Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
14 Man born of woman has a few short days,
and they are full of anxiety.
2 He blossoms like a flower, but soon withers.
He recedes like a shadow and does not remain.
3 You keep your eye on such a man.
You bring me[a] into judgment in your presence.
4 Who can produce something pure from something that is impure?
No one.
5 Certainly his days are determined.
The number of his months has been set by you.
A limit is set, which he cannot exceed.
6 Turn your gaze away from him, and let him be,
until he finishes his day’s work as a hired man.
7 There is still hope for a tree if it is cut down.
It may grow up again and produce new shoots.
8 Though its roots lie dormant in the earth,
and its stump is dying in the dust,
9 with just a whiff of water, it shoots up again.
As a growing plant, it again sends out branches.
10 But if a man dies, he shrivels away.
When a person breathes his last, where is he?
11 Waters evaporate from the sea.
A river dries up and becomes dust.
12 In the same way, a man lies down and does not rise again.
Until the heavens pass away, he does not awaken,
and he is not aroused from his sleep.
13 Oh how I wish you would hide me in the grave,
that you would conceal me until your wrath has passed by,
that you would set an appointed time for me,
and then you would remember me.
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
Through all the days of my warfare,[b]
I will wait, until change comes about for me.
A Ray of Hope in the Midst of Anguish[a]
3 I am the man who has experienced affliction under the rod of his fury.
2 He drove me off and brought me into darkness instead of light.
3 See how he turns against me. He turns his hand against me all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and my skin. He shattered my bones.
5 He built siege works against me. He surrounded me with bitterness
and hardship.
6 He made me dwell in dark places, like people who died long ago.
7 He walled me in, so I cannot leave. He made my chains heavy.
8 Even when I call and cry out, he shuts out my prayer.
9 He has blocked my way with a stone wall. He has made my paths crooked.
19 Remember my affliction and my homeless wandering,
the wormwood and bitterness.
20 My soul always remembers, and it has sunk within me.
21 Nevertheless, I keep this in my heart. This is the reason I have hope:
22 By the mercies of the Lord we are not consumed, for his compassions do not fail.
23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
24 My soul says, “The Lord is my portion. Therefore, I will hope in him.”
Psalm 31
Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit
Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David.
A Declaration of Confidence
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge.
Petition
Let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me.
2 Turn your ear toward me.
Hurry! Rescue me!
Be a rock where I take refuge,
a fortified place that saves me.
The Basis for Confidence
3 Yes, you are my rocky cliff and my stronghold.
For the sake of your name you will lead me and guide me.
4 You will pull me out of the net that they hid for me,
because you are my refuge.
15 My times are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your mercy.
Do Not Join in Immorality
4 Therefore, because Christ suffered in flesh,[a] arm yourselves with the same mindset, because the one who has suffered in flesh is done with sin. 2 Do this so that you no longer live the rest of your time in the flesh for human desires but for God’s will. 3 Indeed, you have already spent enough time in the past doing what the Gentiles want to do: living in unbridled immorality, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and disgusting idolatry.
4 For this reason, they are surprised that you do not plunge into the same overflowing river of filth with them, and they slander you. 5 They will have to give an account to the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 In fact, it was for this reason that the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, so that they might be judged the way people are judged in flesh and that they might live the way God lives in spirit.
Love for Others in the End Times
7 The end of all things is near. So have sound judgment and be self-controlled for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, love each other constantly, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Jesus’ Burial
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. He rolled a large stone over the tomb’s entrance and left. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guard
62 On the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered in the presence of Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remembered what that deceiver said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give a command that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples might steal his body and tell the people, ‘He is risen from the dead.’ And this last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard.
Jesus’ Burial
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave him permission, he came and took Jesus’ body away. 39 Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-two pounds.[a]
40 They took Jesus’ body and bound it with linen strips along with the spices, in accord with Jewish burial customs.
41 There was a garden at the place where Jesus was crucified. And in the garden was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 So they laid Jesus there, because it was the Jewish Preparation Day, and the tomb was near.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.