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.
Satan Attacks Job’s Health
2 Again (A)there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
(B)Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, (C)a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he (D)holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, (E)to [a]destroy him without cause.”
4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 (F)But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his (G)bone and his flesh, and he will surely [b]curse You to Your face!”
6 (H)And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils (I)from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself (J)while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? [c]Curse God and die!”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. (K)Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (L)In all this Job did not (M)sin with his lips.
Job’s Three Friends
11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place—Eliphaz the (N)Temanite, Bildad the (O)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. For they had made an appointment together to come (P)and mourn with him, and to comfort him. 12 And when they raised their eyes from afar, and did not recognize him, they lifted their voices and wept; and each one tore his robe and (Q)sprinkled dust on his head toward heaven. 13 So they sat down with him on the ground (R)seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great.
The Damascus Road: Saul Converted(A)
9 Then (B)Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked (C)letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
3 (D)As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, (E)why are you persecuting Me?”
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. [a]It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 And (F)the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
27 (A)Do not labor for the food which perishes, but (B)for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, (C)because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, (D)“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, (E)“What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 (F)Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, (G)‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but (H)My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 (I)Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, (J)“I am the bread of life. (K)He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never (L)thirst. 36 (M)But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet (N)do not believe. 37 (O)All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and (P)the one who comes to Me I will [a]by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, (Q)not to do My own will, (R)but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, (S)that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, (T)that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.