Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit felt weak within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
9 Now hear this, you (A)heads of the house of Jacob
And rulers of the house of Israel,
Who (B)despise justice
And twist everything that is straight,
10 Who (C)build Zion with bloodshed,
And Jerusalem with malice.
11 Her leaders pronounce (D)judgment for a bribe,
Her (E)priests teach for pay,
And her prophets divine for money.
Yet they lean on the Lord, saying,
“(F)Is the Lord not in our midst?
Catastrophe will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore on account of you,
(G)Zion will be plowed like a field,
(H)Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,
And the (I)mountain of the [a]temple will become high places of a forest.
Peaceful Latter Days
4 And it will come about in the (J)last days
That the (K)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [b]as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the (L)peoples will stream to it.
2 (M)Many nations will come and say,
“(N)Come and let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
So that (O)He may teach us about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For (P)from Zion will go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And He will (Q)judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, [c]distant nations.
Then they will beat their swords (R)into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift a sword against nation,
And never again will they [d]train for war.
4 Instead, each of them will (S)sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With (T)no one to make them afraid,
Because the (U)mouth of the Lord of armies has spoken.
5 Though all the peoples walk,
Each in the (V)name of his god,
As for us, (W)we will walk
In the name of the (X)Lord our God forever and ever.
24 Now some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla his [a]wife, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about (A)faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing (B)righteousness, (C)self-control, and (D)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and responded, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he was also hoping that (E)money would be given to him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and talk with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix [b]was succeeded by Porcius (F)Festus; and Felix, (G)wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul (H)imprisoned.
Paul before Festus
25 Festus, then, after arriving in (I)the province, went up to Jerusalem from (J)Caesarea three days later. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (K)brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with [c]Festus, 3 requesting a [d]concession against [e]Paul, that he might [f]have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, (L)setting an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then (M)answered that Paul (N)was being kept in custody in (O)Caesarea, and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he *said, “have the influential men among you [g]go there with me, and if there is anything wrong [h]about the man, have them bring charges against him.”
6 After Festus had spent no more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (P)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (Q)the tribunal and ordered that Paul be brought. 7 After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (R)many, and serious, charges against him (S)which they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, “(T)I have not done anything wrong either against the Law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, (U)wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul and said, “(V)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and [i]stand trial before me on these charges?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s (W)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 If, therefore, I am in the wrong and have committed something deserving death, I am not trying to avoid execution; but if there is nothing to the accusations which these men are bringing against me, no one can hand me over to them. I (X)appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with [j]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you shall go.”
Women Support Jesus
8 Soon afterward, [a]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, (A)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, 2 and also (B)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: (C)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, (D)Herod’s (E)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.
Parable of the Sower
4 (F)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “(G)The one who has ears to hear, [b]let him hear.”
9 (H)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable [c]meant. 10 And He said, “(I)To you it has been granted to know the [d]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that [e](J)while seeing they may not see, and [f]while hearing they may not understand.
11 “Now this is the parable: (K)the seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; [g]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they [h]fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word [i]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with [j]perseverance.
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