Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(F)Poison of a viper is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Preserve me from violent men
Who have [b]purposed to [c](I)trip up my feet.
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 the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Lord, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 “O [e]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [f]battle.
8 “Do not grant, O Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)mischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into [g]deep pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 “May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed 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;
For there is (G)no one who regards me;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
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,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Lord, [b]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 [c]of wickedness
With men who (I)do iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me [d]in kindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
[e]For still my prayer (M)is [f]against their wicked deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [g]Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O [h]God, the Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not [i]leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the [j](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [k](X)safely.
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
(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 servant,
For in Your sight (E)no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your doings;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, as a [c]parched land. [d]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)lovingkindness (T)in the morning;
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
[e]I take refuge 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 [f]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [g](AE)cut off my enemies
And (AF)destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
The Prophecy from Peor
24 When Balaam saw that it [a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to [b]seek (A)omens but he set his face toward the (B)wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel [c]camping tribe by tribe; and (C)the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 He took up his [d]discourse and said,
“(D)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;
4 The oracle of him who (E)hears the [e]words of God,
Who sees the (F)vision of [f]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 “Like [g]valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like (G)aloes planted by the Lord,
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 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 crush their bones in pieces,
And shatter them with his (M)arrows.
9 “(N)He [h]couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a [i]lion, who [j]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 [k]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 Therefore, [l]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.” 12 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 contrary to the [m]command of the Lord, either good or bad, (Q)of my own [n]accord. (R)What the Lord speaks, that I will speak’?
12 So then, brethren, 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 deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are (C)being led by the Spirit of God, these are (D)sons of God. 15 For you (E)have not received a spirit of slavery [b]leading to fear again, but you (F)have received [c]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “(G)Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself (H)testifies with our spirit that we are (I)children of God, 17 and if children, (J)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (K)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Tribute to Caesar
15 (A)Then the Pharisees went and [a]plotted together how they might trap Him [b]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 [c]defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 Tell us then, what do You think? Is it [d]lawful to give a (C)poll-tax to (D)Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their [e]malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the (E)coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a [f]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)Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and (G)leaving Him, they went away.
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