Book of Common Prayer
Rescue Me, O Yahweh, from Evil Men
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men;
Guard me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)think up evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(F)Poison of an asp is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Yahweh, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Guard me from violent men
Who [b]give thought to [c](I)trip up my steps.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a (K)net by the [d]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah.
6 I (M)said to Yahweh, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Yahweh, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 O Yahweh, O Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil [f]scheme, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)trouble from their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals be shaken out upon them;
May He (V)cause them to fall into the fire,
Into [g]bottomless pits from which they (W)can never rise.
11 May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint 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;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
My Prayer as Incense Before You
A Psalm of David.
141 O Yahweh, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be established as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Yahweh, [a]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 in wickedness
With men who are (I)workers of iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me in lovingkindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Let not my head refuse it,
[b]For still my prayer (M)is [c]against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and splits open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O Yahweh, O Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not pour out my soul to death.
9 Keep me from the [d](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
As for myself—meanwhile, (X)I am passing by.
My Soul Reaches for You
A Psalm of David.
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
(A)Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your slave,
For (E)no one living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit was faint within me;
My heart was [a](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all You have done;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul reaches for You like a weary land. [b]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Yahweh, my (P)spirit wastes away;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your (S)lovingkindness (T)in the morning;
For I trust (U)in You;
Cause me to know the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,
I have concealed myself 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 [c]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [d](AE)cut off my enemies
And cause all those who assail my soul to (AF)perish,
For (AG)I am Your slave.
Spirit of God Comes upon Balaam
24 And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to [a]encounter (A)omens, but he set his face toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his [b]discourse and said,
“(D)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered;
4 The oracle of him who (E)hears the [c]words of God,
Who beholds the (F)vision of [d]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like [e]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like (G)aloes planted by Yahweh,
Like (H)cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be lifted up higher than (I)Agag,
(J)And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 (K)God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
(L)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will gnaw their bones in pieces,
And [f]shatter them with his (M)arrows.
9 (N)He [g]crouches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [h]lion, who [i]dares rouse him?
(O)Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his [j]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times! 11 So now, [k]flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(P)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the [l]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [m]accord. (R)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’?
12 So then, brothers, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for (A)if you are living according to the flesh, you [a]must die, but if by the Spirit you are (B)putting to death the (C)practices of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are (D)being led by the Spirit of God, these are (E)sons of God. 15 For you (F)have not received a spirit of slavery [b]leading to fear again, but you (G)have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry out, “(H)Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself (I)testifies with our spirit that we are (J)children of God, 17 and if children, also (K)heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (L)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Taxes to Caesar
15 (A)Then the Pharisees went and took counsel together about how they might trap Him [a]in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the (B)Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and [b]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Therefore, tell us, what do You think? Is it [c]lawful to give a (C)tax to (D)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, knowing their wickedness, said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the (E)coin used for the tax.” And they brought Him a [d]denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He *said to them, “(F)Therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they marveled, and (G)leaving Him, they went away.
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