Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [a]feigned madness before [b]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will (A)bless the Lord at all times;
His (B)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (C)make its boast in the Lord;
The (D)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O (E)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (F)exalt His name together.
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (H)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (I)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (J)never be ashamed.
6 This [c]poor man cried, and (K)the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (L)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O (M)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (N)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (O)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (P)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (Q)not be in want of any good thing.
11 (R)Come, you children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you (T)the fear of the Lord.
12 (U)Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may (V)see good?
13 Keep (W)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (X)deceit.
14 (Y)Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (Z)pursue it.
15 The (AA)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (AB)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (AD)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (AE)is near to the (AF)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [d](AG)crushed in spirit.
19 (AH)Many are the (AI)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (AJ)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(AK)Not one of them is broken.
21 (AL)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (AM)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (AN)take refuge in Him will be [f]condemned.
God Will Restore Them
14 “(A)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who (B)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the (C)land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (D)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will (E)hunt them (F)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17 (G)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (H)nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first (I)doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have (J)polluted My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (K)detestable idols and with their abominations.”
19 O Lord, my (L)strength and my stronghold,
And my (M)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (N)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (O)falsehood,
Futility and [a](P)things of no profit.”
20 Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are (Q)not gods!
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
14 (A)Now after John had been [a]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, [b](B)preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “(C)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God [c]is at hand; (D)repent and [d]believe in the gospel.”
16 (E)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw [e]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away [f]to follow Him.
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [d](AE)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [e]hoped in You.
A Hard Road before Them
16 “(A)Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so [a]be (B)shrewd as serpents and (C)innocent as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the (D)courts and scourge you (E)in their synagogues; 18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (F)But when they hand you over, (G)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. 20 For (H)it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 “(I)Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and (J)children will rise up against parents and [b]cause them to be put to death. 22 (K)You will be hated by all because of My name, but (L)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
23 “But whenever they (M)persecute you in [c]one city, flee to [d]the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel (N)until the Son of Man comes.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(O)A [e]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (P)If they have called the head of the house [f](Q)Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
26 “Therefore do not (R)fear them, (S)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (T)What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (U)upon the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (V)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [g](W)hell. 29 (X)Are not two sparrows sold for a [h]cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (Y)the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not fear; (Z)you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Therefore (AA)everyone who [i]confesses Me before men, I will also confess [j]him before My Father who is in heaven.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.