hearts of the [g]saints have been (O)refreshed through you, brother.
8 Therefore, (P)though I have [h]enough confidence in Christ to order you to do what is (Q)proper, 9 yet for love’s sake I rather (R)appeal to you—since I am such a person as Paul, [i]the (S)aged, and now also (T)a prisoner of (U)Christ Jesus—
Plea for Onesimus, a Free Man
10 I (V)appeal to you for my (W)child [j](X)Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my [k]imprisonment, 11 who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. 12 I have sent him back to you in person, that is, sending my very heart, 13 whom I wished to keep with me, so that on your behalf he might minister to me in my [l](Y)imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but without your consent I did not want to do anything, so that your goodness would (Z)not be, in effect, by compulsion but of your own free will. 15 For perhaps (AA)he was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, 16 (AB)no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, (AC)a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both (AD)in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 If then you regard me a (AE)partner, accept him as you would me. 18 But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account; 19 (AF)I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand, I will repay it ((AG)not to [m]mention to you that you owe to me even your own self as well). 20 Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; (AH)refresh my heart in Christ.
21 (AI)Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say.
22 At the same time also prepare me a (AJ)lodging, for (AK)I hope that through (AL)your prayers (AM)I will be given to you.
23 (AN)Epaphras, my (AO)fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, 24 as do (AP)Mark, (AQ)Aristarchus, (AR)Demas, (AS)Luke, my (AT)fellow workers.
25 (AU)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be (AV)with your spirit.[n]
9 The (A)large crowd of the Jews then learned that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, (B)whom He raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death also; 11 because (C)on account of him (D)many of the Jews were going away and were believing in Jesus.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem
12 On the next day (E)the large crowd who had come to (F)the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “(G)Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even the (H)King of Israel.” 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15 “(I)Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 (J)These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus (K)was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17 So (L)the [a]people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18 (M)For this reason also the [b]people went and met Him, (N)because they heard that He had performed this [c]sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.