Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
140 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
2 Who plan evil things in their hearts;
(A)They continually gather together for war.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The (B)poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
4 (C)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a (D)snare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have [a]covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
(E)Lest they be exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 (F)Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
12 I know that the Lord will (G)maintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.
A Plea for Relief from Persecutors
A (A)Contemplation[a] of David. A Prayer (B)when he was in the cave.
142 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit [b]was (C)overwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly (D)set a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 [c]Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may (E)praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”
Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I cry out to You;
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
2 Let my prayer be set before You (A)as incense,
(B)The lifting up of my hands as (C)the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my (D)mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
(E)And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 (F)Let the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.
For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the [a]cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.
An Earnest Appeal for Guidance and Deliverance
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
In Your faithfulness answer me,
And in Your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
(A)For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in [a]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 (B)Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart within me is distressed.
5 (C)I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I [b]muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
(D)My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, O Lord;
My spirit fails!
Do not hide Your face from me,
(E)Lest I [c]be like those who [d]go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness (F)in the morning,
For in You do I trust;
(G)Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For (H)I lift up my soul to You.
Balaam Foretells the Happiness of Israel
24 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at (A)other times, to seek to use [a]sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel (B)encamped according to their tribes; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 (D)Then he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who (E)falls down, with eyes wide open:
5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
(F)Like aloes (G)planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be (H)in many waters.
8 “God(K) brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall (L)consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall (M)break their bones
And (N)pierce them with his arrows.
9 ‘He(O) bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’
(P)“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he (Q)struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, (R)“I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. (S)I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’?
Sonship Through the Spirit
12 (A)Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For (B)if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you (C)put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For (D)as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For (E)you did not receive the spirit of bondage again (F)to fear, but you received the (G)Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, (H)“Abba,[a] Father.” 16 (I)The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then (J)heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, (K)if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?(A)
15 (B)Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the (C)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not [a]regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus [b]perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”
So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, (D)“Render[c] therefore to Caesar the things that are (E)Caesar’s, and to God the things that are (F)God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.