Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 140

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

¹ Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men;

² They devise mischiefs in their heart; continually they gather together and stir up wars.

³ They sharpen their tongues like a serpent’s; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!^(A)

⁴ Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent men who have purposed to thrust aside my steps.

⁵ The proud have hidden a snare for me; they have spread cords as a net by the wayside, they have set traps for me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁶ I said to the Lord, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

⁷ O God the Lord, the Strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸ Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked; further not their wicked plot and device, lest they exalt themselves. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁹ Those who are fencing me in raise their heads; may the mischief of their own lips and the very things they desire for me come upon them.

¹⁰ Let burning coals fall upon them; let them be cast into the fire, into floods of water or deep water pits, from which they shall not rise.

¹¹ Let not a man of slanderous tongue be established in the earth; let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him [let calamity follow his evildoings].

¹² I know and rest in confidence upon it that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will secure justice for the poor and needy [of His believing children].

¹³ Surely the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall give thanks to Your name; the upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face).

Psalm 142

A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David; when he was in the cave. A Prayer.

¹ I cry to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord do I make supplication.

² I pour out my complaint before Him; I tell before Him my trouble.

³ When my spirit was overwhelmed and fainted [throwing all its weight] upon me, then You knew my path. In the way where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.

⁴ Look on the right hand [the point of attack] and see; for there is no man who knows me [to appear for me]. Refuge has failed me and I have no way to flee; no man cares for my life or my welfare.

⁵ I cried to You, O Lord; I said, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

⁶ Attend to my loud cry, for I am brought very low; deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.

⁷ Bring my life out of prison, that I may confess, praise, and give thanks to Your name; the righteous will surround me and crown themselves because of me, for You will deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

¹ Lord, I call upon You; hasten to me. Give ear to my voice when I cry to You.

² Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.^(A)

³ Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.

⁴ Incline my heart not to submit or consent to any evil thing or to be occupied in deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties.

⁵ Let the righteous man smite and correct me—it is a kindness. Oil so choice let not my head refuse or discourage; for even in their evils or calamities shall my prayer continue.^(B)

⁶ When their rulers are overthrown in stony places, [their followers] shall hear my words, that they are sweet (pleasant, mild, and just).

⁷ The unburied bones [of slaughtered rulers] shall lie scattered at the mouth of Sheol, [as unregarded] as the lumps of soil behind the plowman when he breaks open the ground.^(C)

⁸ But my eyes are toward You, O God the Lord; in You do I trust and take refuge; pour not out my life nor leave it destitute and bare.

⁹ Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and the snares of evildoers.

¹⁰ Let the wicked fall together into their own nets, while I pass over them and escape.

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

¹ Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness.

² And enter not into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no man living is [in himself] righteous or justified.^(A)

³ For the enemy has pursued and persecuted my soul, he has crushed my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in dark places as those who have been long dead.

⁴ Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed and faints within me [wrapped in gloom]; my heart within my bosom grows numb.

⁵ I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.

⁶ I spread forth my hands to You; my soul thirsts after You like a thirsty land [for water]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁷ Answer me speedily, O Lord, for my spirit fails; hide not Your face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit (the grave).

⁸ Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.

⁹ Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I flee to You to hide me.

¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.

¹¹ Save my life, O Lord, for Your name’s sake; in Your righteousness, bring my life out of trouble and free me from distress.

¹² And in your mercy and loving-kindness, cut off my enemies and destroy all those who afflict my inner self, for I am Your servant.

66 Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house would you build for Me? And what kind can be My resting-place?^(A)

² For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things have come into being [by and for Me], says the Lord. But this is the man to whom I will look and have regard: he who is humble and of a broken or wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word and reveres My commands.^(B)

³ [The acts of the hypocrite’s worship are as abominable to God as if they were offered to idols.] He who kills an ox [then] will be as guilty as if he slew and sacrificed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb or a kid, as if he broke a dog’s neck and sacrificed him; he who offers a cereal offering, as if he offered swine’s blood; he who burns incense [to God], as if he blessed an idol. [Such people] have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations;

⁴ So I also will choose their delusions and mockings, their calamities and afflictions, and I will bring their fears upon them—because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they did not listen or obey. But they did what was evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.

⁵ Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: Your brethren who hate you, who cast you out for My name’s sake, have said, Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy! But it is they who shall be put to shame.

⁶ [Hark!] An uproar from the city! A voice from the temple! The voice of the Lord, rendering recompense to His enemies!

4 I charge [you] in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who is to judge the living and the dead, and by (in the light of) His coming and His kingdom:

² Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

³ For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold,

⁴ And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions.

⁵ As for you, be calm and cool and steady, accept and suffer unflinchingly every hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fully perform all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already about to be sacrificed [my life is about to be poured out as a drink offering]; the time of my [spirit’s] release [from the body] is at hand and I will soon go free.

⁷ I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.

⁸ [As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).

³² Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom!

³³ Sell what you possess and give donations to the poor; provide yourselves with purses and handbags that do not grow old, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

³⁵ Keep your loins girded and your lamps burning,

³⁶ And be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the marriage feast, so that when he returns from the wedding and comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately.

³⁷ Blessed (happy, fortunate, and ^[a]to be envied) are those servants whom the master finds awake and alert and watching when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will gird himself and have them recline at table and will come and serve them!

³⁸ If he comes in the second watch (before midnight) or the third watch (after midnight), and finds them so, blessed (happy, fortunate, and ^[b]to be envied) are those servants!

³⁹ But of this be assured: if the householder had known at what time the burglar was coming, he would have been awake and alert and watching and would not have permitted his house to be dug through and broken into.

⁴⁰ You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and a ^[c]moment when you do not anticipate it.

⁴¹ Peter said, Lord, are You telling this parable for us, or for all alike?

⁴² And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful steward, the wise man whom his master will set over those in his household service to supply them their allowance of food at the appointed time?

⁴³ Blessed (happy and ^[d]to be envied) is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he arrives.

⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will set him in charge over all his possessions.

⁴⁵ But if that servant says in his heart, My master is late in coming, and begins to strike the menservants and the maids and to eat and drink and get drunk,

⁴⁶ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he does not know, and will punish him and cut him off and assign his lot with ^[e]the unfaithful.

⁴⁷ And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act as he would wish him to act shall be beaten with many [lashes].

⁴⁸ But he who did not know and did things worthy of a beating shall be beaten with few [lashes]. For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more.^(A)