Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Jewish Council who graciously provided a tomb for the burial of Jesus. He came from the town of Arimathea, north-west of Jerusalem. He was well-to-do and is presented in the Gospels as sympathetic to Jesus’ mission, though not an open disciple. FATS
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/78ujert8
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice;
turn to the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face. Psalm 105
Blessed are you,
creator of heaven and earth;
amid the immensity of the universe,
you are mindful of us and seek us out.
Blessed are you for the gift of your Son,
who humbled himself to share our life
that we might be raised with him to glory and splendour.
Blessed be your holy name,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen. BAS
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!
HYMN: Mary Nelson Keithahn ©
Tune: Yn y Glyn https://tinyurl.com/2jp7zscc
When it seemed that Love was dying,
hope and joy forever gone,
friends of Jesus, fearful, wondered
who would help them carry on.
Joseph came to claim the body,
Nicodemus too was there,
bravely showing their allegiance,
handling him with tender care.
In a borrowed tomb they laid him,
breathless, broken, and alone;
then, before they left the garden,
sealed the doorway with a stone.
Women, watching, stood by weeping,
lost in sorrow, deep in gloom,
never dreaming God would bring forth
life anew from barren womb.
Sunday, when the tomb was empty,
Mary cried in great dismay,
till she heard these words of greeting:
“Jesus Christ is risen today.
Fear not! Go and tell the others:
There’s no need to weep or cry.
Earth is filled with alleluias!
Hope and love will never die!”
Mary and the others found their
friends who hid in fear and grief.
“Wipe your tears and gather courage!
Hear this news beyond belief:
We have seen him! Christ is living!
God has rolled away the stone!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God! We are not alone!”
When it seemed that Love was dying,
Love showed it could rise again,
filling empty hearts with courage,
hope, and joy, a glad “Amen!”
Let us too be alleluias,
serving you, Lord, to the end.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Live in us now, Risen Friend.
PSALMS
Psalm 6 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yxx3vdzs)
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in thine indignation *
neither chasten me in thy displeasure.
2 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak *
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are vexed.
3 My soul also is sore troubled *
but, Lord, how long wilt thou punish me?
4 Turn thee, O Lord, and deliver my soul *
O save me for thy mercy’s sake.
5 For in death no man remembereth thee *
and who will give thee thanks in the pit?
6 I am weary of my groaning; every night wash I my bed *
and water my couch with my tears.
7 My beauty is gone for very trouble *
and worn away because of all mine enemies.
8 Away from me, all ye that work vanity *
for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord hath heard my petition *
the Lord will receive my prayer.
10 All mine enemies shall be confounded, and sore vexed *
they shall be turned back, and put to shame suddenly.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 7 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/u4vua9c)
1 O Lord my God, in thee have I put my trust *
save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me;
2 Lest he devour my soul, like a lion, and tear it in pieces *
while there is none to help.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done any such thing *
or if there be any wickedness in my hands;
4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that dealt friendly with me *
yea, I have delivered him that without any cause is mine enemy;
5 Then let mine enemy persecute my soul, and take me *
yea, let him tread my life down upon the earth,
and lay mine honour in the dust.
6 Stand up, O Lord, in thy wrath, and lift up thyself,
because of the indignation of mine enemies *
arise up for me in the judgement that thou hast commanded.
7 And so shall the congregation of the people come about thee *
for their sakes therefore lift up thyself again.
8 The Lord shall judge the people; give sentence with me, O Lord *
according to my righteousness,
and according to the innocency that is in me.
9 O let the wickedness of the ungodly come to an end *
but guide thou the just.
10 For the righteous God *
trieth the very hearts and reins.
11 My help cometh of God *
who preserveth them that are true of heart.
12 God is a righteous Judge, strong, and patient *
and God is provoked every day.
13 If a man will not turn, he will whet his sword *
he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.
14 He hath prepared for him the instruments of death *
he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
15 Behold, he travaileth with mischief *
he hath conceived sorrow, and brought forth ungodliness.
