Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Rescue me,(A) Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,(B)
2 who devise evil plans(C) in their hearts
and stir up war(D) every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as(E) a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers(F) is on their lips.[b]
4 Keep me safe,(G) Lord, from the hands of the wicked;(H)
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
5 The arrogant have hidden a snare(I) for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net(J)
and have set traps(K) for me along my path.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”(L)
Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.(M)
7 Sovereign Lord,(N) my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant the wicked(O) their desires, Lord;
do not let their plans succeed.
Psalm 142[a]
A maskil[b] of David. When he was in the cave.(A) A prayer.
1 I cry aloud(B) to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.(C)
2 I pour out before him my complaint;(D)
before him I tell my trouble.(E)
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
1 I call to you, Lord, come quickly(A) to me;
hear me(B) when I call to you.
2 May my prayer be set before you like incense;(C)
may the lifting up of my hands(D) be like the evening sacrifice.(E)
3 Set a guard over my mouth,(F) Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.(G)
4 Do not let my heart(H) be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds(I)
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.(J)
5 Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me(K)—that is oil on my head.(L)
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.
Psalm 143
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, hear my prayer,(A)
listen to my cry for mercy;(B)
in your faithfulness(C) and righteousness(D)
come to my relief.
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous(E) before you.
3 The enemy pursues me,
he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness(F)
like those long dead.(G)
4 So my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within me is dismayed.(H)
5 I remember(I) the days of long ago;
I meditate(J) on all your works
and consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands(K) to you;
I thirst for you like a parched land.[a]
7 Answer me quickly,(L) Lord;
my spirit fails.(M)
Do not hide your face(N) from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,(O)
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way(P) I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.(Q)
9 Rescue me(R) from my enemies,(S) Lord,
for I hide myself in you.
10 Teach me(T) to do your will,
for you are my God;(U)
may your good Spirit
lead(V) me on level ground.(W)
9 Hear this, you leaders of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel,
who despise justice
and distort all that is right;(A)
10 who build(B) Zion with bloodshed,(C)
and Jerusalem with wickedness.(D)
11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(E)
her priests teach for a price,(F)
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(G)
Yet they look(H) for the Lord’s support and say,
“Is not the Lord among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”(I)
12 Therefore because of you,
Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,(J)
the temple(K) hill a mound overgrown with thickets.(L)
The Mountain of the Lord(M)
4 In the last days
the mountain(N) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,(O)
and peoples will stream to it.(P)
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,(Q)
to the temple of the God of Jacob.(R)
He will teach us(S) his ways,(T)
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(U) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.(V)
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(W)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war(X) anymore.(Y)
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
and under their own fig tree,(Z)
and no one will make them afraid,(AA)
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.(AB)
5 All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods,(AC)
but we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.(AD)
24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.(A) 25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control(B) and the judgment(C) to come, Felix was afraid(D) and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” 26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.
27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus,(E) but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews,(F) he left Paul in prison.(G)
Paul’s Trial Before Festus
25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus(H) went up from Caesarea(I) to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.(J) 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.(K) 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held(L) at Caesarea,(M) and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court(N) and ordered that Paul be brought before him.(O) 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him,(P) but they could not prove them.(Q)
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple(R) or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor,(S) said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”(T)
10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews,(U) as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”(V)
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
The Parable of the Sower(A)
8 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.(B) The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene)(C) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s(D) household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(E)
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(F) but to others I speak in parables, so that,
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.(H) 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.(I) 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches(J) and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
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