Book of Common Prayer
Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.
95 O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
2
Let us come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with songs.
3
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
4
In whose hand are the depths of the earth;
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
5
The sea is His, for He made it [by His command];
And His hands formed the dry land.(A)
6
O come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker [in reverent praise and prayer].
7
For He is our God
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice,(B)
8
Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife],
And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,(C)
9
“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, even though they had seen My work [of miracles].
10
“For forty years I was grieved and disgusted with that generation,
And I said, ‘They are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not acknowledge or regard My ways.’
11
“Therefore I swore [an oath] in My wrath,
‘They absolutely shall not enter My rest [the land of promise].’”(D)
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar (The Doe of the Dawn). A Psalm of David.
22 [a]My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?(A)
2
O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.
3
But You are holy,
O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
4
In You our fathers trusted [leaned on, relied on, and were confident];
They trusted and You rescued them.
5
They cried out to You and were delivered;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.
6
But I am [treated as] a worm [insignificant and powerless] and not a man;
I am the scorn of men and despised by the people.(B)
7
All who see me laugh at me and mock me;
They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,(C)
8
“He trusted and committed himself to the Lord, let Him save him.
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”(D)
9
Yet You are He who pulled me out of the womb;
You made me trust when on my mother’s breasts.
10
I was cast upon You from birth;
From my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.
12
Many [enemies like] bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.(E)
13
They open wide their mouths against me,
Like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
It is melted [by anguish] within me.
15
My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery;
And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws;
And You have laid me in the dust of death.(F)
16
For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;
A gang of evildoers has encircled me,
They pierced my hands and my feet.(G)
17
I can count all my bones;
They look, they stare at me.(H)
18
They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my [b]garment.(I)
19
But You, O Lord, do not be far from me;
O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.
20
Rescue my life from the sword,
My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).
21
Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
22
I will tell of Your name to my countrymen;
In the midst of the congregation I will praise You.(J)
23
You who fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence], praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him.
Fear Him [with submissive wonder], all you descendants of Israel.
24
For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.
25
My praise will be of You in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.
26
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You,
28
For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
29
All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30
Posterity will serve Him;
They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.
31
They will come and declare His righteousness
To a people yet to be born—that He has done it [and that it is finished].(K)
God Sustains His Servant.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
40 I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
2
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
3
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the Lord.(A)
4
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies.
5
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.
6
Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.(B)
7
Then I said, “Behold, I come [to the throne];
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8
“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”(C)
9
I have proclaimed good news of righteousness [and the joy that comes from obedience to You] in the great assembly;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips [from proclaiming Your righteousness],
As You know, O Lord.
10
I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.(D)
11
Do not withhold Your compassion and tender mercy from me, O Lord;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;
My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.
13
Be pleased, O Lord, to save me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14
Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
15
Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”
16
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17
Even though I am afflicted and needy,
Still the Lord takes thought and is mindful of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
O my God, do not delay.(E)
Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Affliction
3 I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.
2
He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
3
Surely He has turned His hand against me
Repeatedly all the day.
4
He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;
He has shattered my bones.
5
He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
6
He has made me live in dark places
Like those who have long been dead.
7
He walled me in so that I cannot get out;
He has weighted down my chain.
8
Even when I cry out and shout for help,
He shuts out my prayer.
9
He has blocked my ways with cut stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy
19
Remember [O Lord] my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness).
20
My soul continually remembers them
And is bowed down within me.
21
But this I call to mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22
It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,
Because His [tender] compassions never fail.(A)
23
They are new every morning;
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.(B)
24
“The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul;
“Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.”(C)
25
The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him,
To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].
26
It is good that one waits quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
27
It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke [of godly discipline] in his youth.
28
Let him sit alone [in hope] and keep quiet,
Because God has laid it on him [for his benefit].(D)
29
Let him put his mouth in the dust [in recognition of his unworthiness];
There may yet be hope.(E)
30
Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him;
Let him be filled with reproach.
31
For the Lord will not reject forever,(F)
32
For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness and tender mercy.
33
For He does not afflict willingly and from His heart
Or grieve the children of men.(G)
10 Regarding this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace [of God] that was intended for you, searched carefully and inquired [about this future way of salvation], 11 seeking to find out what person or what time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glories [destined] to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that their services [their prophecies regarding grace] were not [meant] for themselves and their time, but for you, in these things [the death, resurrection, and glorification of Jesus Christ] which have now been told to you by those who preached the gospel to you by the [power of the] Holy Spirit [who was] sent from heaven. Into these things even the angels long to look.
13 So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 [Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the good news regarding salvation]. 15 But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; 16 because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.”(A)
17 If you address as Father, the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in [reverent] fear [of Him] and with profound respect for Him throughout the time of your stay on earth. 18 For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, 19 but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a [sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.(B) 20 For He was [a]foreordained (foreknown) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [publicly] in these last times for your sake
36 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now; but you will be able to follow later.” 37 Peter said to Him, “Lord, why cannot I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You!”(A) 38 Jesus answered, “Will you [really] lay down your life for Me? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, before a rooster crows you will deny and completely disown Me three times.
38 And after this, Joseph of Arimathea—a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews—asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away His body.(A) 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, [weighing] about a hundred [Roman] [a]pounds. 40 So they took Jesus’ body and bound it in linen wrappings with the fragrant spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a garden at the place where He was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb [cut out of solid rock] in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore, because of the Jewish day of Preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
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