Psalm 141

New King James Version

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

³Set a guard, O Lord, over my ^(D)mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴Do 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.
⁶Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the ^[a]cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
⁷Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

⁸But ^(G)my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
^[b]Do not leave my soul destitute.
⁹Keep me from ^(H)the snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
¹⁰^(I)Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.

Footnotes

Psalm 141:6 rock
Psalm 141:8 Lit. Do not make my soul bare

1 John 2

New King James Version

The Test of Knowing Christ

2 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(A)we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. ²And ^(B)He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but ^(C)also for the whole world.

The Test of Knowing Him

³Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(D)liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But ^(E)whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God ^[a]is perfected ^(F)in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶^(G)He who says he abides in Him ^(H)ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

⁷^[b]Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(I)from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard ^[c]from the beginning. ⁸Again, ^(J)a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, ^(K)because the darkness is passing away, and ^(L)the true light is already shining.

⁹^(M)He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. ¹⁰^(N)He who loves his brother abides in the light, and ^(O)there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But he who ^(P)hates his brother is in darkness and ^(Q)walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Their Spiritual State

¹²I write to you, little children,
Because ^(R)your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
¹³I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is ^(S)from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have ^(T)known the Father.
¹⁴I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because ^(U)you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵^(V)Do not love the world or the things in the world. ^(W)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, ^(X)the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. ¹⁷And ^(Y)the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Deceptions of the Last Hour

¹⁸^(Z)Little children, ^(AA)it is the last hour; and as you have heard that ^(AB)the^[d] Antichrist is coming, ^(AC)even now many antichrists have come, by which we know ^(AD)that it is the last hour. ¹⁹^(AE)They went out from us, but they were not of us; for ^(AF)if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out ^(AG)that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

²⁰But ^(AH)you have an anointing ^(AI)from the Holy One, and ^(AJ)you^[e] know all things. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²²^(AK)Who is a liar but he who denies that ^(AL)Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. ²³^(AM)Whoever denies the Son does not have the ^(AN)Father either; ^(AO)he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Let Truth Abide in You

²⁴Therefore let that abide in you ^(AP)which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, ^(AQ)you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵^(AR)And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you concerning those who try to ^[f]deceive you. ²⁷But the ^(AS)anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and ^(AT)you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing ^(AU)teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you ^[g]will abide in Him.

The Children of God

²⁸And now, little children, abide in Him, that ^[h]when He appears, we may have ^(AV)confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. ²⁹^(AW)If you know that He is righteous, you know that ^(AX)everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.