Good Friday Matins
Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit…
Opening Verse
See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.” Isaiah 52:13-15
Psalm 95
Invitatory. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us by his blood.
1 Come, let us sing to the Lord;*
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving*
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is a great God,*
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hands are the depths of the earth,*
and the heights of the hills are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,*
and his hands have moulded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down and bend the knee,*
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,*
and the sheep of his hand.
8 Today if you would hear his voice
Harden not your hearts *
as your forebears did in the wilderness,*
at Meribah and on that day at Massah,
when they tempted me.
9 They put me to the test,*
though they had seen my works.
10 Forty years long I detested that generation and said,*
'This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.'
11 So I swore in my wrath,*
'They shall not enter my rest.'
Invitatory. Come. let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us by his blood.
Psalms
God did not spare his Son, but gave him up to suffer for our sake.
- 1
- My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *
and are so far from my cry
and from the words of my distress?
- 2
- O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; *
by night as well, but I find no rest.
- 3
- Yet you are the Holy One, *
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
- 4
- Our forefathers put their trust in you; *
they trusted, and you delivered them.
- 5
- They cried out to you and were delivered; *
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
- 6
- But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *
scorned by all and despised by the people.
- 7
- All 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."
- 9
- Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *
and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
- 10
- I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; *
you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
- 11
- Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *
and there is none to help.
- 12
- Many young bulls encircle me; *
strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
- 13
- They open wide their jaws at me, *
like a ravening and a roaring lion.
- 14
- I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint; *
my heart within my breast is melting wax.
- 15
- My 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.
- 16
- Packs 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.
- 17
- They stare and gloat over me; *
they divide my garments among them;
they cast lots for my clothing.
- 18
- Be not far away, O LORD; *
you are my strength; hasten to help me.
- 19
- Save me from the sword, *
my life from the power of the dog.
- 20
- Save me from the lion's mouth, *
my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
- 21
- I will declare your Name to my brethren; *
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
- 22
- Praise the LORD, you that fear him; *
stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
- 23
- For 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.
- 24
- My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
- 25
- The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *
"May your heart live for ever!"
- 26
- All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, *
and all the families of the nations bow before him.
- 27
- For kingship belongs to the LORD; *
he rules over the nations.
- 28
- To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.
- 29
- My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
- 30
- They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.
We worship your cross, O Lord, and praise and glorify your holy resurrection, for the wood of the cross has brought joy to the world.
First Reading
Genesis 22:1-14
After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt-offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.’ Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’ Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’
Canticle
A Song of Lamentation
Lamentations 1:12,16; 3:19,22-24,26
Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? *
Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,
Which was brought upon me, *
inflicted by God's fierce anger.
For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears, *
for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my courage.
Remember my affliction and my bitterness, *
wormwood and gall!
The steadfast love of God never ceases, *
God's mercies never end.
They are new every morning; *
great is your faithfulness.
“God is my portion,” says my soul, *
“therefore will I hope in God.”
It is good that we should wait quietly *
for the coming of God's salvation.
Second Reading
John 13:36-38
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 afterwards.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ 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.
For our sake, Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.
Benedictus
For our sake, Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.
Collect of the Day
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.
For our sake, our Redeemer suffered death and was buried, and rose again. With heartfelt love let us adore him, and pray:
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ our teacher, for our sake you were obedient even to accepting death.
- teach us to obey the Father's will in all things.(R.)
Christ our life, by your death on the cross you destroyed the power of evil and death,
- may we die with you to rise with you in glory. (R.)
Christ our King, you became an outcast among us, a worm and no man,
- teach us the humility by which you saved the world. (R.)
Christ our salvation, you gave yourself up to death out of love for us,
- help us to show your love to one another. (R.)
Christ our Savior, on the cross you embraced all time with your outstretched arms,
- unite God's scattered children in your kingdom of salvation. (R.)
Lord's Prayer
Father, look with love upon your people, the love which the Lord Jesus Christ showed us when he delivered himself to evil men and suffered the agony of the cross, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Bow down before the Lord
May the life-giving cross
be the source of all our joy and peace. Amen.