16 He hath graven and digged up a pit *
and is fallen himself into the destruction that he made for other.
17 For his travail shall come upon his own head *
and his wickedness shall fall on his own pate.
18 I will give thanks unto the Lord, according to his righteousness *
and I will praise the Name of the Lord most High.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 8 (Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/vtzy6pg)
1 O Lord our Governor, how excellent is thy Name in all the world *
thou that has set thy glory above the heavens!
2 Out of the mouth of very babes and sucklings
hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies *
that thou mightest still the enemy, and the avenger.
3 For I will consider thy heavens, even the works of thy fingers *
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him *
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 Thou madest him lower than the angels *
to crown him with glory and worship.
6 Thou makest him to have dominion of the works of thy hands *
and thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet;
7 All sheep and oxen *
yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea *
and whatsoever walketh through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Governor *
how excellent is thy Name in all the world!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 6 (Gregorian Tone 2)
2 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
reprove me not in your rage.
3 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I languish.
Lord, heal me; my bones are shaking,
and my soul is greatly shaken.
4 But you, O Lord, how long?
5 Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love.
6 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
who can give you praise from Sheol?
7 I am exhausted with my groaning;
every night I drench my bed with tears,
I bedew my couch with weeping.
8 My eyes waste away with grief;
they have grown weak surrounded by all my foes.
9 Leave me, all who do evil,
for the Lord heeds the sound of my weeping.
10 The Lord has heard my plea;
the Lord will receive my prayer.
11 All my foes will be shamed and greatly shaken,
suddenly put to shame.
Psalm 7 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-7.mp3)
1 O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; *
save and deliver me from all who pursue me;
2 Lest like a lion they tear me in pieces *
and snatch me away with none to deliver me.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done these things: *
if there is any wickedness in my hands,
4 If I have repaid my friend with evil, *
or plundered him who without cause is my enemy;
5 Then let my enemy pursue and overtake me, *
trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.
6 Stand up, O LORD, in your wrath; *
rise up against the fury of my enemies.
7 Awake, O my God, decree justice; *
let the assembly of the peoples gather round you.
8 Be seated on your lofty throne, O Most High; *
O LORD, judge the nations.
9 Give judgment for me according to my
righteousness, O LORD, *
and according to my innocence, O Most High.
10 Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous; *
for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.
11 God is my shield and defense; *
he is the savior of the true in heart.
12 God is a righteous judge; *
God sits in judgment every day.
13 If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; *
he will bend his bow and make it ready.
14 He has prepared his weapons of death; *
he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
15 Look at those who are in labor with wickedness, *
who conceive evil, and give birth to a lie.
16 They dig a pit and make it deep *
and fall into the hole that they have made.
17 Their malice turns back upon their own head; *
their violence falls on their own scalp.
18 I will bear witness that the LORD is righteous; *
I will praise the Name of the LORD Most High.
Psalm 8 (Plainsong: http://oremus.org/chant/Psalm-8.mp3)
1 O LORD our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!
2 Out of the mouths of infants and children *
your majesty is praised above the heavens.
3 You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to quell the enemy and the avenger.
4 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
5 What is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the son of man that you should seek him out?
6 You have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you adorn him with glory and honor;
7 You give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you put all things under his feet:
8 All sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,
9 The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
10 O LORD our Governor, *
how exalted is your Name in all the world!
PRAYER
God of majesty,
amid the grandeur of your creation
you sought us out,
and by the coming of your Son
you adorned us with glory and honor,
giving us dominion over your works.
Enable us so to care for the earth
that all creation may radiate the splendor of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. BCW2018
THE WORD OF GOD
Moses came and told the people all the Lord’s words and all the case laws. All the people answered in unison, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down all the Lord’s words. He got up early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He set up twelve sacred stone pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He appointed certain young Israelite men to offer entirely burned offerings and slaughter oxen as well-being sacrifices to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls. The other half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the covenant scroll and read it out loud for the people to hear. They responded, “Everything that the Lord has said we will do, and we will obey.”
