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.
9 Hear this, O rulers of the house of Jacob
and leaders of the house of Israel,
those detesting justice
and perverting all that is right,
10 he who builds Zion with blood
and Jerusalem with wickedness.
11 Its rulers judge for a bribe;
its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money.
But they lean on Yahweh, saying,
“Is not Yahweh in our midst?
Disaster will not come upon us.”
12 Therefore on account of you
Zion will be plowed as a field,
and Jerusalem will be a heap of rubble,
and the temple mount[a] as a high place in a forest.
The Mountain of Yahweh
4 And it will be that at the end of those days,
the mountain of Yahweh
will be established as the highest of the mountains,
and it will be lifted up above the hills,
and people will stream to it.
2 And many nations will come and say,
“Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
and to the temple[b] of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways,
and that we may walk in his paths,”
for the law will go out from Zion,
and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
3 And he will judge between many peoples
and will arbitrate for strong nations far away;
and they will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation will not lift up a sword against a nation,
and they will no longer learn war.
4 But they will sit, each under his vine
and under his fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the mouth of Yahweh of hosts has spoken.
5 For all the nations walk,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of Yahweh our God,
forever and ever.
24 And after some days, when[a] Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and listened to him concerning faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And while[b] he was discussing about righteousness and self control and the judgment that is to come, Felix became afraid and[c] replied, “Go away for the present, and when I[d] have an opportunity, I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he was also hoping that money would be given to him by Paul. For this reason also he sent for him as often as possible and[e] talked with him. 27 And when[f] two years had passed, Felix received as successor Porcius Festus. And because he[g] wanted to do a favor for the Jews, Felix left Paul behind as a prisoner.[h]
Paul Appeals to Caesar
25 Now when[i] Festus set foot in the province, after three days he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought charges against Paul to him, and were urging him, 3 asking for a favor against him, that he summon him to Jerusalem, because they[j] were preparing an ambush to do away with him along the way. 4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself was about to go there[k] in a short time. 5 So he said, “Let those among you who are prominent go down with me,[l] and[m] if there is any wrong in the man, let them bring charges against him.”
6 And after he[n] had stayed among them not more than eight or ten days, he went down to Caesarea. On the next day he sat down on the judgment seat and[o] gave orders for Paul to be brought. 7 And when[p] he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many and serious charges that they were not able to prove, 8 while[q] Paul said in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews nor against the temple nor against Caesar have I sinned with reference to anything!” 9 But Festus, because he[r] wanted to do a favor for the Jews, answered and[s] said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there concerning these things?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before the judgment seat of Caesar, where it is necessary for me to be judged. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. 11 If then I am doing wrong[t] and have done anything deserving death, I am not trying to avoid[u] dying. But if there is nothing true of the things which these people are accusing me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 12 Then Festus, after[v] discussing this[w] with his[x] council, replied, “You have appealed to Caesar—to Caesar you will go!”
Some Women Accompany Jesus
8 And it happened that afterward[a] also he was going about from one town and village to another preaching and proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him, 2 and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza (Herod’s household manager), and Susanna, and many others who were helping to support them from their possessions.
The Parable of the Sower
4 And while[b] a large crowd was gathering and they were going to him from town after town, he spoke by means of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed, and while he was sowing, some seed[c] fell on the side of the path and was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6 And other seed fell on the rock, and when it[d] came up, it withered, because it did not have moisture. 7 And other seed fell in the midst of the thorn plants, and the thorn plants grew up with it[e] and[f] choked it. 8 And other seed fell on the good soil, and when it[g] came up, it produced a hundred times as much grain.” As he[h] said these things, he called out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Reason for the Parables
9 And his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 And he said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are in parables, so that
‘Seeing they may not see,
and hearing they may not understand.’[i]
The Parable of the Sower Interpreted
11 Now the parable means this: the seed is the word of God, 12 and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and[j] be saved. 13 And those on the rock are those who receive the word with joy when they hear it,[k] and these do not have enough root, who believe for a time and in a time of testing fall away. 14 And the seed that fell into the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear and as they[l] go along are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life, and they do not bear fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed on the good soil—these are the ones who, after[m] hearing the word, hold fast to it[n] with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
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