Psalms 140; Psalms 141; Psalms 142; 1 Corinthians 14:1-20

1 Rescue me from evil people, O LORD. Keep me safe from violent people.

2 They plan evil things in their hearts. They start fights every day.

3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake's [fang]. Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah

4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O LORD. Keep me safe from violent people. They try to trip me.

5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me. They have spread out a net with ropes. They have set traps for me along the road. Selah

6 I said to the LORD, "You are my God." O LORD, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.

7 O LORD Almighty, the strong one who saves me, you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 O LORD, do not give wicked people what they want. Do not let their evil plans succeed, [or] they will become arrogant. Selah

9 Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with their own threats.

10 Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.

11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth. Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.

12 I know that the LORD will defend the rights of those who are oppressed and the cause of those who are needy.

13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name. Decent people will live in your presence.

1 O LORD, I cry out to you, "Come quickly." Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.

2 Let my prayer be accepted as sweet-smelling incense in your presence. Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted as an evening sacrifice.

3 O LORD, set a guard at my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil or to become involved with wickedness, with people who are troublemakers. Do not let me taste their delicacies.

5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness. It is like lotion for my head. My head will not refuse it, because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.

6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff, they will listen to what I have to say. It will sound pleasant [to them].

7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground, so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.

8 My eyes look to you, LORD Almighty. I have taken refuge in you. Do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me and from the traps set by troublemakers.

10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets, while I escape unharmed.

1 Loudly, I cry to the LORD. Loudly, I plead with the LORD for mercy.

2 I pour out my complaints in his presence and tell him my troubles.

3 When I begin to lose hope, you [already] know what I am experiencing. [My enemies] have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.

4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me. Escape is impossible for me. No one cares about me.

5 I call out to you, O LORD. I say, "You are my refuge, my own inheritance in this world of the living."

6 Pay attention to my cry for help because I am very weak. Rescue me from those who pursue me because they are too strong for me.

7 Release my soul from prison so that I may give thanks to your name. Righteous people will surround me because you are good to me.

1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially the gift of speaking what God has revealed.

2 When a person speaks in another language, he doesn't speak to people but to God. No one understands him. His spirit is speaking mysteries.

3 But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he speaks to people to help them grow, to encourage them, and to comfort them.

4 When a person speaks in another language, he helps himself grow. But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he helps the church grow.

5 I wish that all of you could speak in other languages, but especially that you could speak what God has revealed. The person who speaks what God has revealed is more important than the person who speaks in other languages. This is true unless he can interpret what he says to help the church grow.

6 Brothers and sisters, it wouldn't do you any good if I came to you speaking in other languages, unless I explained revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or doctrine to you.

7 Musical instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. If there is no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played?

8 For example, if the trumpet doesn't sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

9 In the same way, if you don't speak in a way that can be understood, how will anyone know what you're saying? You will be talking into thin air.

10 No matter how many different languages there are in the world, not one of them is without meaning.

11 If I don't know what a language means, I will be a foreigner to the person who speaks it and that person will be a foreigner to me.

12 In the same way, since you're eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in them so that you help the church grow.

13 So the person who speaks in another language should pray for an interpretation of what he says.

14 If I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my mind is not productive.

15 So what does this mean? It means that I will pray with my spirit, and I will pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit, and I will sing psalms with my mind.

16 Otherwise, if you praise God only with your spirit, how can outsiders say "Amen!" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They don't know what you're saying.

17 Your prayer of thanksgiving may be very good, but it doesn't help other people grow.

18 I thank God that I speak in other languages more than any of you.

19 Yet, in order to teach others in church, I would rather say five words that can be understood than ten thousand words in another language.

20 Brothers and sisters, don't think like children. When it comes to evil, be like babies, but think like mature people.