O God, thou God of my salvation; And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O LORD, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations compassed me about: In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. They compassed me about; yea, The sacrifices of God are a bro- they compassed me about: ken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. SELECTION 78 SUITABLE FOR PALM SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP PSALM 118 O GIVE thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. That his mercy endureth for ever. That his mercy endureth for ever. Out of my distress I called upon the LORD: The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me? The LORD is on my side among them that help me: In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: In the name of the Lord I will cut them off. Thou didst thrust sore at me that I might fall: But the Lord helped me. The LORD is my strength and song; And he is become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted: The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the Lord. The LORD hath chastened me sore: But he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of right eousness: I will enter into them, I will give thanks unto the Lord. This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous shall enter into it. I will give thanks unto thee, for thou hast answered me, And art become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the cor ner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, we beseech thee, O LORD: O Lord, we beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. The LORD is God, and he hath given us light: Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou art my God and I will give thanks unto thee: Thou art my God, I will exalt thee. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: For his mercy endureth for ever. SELECTION 79 SUITABLE FOR PALM SUNDAY EVENING WORSHIP THE spirit of the LORD is upon me; Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God: To comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the waste cities, The desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And aliens shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. And as ground: a root out of a dry He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we see him, there is no But ye shall be named the priests beauty that we should desire him. of the LORD: Men shall call you the ministers of our God: Ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, And in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. SELECTION 80 SUITABLE FOR GOOD FRIDAY ISAIAH 52: 13-53: 12 BEHOLD, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were astonished at thee, (His visage was so marred more than any man, And his form more than the sons of men,) So shall he startle many nations; Kings shall shut their mouths at him: For that which had not been told them shall they see; And that which they had not heard shall they understand. Who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him as a tender plant, He was despised, and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And as one from whom men hide their face he was despised, And we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way: And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet he humbled himself and opened not his mouth; As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; yea, he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; And his life, who shall recount? For he was cut off out of the land of the living? For the transgression of my people was he stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich in his death; Although he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; He hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many: and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the strong; Because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: Yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. SELECTION 81 SUITABLE FOR GOOD FRIDAY My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou answerest not; And in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: They trusted in thee, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, Commit thyself unto the LORD; let him deliver him: Let him deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: Deliver my soul from the sword; Thou art my God since my mother dog. bare me. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; For there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gape upon me with their mouth, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: The assembly of evil-doers have inclosed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. Save me from the lion's mouth; Yea, from the horns of the wildoxen thou hast answered me. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; And stand in awe of him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither hath he hid his face from him; But when he cried unto him, he heard. Of thee cometh my praise in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: They shall praise the Lord that seek after him: their heart shall live I may tell all my bones; they for ever. look and stare upon me: They part my garments among them, All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the LORD: And all the kindreds of the na And upon my vesture do they tions shall worship before him. cast lots. But be not thou far off, O LORD: O thou my succour, haste thee to help me. For the kingdom is the LORD's: |