Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95
95 Come, let’s sing out loud to the Lord!
Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let’s come before him with thanks!
Let’s shout songs of joy to him!
3 The Lord is a great God,
the great king over all other gods.
4 The earth’s depths are in his hands;
the mountain heights belong to him;
5 the sea, which he made, is his
along with the dry ground,
which his own hands formed.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down!
Let’s kneel before the Lord, our maker!
7 He is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
the sheep in his hands.
If only you would listen to his voice right now!
8 “Don’t harden your hearts
like you did at Meribah,
like you did when you were at Massah,
in the wilderness,
9 when your ancestors tested me
and scrutinized me,
even though they had already seen my acts.
10 For forty years I despised that generation;
I said, ‘These people have twisted hearts.
They don’t know my ways.’
11 So in anger I swore:
‘They will never enter my place of rest!’”
Psalm 22
For the music leader. According to the “Doe of Dawn.” A psalm of David.
22 My God! My God,
why have you left me all alone?
Why are you so far from saving me—
so far from my anguished groans?
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you don’t answer;
even at nighttime I don’t stop.
3 You are the holy one, enthroned.
You are Israel’s praise.
4 Our ancestors trusted you—
they trusted you and you rescued them;
5 they cried out to you and they were saved;
they trusted you and they weren’t ashamed.
6 But I’m just a worm, less than human;
insulted by one person, despised by another.
7 All who see me make fun of me—
they gape, shaking their heads:
8 “He committed himself to the Lord,
so let God rescue him;
let God deliver him
because God likes him so much.”
9 But you are the one who pulled me from the womb,
placing me safely at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was thrown on you from birth;
you’ve been my God
since I was in my mother’s womb.
11 Please don’t be far from me,
because trouble is near
and there’s no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
mighty bulls from Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their mouths at me
like a lion ripping and roaring!
14 I’m poured out like water.
All my bones have fallen apart.
My heart is like wax;
it melts inside me.
15 My strength is dried up
like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you’ve set me down in the dirt of death.
16 Dogs surround me;
a pack of evil people circle me like a lion—
oh, my poor hands and feet!
17 I can count all my bones!
Meanwhile, they just stare at me, watching me.
18 They divvy up my garments among themselves;
they cast lots for my clothes.
19 But you, Lord! Don’t be far away!
You are my strength!
Come quick and help me!
20 Deliver me[a] from the sword.
Deliver my life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion.
From the horns of the wild oxen
you have answered me!
22 I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!
23 All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
stand in awe of him!
24 Because he didn’t despise or detest
the suffering of the one who suffered—
he didn’t hide his face from me.
No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.
25 I offer praise in the great congregation
because of you;
I will fulfill my promises
in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
will remember and come back to the Lord;
every family among all the nations will worship you.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
he rules all nations.
29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
will worship him;[b]
all who are descending to the dust
will kneel before him;
my being also lives for him.[c]
30 Future descendants will serve him;
generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness
to those not yet born,
telling them what God has done.
Psalm 40
For the music leader. Of David. A psalm.
40 I put all my hope in the Lord.
He leaned down to me;
he listened to my cry for help.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of death,
out of the mud and filth,
and set my feet on solid rock.
He steadied my legs.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise for our God.
Many people will learn of this and be amazed;
they will trust the Lord.
4 Those who put their trust in the Lord,
who pay no attention to the proud
or to those who follow lies,
are truly happy!
5 You, Lord my God!
You’ve done so many things—
your wonderful deeds and your plans for us—
no one can compare with you!
If I were to proclaim and talk about all of them,
they would be too numerous to count!
6 You don’t relish sacrifices or offerings;
you don’t require entirely burned offerings or compensation offerings—
but you have given me ears!
7 So I said, “Here I come!
I’m inscribed in the written scroll.
8 I want to do your will, my God.
Your Instruction is deep within me.”
9 I’ve told the good news of your righteousness
in the great assembly.
I didn’t hold anything back—
as you well know, Lord!
10 I didn’t keep your righteousness only to myself.
I declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
I didn’t hide your loyal love and trustworthiness
from the great assembly.
11 So now you, Lord—
don’t hold back any of your compassion from me.
Let your loyal love and faithfulness always protect me,
12 because countless evils surround me.
My wrongdoings have caught up with me—
I can’t see a thing!
There’s more of them than hairs on my head—
my courage leaves me.
13 Favor me, Lord, and deliver me!
Lord, come quickly and help me!
14 Let those who seek my life, who want me dead,
be disgraced and put to shame.
Let those who want to do me harm
be thoroughly frustrated and humiliated.
15 Let those who say to me, “Yes! Oh, yes!”[a]
be destroyed by their shame.
16 But let all who seek you
celebrate and rejoice in you.
Let those who love your salvation always say,
“The Lord is great!”
17 But me? I’m weak and needy.
Let my Lord think of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
My God, don’t wait any longer!
An individual’s complaint
3 I am someone[a] who saw the suffering caused by God’s[b] angry rod.
2 He drove me away, forced me to walk in darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand even against me, over and over again, all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and my skin; he broke my bones.
5 He besieged me, surrounding me with bitterness and weariness.
6 He made me live in dark places like those who’ve been dead a long time.
7 He walled me in so I couldn’t escape; he made my chains heavy.
8 Even though I call out and cry for help, he silences my prayer.
9 He walled in my paths with stonework; he made my routes crooked.
19 The memory of my suffering and homelessness is bitterness and poison.
20 I[a] can’t help but remember and am depressed.
21 I call all this to mind—therefore, I will wait.
22 Certainly the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended;[b] certainly God’s compassion isn’t through!
23 They are renewed every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
24 I think:[c] The Lord is my portion! Therefore, I’ll wait for him.
25 The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the person[d] who seeks him.
26 It’s good to wait in silence for the Lord’s deliverance.
27 It’s good for a man to carry a yoke in his youth.
28 He should sit alone and be silent when God lays it on him.
29 He should put his mouth in the dirt—perhaps there is hope.
30 He should offer his cheek for a blow; he should be filled with shame.
10 The prophets, who long ago foretold the grace that you’ve received, searched and explored, inquiring carefully about this salvation. 11 They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was saying when he bore witness beforehand about the suffering that would happen to Christ and the glory that would follow. They wondered what sort of person or what sort of time they were speaking about. 12 It was revealed to them that in their search they were not serving themselves but you. These things, which even angels long to examine, have now been proclaimed to you by those who brought you the good news. They did this in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven.
Response of obedience
13 Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 Don’t be conformed to your former desires, those that shaped you when you were ignorant. But, as obedient children, 15 you must be holy in every aspect of your lives, just as the one who called you is holy. 16 It is written, You will be holy, because I am holy.[a] 17 Since you call upon a Father who judges all people according to their actions without favoritism, you should conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your dwelling in a strange land. 18 Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors. 19 Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb. 20 Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you,
Announcement of Peter’s denial
36 Simon Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, where are you going?”
Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you can’t follow me now, but you will follow later.”
37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll give up my life for you.”
38 Jesus replied, “Will you give up your life for me? I assure you that you will deny me three times before the rooster crows.
Jesus’ body is buried
38 After this Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take away the body of Jesus. Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one because he feared the Jewish authorities. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took the body away. 39 Nicodemus, the one who at first had come to Jesus at night, was there too. He brought a mixture of myrrh and aloe, nearly seventy-five pounds in all.[a] 40 Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. 41 There was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible