Readings

Good Friday

    The Collect of the Day

    Good Friday

    Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

    Psalms

    22

    Deus, Deus meusBCP p. 610

    1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?

    2O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; *by night as well, but I find no rest.

    3Yet you are the Holy One, *enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

    4Our forefathers put their trust in you; *they trusted, and you delivered them.

    5They cried out to you and were delivered; *they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

    6But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *scorned by all and despised by the people.

    7All who see me laugh me to scorn; *they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,

    8“He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; *let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”

    9Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *and kept me safe upon my mother’s breast.

    10I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; *you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.

    11Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *and there is none to help.

    12Many young bulls encircle me; *strong bulls of Bashan surround me.

    13They open wide their jaws at me, *like a ravening and a roaring lion.

    14I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; *my heart within my breast is melting wax.

    15My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; *and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.

    16Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; *they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.

    17They stare and gloat over me; *they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.

    18Be not far away, O Lord; *you are my strength; hasten to help me.

    19Save me from the sword, *my life from the power of the dog.

    20Save me from the lion’s mouth, *my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.

    21I will declare your Name to my brethren; *in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.

    22Praise the Lord, you that fear him; *stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob’s line, give glory.

    23For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *but when they cry to him he hears them.

    24My praise is of him in the great assembly; *I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

    25The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *“May your heart live for ever!”

    26All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *and all the families of the nations bow before him.

    27For kingship belongs to the Lord; *he rules over the nations.

    28To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *all who go down to the dust fall before him.

    29My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; *they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.

    30They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *the saving deeds that he has done.

    Daily Office Readings

    John 13:36-38

    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 follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Very truly, I tell you, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times.

    Lam. 3:1-9,19-33

    1 I am one who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath; 2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 against me alone he turns his hand, again and again, all day long. 4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, and broken my bones; 5 he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6 he has made me sit in darkness like the dead of long ago. 7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me; 8 though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; 9 he has blocked my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked. 19 The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! 20 My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth, 28 to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it, 29 to put one’s mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope), 30 to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. 31 For the Lord will not reject forever. 32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.