Book of Common Prayer
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
140 Rescue me from evil people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s ⌞fang⌟.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Lord.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Lord Almighty, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
⌞or⌟ they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that the Lord will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
A maskil [a] by David when he was in the cave; a prayer.
142 Loudly, I cry to the Lord.
Loudly, I plead with the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints in his presence
and tell him my troubles.
3 When I begin to lose hope,
you ⌞already⌟ know what I am experiencing.
⌞My enemies⌟ have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.
4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me.
Escape is impossible for me.
No one cares about me.
5 I call out to you, O Lord.
I say, “You are my refuge,
my own inheritance in this world of the living.”
6 Pay attention to my cry for help
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me
because they are too strong for me.
7 Release my soul from prison
so that I may give thanks to your name.
Righteous people will surround me
because you are good to me.
A psalm by David.
141 O Lord, I cry out to you, “Come quickly.”
Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.
2 Let my prayer be accepted
as sweet-smelling incense in your presence.
Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted
as an evening sacrifice.
3 O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil
or to become involved with wickedness,
with people who are troublemakers.
Do not let me taste their delicacies.
5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness.
It is like lotion for my head.
My head will not refuse it,
because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff,
they will listen to what I have to say.
It will sound pleasant ⌞to them⌟.
7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground,
so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.
8 My eyes look to you, Lord Almighty.
I have taken refuge in you.
Do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me
and from the traps set by troublemakers.
10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets,
while I escape unharmed.
A psalm by David.
143 O Lord, listen to my prayer.
Open your ears to hear my urgent requests.
Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.
2 Do not take me to court for judgment,
because there is no one alive
who is righteous in your presence.
3 The enemy has pursued me.
He has ground my life into the dirt.
He has made me live in dark places
like those who have died long ago.
4 That is why I begin to lose hope
and my heart is in a state of shock.
5 I remember the days long ago.
I reflect on all that you have done.
I carefully consider what your hands have made.
6 I stretch out my hands to you in prayer.
Like parched land, my soul thirsts for you. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O Lord.
My spirit is worn out.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will be like those who go into the pit.
8 Let me hear about your mercy in the morning,
because I trust you.
Let me know the way that I should go,
because I long for you.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I come to you for protection.
10 Teach me to do your will, because you are my God.
May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 O Lord, keep me alive for the sake of your name.
Because you are righteous, lead me out of trouble.
12 In keeping with your mercy, wipe out my enemies
and destroy all who torment me,
because I am your servant.
Balaam’s Third Prophecy
24 When Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel, he didn’t look for omens as he had done before. He turned toward the desert, 2 looked up, and saw Israel’s camp grouped by tribes. The Spirit of God entered him, 3 and he delivered this message:
“This is the message of Balaam, son of Beor.
This is the message of the man whose eyesight is clear.
4 This is the message of the one who hears God’s words,
has a vision from the Almighty,
and falls ⌞into a trance⌟ with his eyes open:
5 How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
and the places where you live, Israel.
6 Your tents spread out like rivers,
like gardens by a river,
like aloes planted by the Lord,
like cedars by the water.
7 Water will flow from their buckets,
and their crops will have plenty of water.
Their king will be greater than Agag,
and their kingdom will be considered the best.
8 The God who brought them out of Egypt
has the strength of a wild bull.
He will devour nations that are his enemies,
crush their bones,
and pierce them with arrows.
9 His people lie down ⌞and⌟ rest like a lion.
They are like a lioness. Who dares to disturb them?
Those who bless you will be blessed!
Those who curse you will be cursed!”
Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy
10 Balak became angry with Balaam. He clapped his hands and said, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, and now you have blessed them three times. 11 Get out of here! Go home! I said I’d reward you richly, but the Lord has made you lose your reward.”
12 Balaam answered Balak, “I told the messengers you sent me, 13 ‘Even if Balak would give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn’t disobey the Lord’s command no matter how good or bad the request might seem to me. I must say only what the Lord says.’
12 So, brothers and sisters, we have no obligation to live the way our corrupt nature wants us to live. 13 If you live by your corrupt nature, you are going to die. But if you use your spiritual nature to put to death the evil activities of the body, you will live. 14 Certainly, all who are guided by God’s Spirit are God’s children. 15 You haven’t received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God’s adopted children by which we call out, “Abba! [a] Father!” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 If we are his children, we are also God’s heirs. If we share in Christ’s suffering in order to share his glory, we are heirs together with him.
A Question about Taxes(A)
15 Then the Pharisees went away and planned to trap Jesus into saying the wrong thing. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with Herod’s followers. They said to him, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth and that you teach the truth about the way of God. You don’t favor individuals because of who they are. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”
18 Jesus recognized their evil plan, so he asked, “Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 19 Show me a coin used to pay taxes.”
They brought him a coin. 20 He said to them, “Whose face and name is this?”
21 They replied, “The emperor’s.”
Then he said to them, “Very well, give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, and give God what belongs to God.”
22 They were surprised to hear this. Then they left him alone and went away.
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