Book of Common Prayer
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David (A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will (B)bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4 I (C)sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (D)The [a]angel of the Lord (E)encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, (F)taste and see that the Lord is good;
(G)Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no [b]want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
(H)But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
(I)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (J)Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking (K)deceit.
14 (L)Depart from evil and do good;
(M)Seek peace and pursue it.
15 (N)The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 (O)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
(P)To [c]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and (Q)the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 (R)The Lord is near (S)to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [d]have a contrite spirit.
19 (T)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(U)But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
(V)Not one of them is broken.
21 (W)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be [e]condemned.
22 The Lord (X)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
God Will Restore Israel(A)
14 “Therefore behold, the (B)days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the (C)north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For (D)I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I will send for many (E)fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My (F)eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay (G)double for their iniquity and their sin, because (H)they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O Lord, (I)my strength and my fortress,
(J)My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and (K)unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
(L)Which are not gods?
21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that (M)My name is the Lord.
Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry(A)
14 (B)Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, (C)preaching the gospel [a]of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, (D)“The time is fulfilled, and (E)the kingdom of God [b]is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
Four Fishermen Called as Disciples(F)
16 (G)And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become (H)fishers of men.” 18 (I)They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
19 When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. 20 And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
33 Rejoice (A)in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
[a]Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 (B)By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the (C)host of them (D)by the breath of His mouth.
7 (E)He gathers the waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For (F)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 (G)The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11 (H)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (I)chosen as His own inheritance.
13 (J)The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually;
(K)He [c]considers all their works.
16 (L)No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 (M)A horse is a [d]vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 (N)Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death,
And (O)to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
Persecutions Are Coming(A)
16 (B)“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. (C)Therefore be wise as serpents and (D)harmless[a] as doves. 17 But beware of men, for (E)they will deliver you up to councils and (F)scourge you in their synagogues. 18 (G)You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 (H)But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For (I)it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 (J)for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 (K)“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And (L)you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. (M)But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 (N)When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have (O)gone through the cities of Israel (P)before the Son of Man comes.
24 (Q)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If (R)they have called the master of the house [b]Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. (S)For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
Jesus Teaches the Fear of God(T)
27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, (U)speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 (V)And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather (W)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [c]hell. 29 Are not two (X)sparrows sold for a [d]copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 (Y)But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Confess Christ Before Men(Z)
32 (AA)“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, (AB)him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.