Book of Common Prayer
95 Come, let’s sing joyfully to the Lord.
Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s come into his presence with a song of thanksgiving.
Let’s shout happily to him with psalms.
3 The Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth,
and the mountain peaks are his.
5 The sea is his.
He made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down.
Let’s kneel in front of the Lord, our maker,
7 because he is our God
and we are the people in his care,
the flock that he leads.
If only you would listen to him today!
8 “Do not be stubborn like ⌞my people were⌟ at Meribah,
like the time at Massah in the desert.
9 Your ancestors challenged me and tested me there,
although they had seen what I had done.
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with those people.
So I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts continue to stray.
They have not learned my ways.’
11 That is why I angrily took this solemn oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest!’ ”
For the choir director; according to ayyeleth hashachar; [a] a psalm by David.
22 My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away from helping me,
so far away from the words of my groaning?
2 My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer—
also at night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
They trusted, and you rescued them.
5 They cried to you and were saved.
They trusted you and were never disappointed.
6 Yet, I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.
7 All who see me make fun of me.
Insults pour from their mouths.
They shake their heads and say,
8 “Put yourself in the Lord’s hands.
Let the Lord save him!
Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!”
9 Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb,
the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was placed in your care from birth.
From my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so far away from me.
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me.
13 They have opened their mouths to attack me
like ferocious, roaring lions.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It has melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me down in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me.
A mob has encircled me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
People stare.
They gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among themselves.
They throw dice for my clothing.
19 Do not be so far away, O Lord.
Come quickly to help me, O my strength.
20 Rescue my soul from the sword,
my life from vicious dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion
and from the horns of wild oxen.
You have answered me.
22 I will tell my people about your name.
I will praise you within the congregation.
23 All who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 The Lord has not despised or been disgusted
with the plight of the oppressed one.
He has not hidden his face from that person.
The Lord heard when that oppressed person
cried out to him for help.
25 My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear the Lord.
26 Oppressed people will eat until they are full.
Those who look to the Lord will praise him.
May you live forever.
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord.
All the families from all the nations will worship you
28 because the kingdom belongs to the Lord
and he rules the nations.
29 All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him,
even those who are barely alive.
30 There will be descendants who serve him,
a generation that will be told about the Lord.
31 They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness—
that he has finished it.
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
40 I waited patiently for the Lord.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2 He pulled me out of a horrible pit,
out of the mud and clay.
He set my feet on a rock
and made my steps secure.
3 He placed a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see this and worship.
They will trust the Lord.
4 Blessed is the person
who places his confidence in the Lord
and does not rely on arrogant people
or those who follow lies.
5 You have done many miraculous things, O Lord my God.
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
No one compares to you!
I will tell others about your miracles,
which are more than I can count.
6 You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8 I am happy to do your will, O my God.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
9 I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Lord.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.
11 Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord.
May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
12 Countless evils have surrounded me.
My sins have caught up with me so that I can no longer see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
I have lost heart.
13 O Lord, please rescue me!
Come quickly to help me, O Lord! [a]
14 Let all those who seek to end my life
be confused and put to shame.
Let those who want my downfall
be turned back and disgraced.
15 Let those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be stunned by their own shame.
16 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But I am oppressed and needy.
May the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my savior.
O my God, do not delay!
God Tests Abraham
22 Later God tested Abraham and called to him, “Abraham!”
“Yes, here I am!” he answered.
2 God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that God had told him about. 4 Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. 5 Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there. We’ll worship. After that we’ll come back to you.”
6 Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to his son Isaac. Abraham carried the burning coals and the knife. The two of them went on together.
7 Isaac spoke up and said, “Father?”
“Yes, Son?” Abraham answered.
Isaac asked, “We have the burning coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, Son.”
The two of them went on together. 9 When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. 10 Next, Abraham picked up the knife and took it in his hand to sacrifice his son. 11 But the Messenger of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes?” he answered.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not refuse to give me your son, your only son.”
13 When Abraham looked around, he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. 14 Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide. It is still said today, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
10 The prophets carefully researched and investigated this salvation. Long ago they spoke about God’s kindness [a] that would come to you. 11 So they tried to find out what time or situation the Spirit of Christ kept referring to whenever he predicted Christ’s sufferings and the glory that would follow. 12 God revealed to the prophets that the things they had spoken were not for their own benefit but for yours. What the prophets had spoken, the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven, has now made known to you by those who spread the Good News among you. These are things that even the angels want to look into.
Live Holy Lives
13 Therefore, your minds must be clear and ready for action. Place your confidence completely in what God’s kindness will bring you when Jesus Christ appears again. 14 Because you are children who obey God, don’t live the kind of lives you once lived. Once you lived to satisfy your desires because you didn’t know any better. 15 But because the God who called you is holy, you must be holy in every aspect of your life. 16 Scripture says, “Be holy, because I am holy.” 17 So if you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth in fear. He is the God who judges all people by what they have done, and he doesn’t play favorites. 18 Realize that you weren’t set free from the worthless life handed down to you from your ancestors by a payment of silver or gold which can be destroyed. 19 Rather, the payment that freed you was the precious blood of Christ, the lamb with no defects or imperfections. 20 He is the lamb who was known long ago before the world existed, but for your good he became publicly known in the last period of time.
36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him, “You can’t follow me now to the place where I’m going. However, you will follow me later.”
37 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll give my life for you.”
38 Jesus replied, “Will you give your life for me? I can guarantee this truth: No rooster will crow until you say three times that you don’t know me.
Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb(A)
38 Later Joseph from the city of Arimathea asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he was afraid of the Jews). Pilate gave him permission to remove Jesus’ body. So Joseph removed it. 39 Nicodemus, the one who had first come to Jesus at night, went with Joseph and brought 75 pounds of a myrrh and aloe mixture.
40 These two men took the body of Jesus and bound it with strips of linen. They laced the strips with spices. This was the Jewish custom for burial.
41 A garden was located in the place where Jesus was crucified. In that garden was a new tomb in which no one had yet been placed. 42 Joseph and Nicodemus put Jesus in that tomb, since that day was the Jewish day of preparation and since the tomb was nearby.
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