HYMN: Philip Doddridge
Tune: St George https://tinyurl.com/59ddatpr
1 How gentle God’s commands!
How kind His precepts are!
Come, cast your burdens on the Lord,
And trust His constant care.
2 Beneath His watchful eye,
His saints securely dwell;
That hand which bears all nature up
Shall guide His children well.
3 Why should this anxious load
Press down your weary mind?
Haste to your heavenly Father’s throne,
And sweet refreshing find.
4 His goodness stands approved,
Down to the present day;
I’ll drop my burden at His feet,
And bear a song away.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born from God. Whoever loves someone who is a parent loves the child born to the parent. This is how we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep God’s commandments. This is the love of God: we keep God’s commandments. God’s commandments are not difficult, because everyone who is born from God defeats the world. And this is the victory that has defeated the world: our faith. Who defeats the world? Isn’t it the one who believes that Jesus is God’s Son?
This is the one who came by water and blood: Jesus Christ. Not by water only but by water and blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. The three are testifying— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and the three are united in agreement. If we receive human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because this is what God testified: he has testified about his Son. The one who believes in God’s Son has the testimony within; the one who doesn’t believe God has made God a liar, because that one has not believed the testimony that God gave about his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave eternal life to us, and this life is in his Son. The one who has the Son has life. The one who doesn’t have God’s Son does not have life.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of God’s Son so that you can know that you have eternal life.
HYMN: Charles Wesley
Tune: St Chrysostom https://tinyurl.com/mre2ba74
1 O Love divine, what hast Thou done!
Th’immortal God hath died for me!
The Father’s co-eternal Son
bore all my sins upon the tree.
Th’immortal God for me hath died:
my Lord, my Love, is crucified!
2 Is crucified for me and you,
to bring us rebels back to God.
Believe, believe the record true,
ye all are bought with Jesus’ blood.
Pardon for all flows from His side:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
3 Behold Him, all ye that pass by,
the bleeding Prince of life and peace!
Come, sinners, see your Savior die,
and say, “Was ever grief like His?”
Come, feel with me His blood applied:
My Lord, my Love, is crucified!
READING: John 19:38-42
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. 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] Following Jewish burial customs, they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the spices, in linen cloths. 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. Because it was the Jewish Preparation Day and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus in it.
CANTICLE Revelation 4:11, 5:9-10, 13
(Chant by Joe Cox: https://tinyurl.com/y499lmmp)
Ant. Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by right, O Lord our God,
For you created everything that is, *
and by your will they were created and have their being;
And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,
From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.
And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to Christ the Lamb,
Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for ever and for evermore. Ant.
THE PRAYERS BCW
Loving God,
as the rising sun chases away the night,
so you have scattered the power of death
in the rising of Jesus Christ,
and you bring us all blessings in him.
Especially we thank you for
the community of faith in our church . . .
those with whom we work or share common concerns . . .
the diversity of your children . . .
indications of your love at work in the world . . .
those who work for reconciliation. . . .
Mighty God,
with the dawn of your love
you reveal your victory over all that would destroy or harm,
and you brighten the lives of all who need you.
Especially we pray for
families suffering separation . . .
people different from ourselves . . .
those isolated by sickness or sorrow . . .
the victims of violence or warfare . . .
the church in the Pacific region . . . .
(Karin Simmons: https://tinyurl.com/y7vwp7dd)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
God of mercy and compassion,
your servant Joseph of Arimathea
prepared the body of Jesus for burial
and provided for it a resting place;
give us courage to take risks in your service
and follow Jesus our whole life long;
through the same Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen. FATS
Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14
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BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
BCW2018 Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 2018
BAS Book of Alternative Services, Anglican Church of Canada, 1985.
FATS For All the Saints, © The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, 2014
The three main scripture readings are © 2011 Common English Bible.
The traditional version of the psalms are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). Psalm 6 is from The Abbey Psalter as recorded for the Chants & Rants YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@chantsandrants. The modern language versions of Psalm 7 and 8 are from The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and are sung by Ryland Angel.
Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.
Compilation © 2025 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.
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