Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140
Prayer for Rescue
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me, Lord, from evil men.
Keep me safe from violent men(A)
2 who plan evil in their hearts.
They stir up wars all day long.(B)
3 They make their tongues
as sharp as a snake’s bite;
viper’s venom is under their lips.(C)Selah
4 Protect me, Lord,
from the power of the wicked.(D)
Keep me safe from violent men
who plan to make me stumble.[a](E)
5 The proud hide a trap with ropes for me;
they spread a net along the path
and set snares for me.(F)Selah
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Listen, Lord, to my cry for help.(G)
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong Savior,
you shield my head on the day of battle.(H)
8 Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked;
do not let them achieve their goals.
Otherwise, they will become proud.(I)Selah
Psalm 142
A Cry of Distress
A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.
1 I cry aloud to the Lord;(B)
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.(C)
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I reveal my trouble to him.(D)
3 Although my spirit is weak within me,
you know my way.(E)
Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.(F)
4 Look to the right and see:[a]
no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me;
no one cares about me.(G)
5 I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my portion in the land of the living.”(H)
6 Listen to my cry,
for I am very weak.(I)
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.(J)
7 Free me from prison
so that I can praise your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because you deal generously with me.(K)
Psalm 141
Protection from Sin and Sinners
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, I call on you; hurry to help me.
Listen to my voice when I call on you.(A)
2 May my prayer be set before you as incense,(B)
the raising of my hands as the evening offering.(C)
3 Lord, set up a guard for my mouth;
keep watch at the door of my lips.(D)
4 Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing
or perform wicked acts with evildoers.
Do not let me feast on their delicacies.(E)
5 Let the righteous one strike me—
it is an act of faithful love;
let him rebuke me—
it is oil for my head;
let me[a] not refuse it.(F)
Even now my prayer is against
the evil acts of the wicked.[b](G)
6 When their rulers[c] will be thrown off
the sides of a cliff,
the people[d] will listen to my words,
for they are pleasing.(H)
Psalm 143
A Cry for Help
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.(A)
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,(B)
for no one alive is righteous in your sight.(C)
3 For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing me to the ground,
making me live in darkness
like those long dead.(D)
4 My spirit is weak within me;
my heart is overcome with dismay.(E)
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on the work of your hands.(F)
6 I spread out my hands to you;
I am like parched land before you.(G)Selah
7 Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.(H)
Don’t hide your face from me,
or I will be like those
going down to the Pit.(I)
8 Let me experience
your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in you.(J)
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I appeal to you.(K)
9 Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
I come to you for protection.[a](L)
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.(M)
May your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.(N)
Wisdom’s Appeal
8 Doesn’t wisdom(A) call out?
Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?
2 At the heights overlooking the road,
at the crossroads, she takes her stand.
3 Beside the gates(B) leading into the city,
at the main entrance, she cries out:
4 “People, I call out to you;
my cry is to the children of Adam.
5 Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced;
develop common sense, you who are foolish.
6 Listen, for I speak of noble things,
and what my lips say is right.
7 For my mouth tells the truth,(C)
and wickedness is detestable to my lips.
8 All the words from my mouth are righteous;
none of them are deceptive or perverse.(D)
9 All of them are clear to the perceptive,(E)
and right to those who discover knowledge.
10 Accept my instruction instead of silver,
and knowledge rather than pure gold.(F)
11 For wisdom is better than jewels,(G)
and nothing desirable can equal it.(H)
12 I, wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.(I)
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil.(J)
I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct,
and perverse speech.
14 I possess good advice and sound wisdom;[a]
I have understanding and strength.(K)
15 It is by me that kings reign(L)
and rulers enact just law;
16 by me, princes lead,
as do nobles and all righteous judges.[b]
17 I love those who love me,(M)
and those who search for me find me.(N)
18 With me are riches and honor,(O)
lasting wealth and righteousness.(P)
19 My fruit is better than solid gold,
and my harvest than pure silver.(Q)
20 I walk in the ways of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
21 giving wealth as an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
Greeting
1 Paul,(A) a prisoner(B) of Christ Jesus,(C) and Timothy(D) our brother:
To Philemon our dear friend and coworker, 2 to Apphia our sister,[a] to Archippus(E) our fellow soldier,(F) and to the church that meets in your home.(G)
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love(H) for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective(I) through knowing every good thing(J) that is in us[b] for the glory of Christ. 7 For I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed(K) through you, brother.
An Appeal for Onesimus
8 For this reason, although I have great boldness in Christ to command you to do what is right, 9 I appeal to you, instead, on the basis of love. I, Paul, as an elderly man[c] and now also as a prisoner(L) of Christ Jesus, 10 appeal to you for my son,(M) Onesimus.[d](N) I became his father(O) while I was in chains. 11 Once he was useless to you, but now he is useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him back to you—I am sending my very own heart.[e][f] 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that in my imprisonment for the gospel he might serve me in your place. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will. 15 For perhaps this is why he was separated from you for a brief time, so that you might get him back permanently, 16 no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother. He is especially so to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh(P) and in the Lord.(Q)
17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome(R) him as you would me. 18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.(S) 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand:(T) I will repay it—not to mention to you that you owe me even your very self. 20 Yes, brother, may I benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Since I am confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 Meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, since I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.
Final Greetings
23 Epaphras,(U) my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, and so do 24 Mark,(V) Aristarchus,(W) Demas, and Luke,(X) my coworkers.
25 The grace of the Lord[g](Y) Jesus Christ be with your spirit.(Z)
The Decision to Kill Lazarus
9 Then a large crowd of the Jews learned he was there. They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, the one he had raised from the dead.(A) 10 But the chief priests had decided to kill Lazarus also, 11 because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them[a] and believing in Jesus.
The Triumphal Entry
12 The(B) next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took palm branches(C) and went out to meet him. They kept shouting:
14 Jesus found a young donkey(G) and sat on it, just as it is written:
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first. However, when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him(J) and that they had done these things to him.
17 Meanwhile, the crowd, which had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb(K) and raised him from the dead, continued to testify.[d] 18 This is also why the crowd met him, because they heard he had done this sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!” (L)
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