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

1 Lord, rescue me from evil people; protect me from cruel people

2 who make evil plans, who always start fights.

3 They make their tongues sharp as a snake's; their words are like snake poison.Selah

4 Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people; protect me from cruel people who plan to trip me up.

5 The proud hid a trap for me. They spread out a net beside the road; they set traps for me.Selah

6 I said to the Lord, "You are my God." Lord, listen to my prayer for help.

7 Lord God, my mighty savior, you protect me in battle.

8 Lord, do not give the wicked what they want. Don't let their plans succeed, or they will become proud.Selah

9 Those around me have planned trouble. Now let it come to them.

10 Let burning coals fall on them. Throw them into the fire or into pits from which they cannot escape.

11 Don't let liars settle in the land. Let evil quickly hunt down cruel people.

12 I know the Lord will get justice for the poor and will defend the needy in court.

13 Good people will praise his name; honest people will live in his presence. A psalm of David.

1 Lord, I call to you. Come quickly. Listen to me when I call to you.

2 Let my prayer be like incense placed before you, and my praise like the evening sacrifice.

3 Lord, help me control my tongue; help me be careful about what I say.

4 Take away my desire to do evil or to join others in doing wrong. Don't let me eat tasty food with those who do evil.

5 If a good person punished me, that would be kind. If he corrected me, that would be like perfumed oil on my head. I shouldn't refuse it. But I pray against those who do evil.

6 Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs. Then people will know that I have spoken correctly:

7 "The ground is plowed and broken up. In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave."

8 God, I look to you for help. I trust in you, Lord. Don't let me die.

9 Protect me from the traps they set for me and from the net that evil people have spread.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, but let me pass by safely. A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.

1 I cry out to the Lord; I pray to the Lord for mercy.

2 I pour out my problems to him; I tell him my troubles.

3 When I am afraid, you, Lord, know the way out. In the path where I walk, a trap is hidden for me.

4 Look around me and see. No one cares about me. I have no place of safety; no one cares if I live.

5 Lord, I cry out to you. I say, "You are my protection. You are all I want in this life."

6 Listen to my cry, because I am helpless. Save me from those who are chasing me, because they are too strong for me.

7 Free me from my prison, and then I will praise your name. Then good people will surround me, because you have taken care of me. A psalm of David.

1 You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

2 I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languagesn are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit.

3 But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort.

4 The ones who speak in different languages are helping only themselves, but those who prophesy are helping the whole church.

5 I wish all of you had the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, but more, I wish you would prophesy. Those who prophesy are greater than those who can only speak in different languages -- unless someone is there who can explain what is said so that the whole church can be helped.

6 Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some new knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching.

7 It is the same as with lifeless things that make sounds -- like a flute or a harp. If they do not make clear musical notes, you will not know what is being played.

8 And in a war, if the trumpet does not give a clear sound, who will prepare for battle?

9 It is the same with you. Unless you speak clearly with your tongue, no one can understand what you are saying. You will be talking into the air!

10 It may be true that there are all kinds of sounds in the world, and none is without meaning.

11 But unless I understand the meaning of what someone says to me, I will be a foreigner to him, and he will be a foreigner to me.

12 It is the same with you. Since you want spiritual gifts very much, seek most of all to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.

13 The one who has the gift of speaking in a different language should pray for the gift to interpret what is spoken.

14 If I pray in a different language, my spirit is praying, but my mind does nothing.

15 So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.

16 If you praise God with your spirit, those persons there without understanding cannot say amenn to your prayer of thanks, because they do not know what you are saying.

17 You may be thanking God in a good way, but the other person is not helped.

18 I thank God that I speak in different kinds of languages more than all of you.

19 But in the church meetings I would rather speak five words I understand in order to teach others than thousands of words in a different language.

20 Brothers and sisters, do not think like children. In evil things be like babies, but in your thinking you should be like adults.