Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140
Rescue Me From Evil Men
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For the choir director. A psalm by David.
Plea for Deliverance
1 Keep me safe, Lord, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent man,
2 who plans evil in his heart.
Every day they gather for battle.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a snake. Interlude
The poison of vipers is under their lips.
4 Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from the violent man, who plans to trip my feet.
5 The proud have hidden a snare for me, and ropes.[a]
They have spread out a net along my route. Interlude
They have set traps for me.
Confidence
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my cry for mercy.
7 O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you cover my head on the day for weapons.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their scheme succeed when they rise up.[b] Interlude
Plea for Justice
9 May the trouble caused by their lips
fall on the heads of those who surround me.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Cause them to fall into the fire,
or into pits from which they will never rise.
11 Do not let the slanderer[c] be established in the land.
As for the man of violence—
may evil hunt him and beat him down.
Confidence
12 I know that the Lord will provide justice for the oppressed,
judgment for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name.
The upright will live in your presence.
Psalm 142
When My Spirit Grows Faint
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A maskil[a] by David. When he was in the cave.[b] A prayer.
A Prayer for the Weary
1 With my voice I cry out to the Lord.
With my voice I call to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaint before him.
I tell my distress before him.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me,
you are the one who knows my course.
On the path where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look to my right and see.
There is no one who recognizes me.
There is no escape for me.
No one cares about my life.
5 I cry out to you, Lord.
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Pay attention to my loud cry,
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
because they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous will gather around me,
because you have accomplished your purpose for me.
Psalm 141
Guard My Lips and Heart
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A psalm by David.
Accept My Prayer
1 Lord, I call to you. Hurry to me.
Turn your ear toward my voice when I call to you.
2 May my prayer linger before you like incense,
the lifting up of my hands like an evening offering.
Guard My Heart and Mouth
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn toward anything evil,
to take part in wicked deeds with men who do evil.
Let me not taste their delicacies.
Correct Me
5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is mercy.
Let him rebuke me—it is lotion[a] on my head.
My head will not refuse it.
Reject the Wicked
But my prayer is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their rulers will be thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
and they will hear that my words were pleasant.
7 They will say,[b] “As one splits and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”
Closing Plea
8 But my eyes look to you, Lord God.[c]
In you I take refuge. Do not take away my life.
9 Keep me from the snares they have set for me,
from the traps of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.
Psalm 143
Do Not Bring Your Servant Into Judgment
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A psalm by David.
Prayer for Forgiveness
1 Lord, hear my prayer.
Give ear to my cry for mercy.
In your faithfulness, answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not bring charges against your servant,
because no one living can be righteous before you.
The Problem
3 For the enemy pursues my soul.
He crushes my life to the ground.
He makes me dwell in dark places like those long dead,
4 so my spirit grows faint inside me.
Within me my heart is devastated.
The Reason for Hope
5 I remember the days of long ago.
I meditate on all your works,
and I consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you. Interlude
My soul thirsts for you like a weary land.
The Prayer
7 Hurry! Answer me, Lord.
My spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear about your mercy in the morning,
for I trust in you.
Teach me the way that I should go,
for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
In your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
12 In your mercy, wipe out my enemies,
and destroy all who threaten my life,
for I am your servant.
9 Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob.
Listen attentively, leaders of the house of Israel,
you who have contempt for justice and pervert everything that is right,
10 you who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with injustice.
11 Her leaders render verdicts for a bribe,
and her priests issue rulings for a payoff.
Her prophets foretell the future for silver,
yet they lean on the Lord and say,
“The Lord is in our midst, isn’t he? Disaster will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field.
Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
and the Temple Mount will become a wooded hill.
A Future Kingdom of Peace
4 In the last days, the mountain of the House of the Lord
will be established as the highest among the mountains.[a]
It will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it like a river.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law[b] will go out from Zion
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will render judgment between many peoples.
He will settle disputes between mighty nations from far away.
They will pound their swords into plowshares
and their spears into blades for trimming vines.
Nation will not raise the sword against nation,
and they will not learn how to wage war any longer.
4 Each man will sit under his own vine
and under his own fig tree.
There will be no one to make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of Armies has spoken.
5 For all the other peoples walk in the names of their gods,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
24 Several days later, Felix appeared in public with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 While Paul instructed him about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and replied, “Leave me for now, but when it is convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that Paul would give him money,[a] and for this reason he sent for him as often as possible and talked with him.
27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Portius Festus. But because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
Paul on Trial Before Festus
25 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 Then the high priests and the leaders of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul 3 and asked Festus for the favor of transferring Paul’s case to Jerusalem. Their plan was to ambush and kill Paul along the way.
4 However, Festus replied that Paul was being held in custody at Caesarea and that he himself intended to go there soon. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let some of your leaders go down with me and press charges against him, if there is anything evil about the man.”
6 After spending no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judicial bench and ordered Paul to be brought in.
7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they could not prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have not committed any offense against the Jewish law, against the temple, or against Caesar.”
9 But since Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor, he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s judicial bench, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as also you yourself know very well. 11 If I am guilty and have done something worthy of death, I am not trying to escape death. But if there is nothing to the charges they are making against me, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus conferred with his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Preaching the Gospel
8 Soon afterward Jesus was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; 3 Joanna, the wife of Cuza, Herod’s household manager; Susanna; and many others who provided support for them[a] out of their own possessions.
The Parable of the Sower
4 As a large crowd was gathering and people from one town after another were making their way to him, he spoke using a parable. 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path. It was trampled, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6 Other seed fell on rocky ground. As soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 Other seed fell into good soil. It grew and produced fruit—one hundred times as much as was sown.” As he said these things, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”
9 His disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”
10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest I speak in parables so that ‘even though they see, they may not see, and even though they hear, they may not understand.’[b] 11 This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear it, but then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts to keep them from believing and being saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root. So they believe for a while, but then fall away in a time of testing. 14 The seeds that fell into the thorns are the ones who hear the word, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of life, so they do not mature. 15 And the seeds in the good ground are the ones who hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it tightly, and produce fruit as they patiently endure.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.