Book of Common Prayer

David wrote this song when he made the Philistine king think that he was crazy. He wanted the king to send him away.^[a]

God is great!^[b]

Hope for the future

¹⁴ The Lord also said, ‘Listen! A better time will come. When people make a promise, they will not say, “I promise to do this as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites safely out of Egypt.” ¹⁵ Instead they will say, “I promise to do this as surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites safely back from the land in the north. He brought them back from all the places that he had sent them to as prisoners.” Yes, at that time I will bring them back to this land that I gave to their ancestors.

¹⁶ But now I will send enemies to catch these people. They will catch them like fishermen catch fish.^[a] They will chase after them like hunters who catch wild animals. They will find them everywhere in the mountains, in the hills and in holes in the rocks. ¹⁷ I am watching them carefully all the time. They cannot hide from me. I can see all their sins. ¹⁸ I will punish them for their sins. I will make them pay twice for the wrong things that they have done. That is because they have spoiled my land. They have made it unclean with their disgusting idols that have no life. They have filled my special land with the evil things that they have done.’

Jesus asks some men to be his disciples

¹⁴ Later, John was in prison. At that time, Jesus went to Galilee.^[a] He told people the good news about God. ¹⁵ Jesus said, ‘Now is the time when the kingdom of God has come very near. You have done many wrong things. Turn away from them and change the way that you live. Believe God's good news.’

¹⁶ One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers called Simon and Andrew.^[b] Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’^{[c] 18} Simon and Andrew immediately put down their nets and they went with Jesus.^[d]

¹⁹ Jesus continued to walk along the shore. Soon he saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat and they were mending their nets. ²⁰ Immediately, Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father and his workers in the boat, and they went with Jesus to be his disciples.

Praise the Lord!^[a]

¹⁶ Jesus then said to his disciples, ‘Listen well. I am sending you to people who will want to kill you. You will be like sheep among wild animals. You must watch carefully, like snakes do. But you must also be good and kind like doves.

¹⁷ Be careful! People will be against you. They will take you to stand in front of their leaders. They will punish you with whips in their meeting places. ¹⁸ They will take you to stand in front of kings and rulers. All this will happen because you are my disciples. You will tell all these important people and also the Gentiles the good news about me. ¹⁹ When they take you to stand in front of their leaders, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say or how you should say it. At that time, God will give you the right words to speak. ²⁰ You will not be speaking your own words. The Holy Spirit of your Father God will give you his own words to say.

²¹ At that time, a man will let people kill his own brother. A father will let people kill his own child. Children will be against their parents. They will even ask people to kill their parents. ²² All people will hate you because you are my disciples. But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. ²³ If people in any town hurt you because of me, you should leave that town immediately. Go to another town. I tell you this: You will not have enough time to speak your message in all the towns of Israel. I, the Son of Man, will return before that can happen.

²⁴ A student is not more important than his teacher is. A servant is not more important than his master is. ²⁵ A student should be happy if he becomes like his teacher. A servant should be happy if he becomes like his master. People have called me, the master of the house, Beelzebul. You are like those people who live in my house. So do not be surprised when people call you even worse names than they call me.

²⁶ So do not be afraid of these people. They hide the things that they do. But there will be a time when other people will see those things. Everyone will know all their secrets. ²⁷ I tell you things secretly, like people do in the dark. But you must tell people these things clearly in the light of day. I have said things very quietly into your ears. But now you must shout those things loudly from the tops of the houses.^[a]

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those people who can kill only your body. These people cannot kill your soul. No, it is God that you should be afraid of. He can kill your body, and then he can also destroy your soul in hell. ²⁹ Think about this. People sell two birds for just one small coin. But God takes care of these little birds. Not one of them can fall to the ground unless God lets it happen. ³⁰ God even knows how many hairs there are on your head. ³¹ So do not be afraid of those people who are against you. You are more valuable to God than many little birds.

³² You should say clearly to other people, “I believe in Jesus.” If you do that, I will say to my Father in heaven, “This is someone who is my disciple.”