Book of Common Prayer
To the Music Director: A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Deliverance
140 [a]Deliver me, Lord, from evil people,
preserve me from violent men,
2 who craft evil plans in their minds,
inciting wars every day.[b]
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
the venom of vipers is on their lips.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the control of evil people,
from violent men who have planned to trip me.
5 The arrogant have laid a trap for me;
they have spread a net with ropes,
lining it with snares along the way.
6 So I say to the Lord, “You are my God;
listen to my voice
as I plead for mercy, Lord.
7 Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have protected my head in the time[c] of battle.
8 Never grant, Lord, the desires of the wicked;
never condone their plans
so they cannot exalt themselves.
9 May those who surround me discover
that the trouble they talk about falls on their own head!
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be cast into fire,
and into miry pits, never to rise again.
11 Let not the slanderer[d] become established in the land.
May evil quickly hunt down the violent man.
12 I know that the Lord will act on behalf of the tormented,
providing justice for the needy.
13 Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name,
while the upright live in your presence.
A Davidic Song, when he was in the cave.[a] A prayer.
A Call to God for Help
142 My voice cries out to the Lord;
my voice pleads for mercy to the Lord.
2 I pour out my complaint to him,
telling him all of my troubles.
3 Though my spirit grows faint within me,
you are aware of my path.
Wherever I go,
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 I look to my right[b] and observe—
no one is concerned about me.
There is nowhere I can go for refuge,
and no one cares for me.
5 So I cry to you, Lord,
declaring, “You are my refuge,
my only[c] possession while I am on this earth.”[d]
6 Pay attention to my cry,
for I have been brought very low.
Deliver me from my tormentors,
for they are far too strong for me.
7 Break me out of this prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal generously with me.
A Davidic Song
A Prayer for Maturity
141 Lord, I call to you,
be quick to listen to me when I cry out!
2 Let my prayer be like incense offered before you,
and my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, set a guard over my mouth;
keep watch over the door to my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart turn toward evil
or involve itself in wicked activities
with men who practice iniquity.
Let me not feast on their delicacies.
5 Let one who is righteous strike me;
It is an act of gracious love.
Let him rebuke me,
because it is oil for my head;
do not let my head refuse it.
My prayers continuously will be
against their wicked activities.
6 When their judges are thrown off the cliff,
the people[a] will hear my words,
for they are appropriate.
7 Just as one plows and breaks up the earth,
our[b] bones are scattered
near the entrance to the place of the dead.[c]
8 Nevertheless, my eyes are on you, Lord God,
as I seek protection in you.
Don’t leave me defenseless!
9 Protect me from the trap laid for me
and from the snares of those who practice evil.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I come through.
A Davidic Song
Longing for God
143 Lord, hear my prayer;
pay attention to my request, because you are faithful;
answer me in your righteousness.
2 Do not enter into judgment with your servant,
for no living person is righteous in your sight.
3 For those who oppose me are pursuing my life,
crushing me to the ground,
making me sit in darkness
like those who died long ago.
4 As a result, my spirit is desolate within me,
and my mind within me is appalled.
5 I remember the former times,
meditating on everything you have done.
I think about the work[a] of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands toward you,
longing for you like a parched land.
7 Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit is failing.
Do not hide your face from me;
otherwise, I will become like those who descend to the Pit.[b]
8 In the morning let me hear of your gracious love,
for in you I trust.
Cause me to know the way I should take,
because I have set my hope on you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, Lord.
I have taken refuge in you.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
preserve my life.
Because you are righteous,
bring me out of trouble.
12 Because of your gracious love,
you will cut off my enemies.
You will destroy all who oppose me,
for I am your servant.
9 Please listen to this, you leaders of the house of Jacob,
you officials of the house of Israel,
you who hate administering justice,
who pervert the very meaning of[a] equity,
10 who are building up Zion by means of bloodshed,
and Jerusalem by means of iniquity.
11 Her leaders judge for the money,
her priests teach only when they’re paid,
and her prophets prophesy for cash.
Even so, don’t they all rely on the Lord as they ask,
‘The Lord is among us, is he not?
Nothing bad can possibly happen to us!’
12 “Therefore, because of you, Zion will be plowed up like a field,
and Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble,
and the Temple Mount like a forest high place.”
The Future Reign of God
4 “But in the last days it will come about
that the Temple Mount of the Lord will be firmly set
as the leading mountain.
It will be exalted above its surrounding[b] hills,
and people will stream toward it.
2 Many nations will approach and say,
‘Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the Temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us about his ways,
and we will walk according to his directions.’
“Indeed, the Law will proceed from Zion,
and the message of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And he will judge among many people,
rebuking strong nations far away;
and they will reshape their swords as plowshares
and their spears as pruning hooks.
No nation will threaten another,[c]
nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Instead, each man will sit in the shade of[d] his grape vines
and beneath the shade of[e] his fig tree,”
since the[f] Lord of the Heavenly Armies has spoken.
5 “Because all of the people will walk,
each person in the name of his God,
and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
24 Some days later, Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him talk about faith in Jesus[a] the Messiah.[b] 25 As Paul[c] talked about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became afraid and said, “For the present you may go. When I get a chance, I will send for you again.” 26 At the same time he was hoping to receive a bribe from Paul, and so he would send for him frequently to talk with him.
27 After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Since Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison.
Paul Appeals to the Emperor
25 Three days after Festus had arrived in the province, he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 The high priests and Jewish leaders informed him of their charges against Paul, urging 3 and asking Festus[d] to have Paul[e] brought to Jerusalem as a favor. They were laying an ambush to kill him on the road.
4 Festus replied that Paul was being kept in custody at Caesarea and that he himself would be going there soon. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “have your authorities come down with me and present their charges against him there, if there is anything wrong with the man.”
6 Festus[f] stayed with them no more than eight or ten days and then went down to Caesarea. The next day, he sat on the judge’s seat and ordered Paul brought in. 7 When Paul[g] arrived, the Jewish leaders[h] who had come down from Jerusalem surrounded him and began bringing a number of serious charges against him that they couldn’t prove. 8 Paul said in his defense, “I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews, or of the Temple, or of the emperor.”
9 Then Festus, wanting to do the Jewish leaders[i] a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried there before me on these charges?”
10 But Paul said, “I am standing before the emperor’s judgment seat where I ought to be tried. I haven’t done anything wrong to the Jewish leaders,[j] as you know very well. 11 If I’m guilty and have done something that deserves death, I’m willing to die. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to the emperor!”
12 Festus talked it over with the council and then answered, “To the emperor you have appealed; to the emperor you will go!”
Some Women Accompany Jesus
8 After this, Jesus[a] traveled from one city and village to another, preaching and spreading the good news about God’s kingdom. The Twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and illnesses: Mary, also called Magdalene,[b] from whom seven demons had gone out; 3 Joanna, the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza; Susanna; and many others. These women[c] continued to support them[d] out of their personal resources.
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
4 Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus[e] from every city, he said in a parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, were trampled on, and birds from the sky ate them up. 6 Others fell on stony ground, and as soon as they came up, they dried up because they had no moisture. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew with them and choked them. 8 But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted.” As he said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
9 Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant. 10 So he said, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given[f] in parables, so that
‘they might look but not see,
and they might listen but not understand.’”[g]
Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer(C)
11 “Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God’s word. 12 The ones on the path are the people who listen, but then the Devil comes and takes the word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don’t have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away. 14 The ones that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature. 15 But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.”
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