Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Help in the Face of Enemies
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
140 Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men.[b]
Preserve me from violent men,
2 who plan evil things in their heart.
They stir up wars continually.
3 They sharpen their tongue as sharp as a snake’s;
the venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 Protect me, O Yahweh, from the hands of the wicked.
Preserve me from violent men,
who have planned to make me stumble.[c]
5 The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords.
They have spread out a net along the side[d] of the path.
They have set snares for me. Selah
6 I say to Yahweh, “You are my God.”
Listen, O Yahweh, to the voice of my supplications.
7 O Yahweh, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the desires of the wicked.
Do not allow them to attain their[e] plan, lest they be exalted. Selah
9 With respect to the head of those who surround me,
may the harm of their lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall on them;
let them be dropped into the fire,
into bottomless pits from which they cannot rise.
11 Do not let a slanderer[f] be established in the land;
as for the man of violence, let evil hunt him quickly.
12 I know[g] that Yahweh will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name;
the upright will dwell in your presence.
A Prayer for Deliverance from Pursuers
A maskil of David.
When he was in the cave. A prayer.[a]
142 I cry out with my voice to Yahweh;
I implore favor with my voice to Yahweh.
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I declare my trouble before him.
3 When my spirit faints within me,
you know my way.
On the path where I walk,
they have hidden a trap for me;
4 look to my right and see.
There is no one looking out for me;
there is no escape for me;[b]
no one cares for my soul.[c]
5 I cry out to you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Deliver me from my pursuers,
for they are stronger than I.
7 Bring me[d] out of prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will encircle me,
because you will deal bountifully with me.
Prayer for God’s Help in Maintaining Integrity
A psalm of David.[a]
141 I call on you, O Yahweh; hasten to me.
Listen to my voice when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be set before you as incense,
the lifting up of my palms as the evening offering.
3 Set a guard, O Yahweh, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
to practice wicked deeds
with men who do iniquity;
and do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let a righteous one strike me in kindness,
and let him chasten me.
It is oil for my head;[b] let not my head refuse.
For still my prayer is against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown down the sides of a cliff,[c]
then they will understand that my words were pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But[d] my eyes are toward you, O Yahweh, my Lord;
I have taken refuge in you. Do not lay bare my soul.[e]
9 Protect me from the grasp[f] of the trap they have laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their[g] nets,
while I escape altogether.
A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
A psalm of David.[a]
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer;
listen to my supplications.
In your faithfulness answer me,
and in your righteousness.
2 And do not enter into judgment with your servant,
because no one alive is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground.
He has made me dwell in dark places
like those long dead.
4 And so my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within[b] me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your doings.[c]
I muse on the labor of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul longs for you like a dry land. Selah
7 Quickly answer me, O Yahweh;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will become
like those descending to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning,
for I trust you.
Cause me to know the way that I should go,
for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh.
I take refuge in you.[d]
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
your Spirit is good.
Lead me onto level ground.
11 For your name’s sake, O Yahweh, preserve my life;
in your righteousness bring me[e] out of trouble.
12 And in your loyal love destroy my enemies,
and exterminate all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
The Adversary’s Attack on Job’s Person
2 And then[a] one day the sons of God[b] came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan[c] also came into their midst to present himself before Yahweh. 2 So[d] Yahweh asked[e] Satan,[f] “From where have you come?”
And Satan[g] answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming on the earth and from walking about in it.”
3 So[h] Yahweh asked[i] Satan,[j] “Have you considered[k] my servant Job? Indeed,[l] there is no one like him on the earth—a blameless man and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil. And still he persists in his blamelessness even though[m] you incited me against him to destroy him for nothing.”
4 Then[n] Satan[o] answered him and said, “Skin for skin! All that that[p] man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out[q] your hand and touch his bones and his flesh, and see whether[r] he will curse[s] you to your face.”[t]
6 So[u] Yahweh said to Satan,[v] “All right,[w] he is in your power.[x] Only spare his life.”
Job’s Blameless Behavior
7 So[y] Satan[z] went out from Yahweh’s presence,[aa] and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head. 8 So[ab] he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and he sat in the midst of the ashes.
9 Then[ac] his wife said to him, “Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? Curse[ad] God and die.”
10 So[ae] he said to her, “You speak like one of the foolish women speaks. Indeed, should we receive the good from God, but[af] not receive the evil?” In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Thus[ag] Job’s three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So[ah] each set out from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met[ai] together to come to console him and to comfort him.
12 Thus[aj] they lifted up their eyes[ak] from afar, but[al] they did not recognize him, so[am] they raised their voice, and they wept, and each man tore his outer garment[an] and threw dust on their heads toward the sky.[ao] 13 Then[ap] they sat with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, but[aq] no one spoke[ar] a word to him because they saw that his[as] suffering was very great.
Saul’s Conversion on the Damascus Road
9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and[a] asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring them[b] tied up[c] to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he proceeded, it happened that when he approached Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting! 6 But get up and enter into the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.”[d] 7 (Now the men who were traveling together with him stood speechless, because they[e] heard the voice but saw no one.) 8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although[f] his eyes were open he could see nothing. And leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was unable to see[g] for three days, and he did not eat or drink.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but the food that remains to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has set his seal on this one.”
28 So they said to him, “What shall we do that we can accomplish the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one whom that one sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign will you perform, so that we can see it[a] and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’[b]
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, Moses did not give you bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven! 33 For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, always give us this bread!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty again. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives to me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never throw out, 38 because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me: that everyone whom he has given me, I would not lose any of them,[c] but raise them[d] up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
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