Book of Common Prayer

140 O Lord, deliver me from evil men. Preserve me from the violent, ² who plot and stir up trouble all day long. ³ Their words sting like poisonous snakes. ⁴ Keep me out of their power. Preserve me from their violence, for they are plotting against me. ⁵ These proud men have set a trap to catch me, a noose to yank me up and leave me dangling in the air; they wait in ambush with a net to throw over and hold me helpless in its meshes.

^6-8 O Jehovah, my Lord and Savior, my God and my shield—hear me as I pray! Don’t let these wicked men succeed; don’t let them prosper and be proud. ⁹ Let their plots boomerang! Let them be destroyed by the very evil they have planned for me. ¹⁰ Let burning coals fall down upon their heads, or throw them into the fire or into deep pits from which they can’t escape.

¹¹ Don’t let liars prosper here in our land; quickly punish them. ¹² But the Lord will surely help those they persecute; he will maintain the rights of the poor. ¹³ Surely the godly are thanking you, for they shall live in your presence.

142 ^1-2 How I plead with God, how I implore his mercy, pouring out my troubles before him. ³ For I am overwhelmed and desperate, and you alone know which way I ought to turn to miss the traps my enemies have set for me. ⁴ (There’s one—just over there to the right!) No one gives me a passing thought. No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me. ⁵ Then I prayed to Jehovah. “Lord,” I pled, “you are my only place of refuge. Only you can keep me safe.

⁶ “Hear my cry, for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me. ⁷ Bring me out of prison so that I can thank you. The godly will rejoice with me for all your help.”

141 Quick, Lord, answer me—for I have prayed. Listen when I cry to you for help! ² Regard my prayer as my evening sacrifice and as incense wafting up to you.

³ Help me, Lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed. ⁴ Take away my lust for evil things; don’t let me want to be with sinners, doing what they do, sharing their delicacies. ⁵ Let the godly smite me! It will be a kindness! If they reprove me, it is medicine! Don’t let me refuse it. But I am in constant prayer against the wicked and their deeds. ^6-7 When their leaders are condemned, and their bones are strewn across the ground,^[a] then these men will finally listen to me and know that I am trying to help them.

⁸ I look to you for help, O Lord God. You are my refuge. Don’t let them slay me. ⁹ Keep me out of their traps. ¹⁰ Let them fall into their own snares, while I escape.

143 Hear my prayer, O Lord; answer my plea because you are faithful to your promises.^{[a] 2} Don’t bring me to trial! For as compared with you, no one is perfect.

³ My enemies chased and caught me. They have knocked me to the ground. They force me to live in the darkness like those in the grave. ⁴ I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.

⁵ I remember the glorious miracles you did in days of long ago. ⁶ I reach out for you. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. ⁷ Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens; don’t turn away from me or I shall die. ⁸ Let me see your kindness to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for my prayer is sincere. ⁹ Save me from my enemies. O Lord, I run to you to hide me. ¹⁰ Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good.

¹¹ Lord, saving me will bring glory to your name. Bring me out of all this trouble because you are true to your promises. ¹² And because you are loving and kind to me, cut off all my enemies and destroy those who are trying to harm me; for I am your servant.

8 ^1-3 Can’t you hear the voice of wisdom? She is standing at the city gates and at every fork in the road, and at the door of every house. Listen to what she says: ^4-5 “Listen, men!” she calls. “How foolish and naive you are! Let me give you understanding. O foolish ones, let me show you common sense! ^6-7 Listen to me! For I have important information for you. Everything I say is right and true, for I hate lies and every kind of deception. ⁸ My advice is wholesome and good. There is nothing of evil in it. ⁹ My words are plain and clear to anyone with half a mind—if it is only open! ¹⁰ My instruction is far more valuable than silver or gold.”

¹¹ For the value of wisdom is far above rubies; nothing can be compared with it. ¹² Wisdom and good judgment live together, for wisdom knows where to discover knowledge and understanding. ¹³ If anyone respects and fears God, he will hate evil. For wisdom hates pride, arrogance, corruption, and deceit of every kind.

^14-16 “I, Wisdom, give good advice and common sense. Because of my strength, kings reign in power, and rulers make just laws. ¹⁷ I love all who love me. Those who search for me shall surely find me. ¹⁸ Unending riches, honor, justice, and righteousness are mine to distribute. ¹⁹ My gifts are better than the purest gold or sterling silver! ²⁰ My paths are those of justice and right. ²¹ Those who love and follow me are indeed wealthy. I fill their treasuries.

^1-2 From: Paul, in jail for preaching the Good News about Jesus Christ, and from Brother Timothy.

To: Philemon, our much-loved fellow worker, and to the church that meets in your home, and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus who, like myself, is a soldier of the cross.

³ May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you his blessings and his peace.

⁴ I always thank God when I am praying for you, dear Philemon, ⁵ because I keep hearing of your love and trust in the Lord Jesus and in his people. ⁶ And I pray that as you share your faith with others it will grip their lives too, as they see the wealth of good things in you that come from Christ Jesus. ⁷ I myself have gained much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because your kindness has so often refreshed the hearts of God’s people.

^8-9 Now I want to ask a favor of you. I could demand it of you in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do, but I love you and prefer just to ask you—I, Paul, an old man now, here in jail for the sake of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ My plea is that you show kindness to my child Onesimus, whom I won to the Lord while here in my chains. ¹¹ Onesimus (whose name means “Useful”) hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is going to be of real use to both of us. ¹² I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart.

¹³ I really wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and you would have been helping me through him, ¹⁴ but I didn’t want to do it without your consent. I didn’t want you to be kind because you had to but because you wanted to. ¹⁵ Perhaps you could think of it this way: that he ran away from you for a little while so that now he can be yours forever, ¹⁶ no longer only a slave, but something much better—a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you too, because he is not only a servant but also your brother in Christ.

¹⁷ If I am really your friend, give him the same welcome you would give to me if I were the one who was coming. ¹⁸ If he has harmed you in any way or stolen anything from you, charge me for it. ¹⁹ I will pay it back (I, Paul, personally guarantee this by writing it here with my own hand) but I won’t mention how much you owe me! The fact is, you even owe me your very soul! ²⁰ Yes, dear brother, give me joy with this loving act and my weary heart will praise the Lord.

²¹ I’ve written you this letter because I am positive that you will do what I ask and even more!

²² Please keep a guest room ready for me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and let me come to you soon.

²³ Epaphras my fellow prisoner, who is also here for preaching Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. ²⁴ So do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵ The blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon your spirit.

Paul

⁹ When the ordinary people of Jerusalem heard of his arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus—the man who had come back to life again. ¹⁰ Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus too, ¹¹ for it was because of him that many of the Jewish leaders had deserted and believed in Jesus as their Messiah.

¹² The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city, and a huge crowd of Passover visitors ¹³ took palm branches and went down the road to meet him, shouting, “The Savior! God bless the King of Israel! Hail to God’s Ambassador!”

¹⁴ Jesus rode along on a young donkey, fulfilling the prophecy that said: ¹⁵ “Don’t be afraid of your King, people of Israel, for he will come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”

¹⁶ (His disciples didn’t realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy; but after Jesus returned to his glory in heaven, then they noticed how many prophecies of Scripture had come true before their eyes.)

¹⁷ And those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling all about it. ¹⁸ That was the main reason why so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this mighty miracle.

¹⁹ Then the Pharisees said to each other, “We’ve lost. Look—the whole world has gone after him!”