Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140[a]
Prayer for Deliverance from the Snares of the Wicked
1 For the director.[b] A psalm of David.
2 [c]Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from those who are violent,
3 who plan evil schemes in their hearts[d]
and stir up strife continually.
4 Their tongues[e] are as sharp as those of a serpent,
while the venom of vipers is on their lips. Selah
5 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from those who are violent,
who are determined to cause my downfall.
6 The arrogant[f] have set a hidden trap for me;
they have spread out cords as a net,
laying snares for me along the way. Selah
7 [g]I say to the Lord, “You are my God.
Listen, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”
8 O Lord, my God, my strong deliverer,
you shield my head on the day of battle.
9 Do not grant the desires of the wicked, O Lord;
do not permit their evil plots to succeed,
or they will become proud. Selah
10 [h]Those who surround me raise up their heads;
let them be overwhelmed by the malice they threaten.
11 May burning coals rain down on them;
may they be flung down into the miry depths,
never again to rise.[i]
12 Do not permit slanderers to find rest in the land;
may evil hunt the violent to their death.
13 [j]I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor
and upholds the cause of the needy.
14 Then the upright will give thanks to your name,
and the righteous will dwell in your presence.
Psalm 142[a]
Prayer in Time of Abandonment
1 A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer.
2 [c]I cry out to the Lord with my plea;
I entreat the Lord to grant me mercy.
3 Before him I pour out my complaint
and tell my troubles in his presence.
4 [d]No matter how faint my spirit is within me,
you are there to guide my steps.
Along the path on which I travel[e]
they have hidden a trap for me.
5 I look to my right,
but there is no friend who knows me.
There is no refuge available to me;
no one cares whether I live or perish.[f]
6 [g]I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”[h]
7 Listen to my plea for help,
for I am in desperate straits.
Rescue me from those who seek to persecute me,
for they are too strong for me.[i]
8 Set me free from my prison,[j]
so that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will assemble around me
because of your great generosity to me.
Psalm 141[a]
Prayer for Protection against Evildoers
1 [b]A psalm of David.
O Lord, I call to you; come quickly to my aid;
listen to my plea when I call out to you.
2 May my prayer be like incense[c] before you,
the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice.
3 [d]Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not permit my heart to be drawn to evil,
or to the pursuit of wicked deeds
in the company of those who do evil;
let me not share in their corruption.
5 [e]If a righteous man strikes me, I regard it as kindness;
if he rebukes me, it is oil on my head.[f]
But never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,
for my prayer is always opposed to their evil deeds.
6 [g]When their leaders are flung down in stony places,
they will learn that my prayers were heard.
7 As the soil is shattered when the ground is plowed,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of the netherworld.
8 [h]But my eyes are turned to you, O Lord God;
in you I seek refuge;
do not take my life away.
9 Keep me safe from the traps they have laid for me,
from the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked tumble into their own nets all together
while I pass by unharmed.[i]
Psalm 143[a]
Prayer of a Penitent in Distress
1 [b]A psalm of David.
O Lord, hear my prayer,
incline your ear to my supplications.
In your faithfulness respond to me
with your righteousness.
2 Do not subject your servant to your judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.[c]
3 [d]An enemy has stalked me unrelentingly
and crushed me into the ground;
he has left me to live in darkness[e]
like those long dead.
4 My spirit is faint within me,
and my heart[f] has succumbed to fear.
5 I remember the days of old,
reflecting on all your actions
and meditating on the works of your hands.[g]
6 I stretch out my hands[h] to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 [i]Answer me quickly, O Lord,
for my spirit grows faint.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.[j]
8 At dawn[k] let me experience your kindness,
for in you I place my trust.
Show me the path I must walk,
for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord,
for in you I seek refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.[l]
Let your gracious Spirit lead me
along a level path.
11 For your name’s sake,[m] O Lord, preserve my life;
in your righteousness deliver me from distress.
12 In your kindness, destroy my enemies,
and annihilate all those who oppress me,
for I am your servant.[n]
Chapter 2
Have You Paid Any Notice to My Servant Job?[a] 1 On another occasion the sons of God came forward to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan accompanied them. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “I have been roaming the earth and going back and forth in it.”
3 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you paid any notice to my servant Job? You will not find anyone like him on the entire earth. He is a good and righteous man who fears God and shuns evil. He still maintains his integrity, even though you incited me to ruin him without the slightest justification.”
4 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin![b] A man will surrender everything he has to save his own life. 5 But now if you stretch forth your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, he will curse you to your face.” 6 The Lord said to Satan, “He is in your power, but you must spare his life.”
Job Did Not Utter a Single Sinful Word.[c] 7 Therefore, when Satan left the Lord’s presence, he afflicted Job with malignant sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a potsherd to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.[d]
9 Then his wife said to him, “When will you give up persisting in your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. If we accept good things from God, should we not be willing to accept sorrows as well?” In all this, Job did not utter a single sinful word.
11 The Three Friends.[e] When three of Job’s friends heard of all the misfortunes that he had endured, each of them set out from his own home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. After they gathered together, they went forth to console and comfort him.[f]
12 However, when they first saw Job from a distance, they could hardly recognize him, and they wept aloud, tore their cloaks, and threw dust into the air over their heads. 13 Then they sat there with him upon the ground for seven days and seven nights. None of them spoke a word to him, for they could clearly see how greatly he was suffering.
Chapter 9
Conversion of Saul on the Road to Damascus.[a] 1 Now, Saul,[b] still breathing threats and violence against the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus,[c] authorizing him to arrest any men or women there who were followers of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem.
3 While he was drawing near Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.”
7 The men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, for they had heard the voice but had seen no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was unable to see. Therefore, they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days, he was without sight and neither ate nor drank.
27 Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For it is on him
that God the Father has set his seal.”
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do if we are to carry out the works of God?” 29 Jesus replied,
“This is the work of God:
to believe in the one whom he has sent.”
30 They asked him further, “What sign can you give us that we can see and come to believe in you? What work will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven[a] to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus replied,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses
who gave you the bread from heaven.
It is my Father
who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is
he who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
34 The Bread of Life.[b]“Sir,” they begged him, “give us this bread always.” 35 Jesus answered them,
“I am[c] the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But I said to you that you have seen me
and yet you do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me
will come to me,
and anyone who comes to me
I will never turn away.
38 For I have come down from heaven
not to do my own will
but the will of him who sent me.
39 “And this is the will of him who sent me:
that I should lose nothing
of all that he has given me,
but that I should raise it up
on the last day.
40 This indeed is the will of my Father:
that all who see the Son
and believe in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise them up
on the last day.”
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