Book of Common Prayer
God’s Gracious Love
136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
4 To the one who alone does great and wondrous things,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
5 to the one who by wisdom made the heavens,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
6 to the one who spread out the earth over the waters,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
7 to the one who made the great lights,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
8 the sun to illumine[a] the day,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
9 and the moon and stars to illumine[b] the night,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
10 to the one who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
11 and brought Israel out from among them,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
12 with a strong hand and an active[c] arm,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
13 To the one who split the Reed[d] Sea in two
for his gracious love is everlasting—
14 and made Israel pass through the middle of it,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
15 and cast Pharaoh and his armies into the Reed[e] Sea,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
16 To the one who led his people into the wilderness,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
18 and killed famous kings,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
19 including Sihon king of the Amorites,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
20 and Og king of Bashan,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
22 to Israel his servant as a possession,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
23 He it is who remembered us in our lowly circumstances,
for his gracious love is everlasting—
24 and rescued us from our enemies,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
25 He gives food to all creatures,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
26 Give thanks to the God of Heaven,
for his gracious love is everlasting.
Thanksgiving to God
118 Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his gracious love is eternal.
2 Let Israel now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
3 Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His gracious love is eternal.”
5 I called on the Lord in my distress;
the Lord answered me openly.[a]
6 The Lord is with me.
I will not be afraid.
What can people do to me?
7 With the Lord beside me as my helper,
I will triumph over those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[b] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter[c] in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
11 They surrounded me, they are around me;
but in the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
but they will be extinguished like[d] burning thorns.
In the name of the Lord I will defeat them.
13 Indeed, you[e] oppressed me so much that I nearly fell,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and protector,[f]
for he has become my deliverer.[g]
15 There’s exultation[h] for deliverance in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord is victorious![i]
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord is victorious!”[j]
17 I will not die, but I will live
to recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord will discipline me severely,
but he won’t hand me over to die.
19 Open for me the righteous gates
so I may enter through them to give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will praise you because you have answered me
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is from the Lord—
it is awesome in our sight.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let’s rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please Lord, deliver us!
Please Lord, hurry[k] and bring success now!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Let us bless you from the Lord’s house.
27 The Lord is God—he will be our light!
Bind the festival sacrifice with ropes
to the horn at the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his gracious love is eternal.
Consecration of the Firstborn
13 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelis, both of humans and of animals, belongs to me.”
The Redemption of the Firstborn
11 “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite and gives it to you, just as he promised you and your ancestors, 12 you are to dedicate to the Lord everything that first opens the womb. All the firstborn males[a] of your livestock belong to the Lord. 13 You are to redeem every firstborn donkey[b] with a lamb, and if you don’t redeem it, you are to break its neck. You are to redeem every firstborn[c] among your sons. 14 Then when your child asks you in the future, ‘What is this?’, you are to say to him, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of bondage with a strong show of force.[d] 15 And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of humans to the firstborn of animals. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord every male that first opens the womb, but I redeem every firstborn of my sons. 16 It is to be a sign on your hand and an emblem[e] on your forehead,[f] because the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong show of force.’”[g]
51 Let me tell you a secret. Not all of us will die,[a] but all of us will be changed— 52 in a moment, faster than an eye can blink, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet[b] will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed. 53 For what is decaying must be clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying must be clothed with what cannot die. 54 Now, when what is decaying is clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying is clothed with what cannot die, then the written word will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up by victory!”[c]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[d]
56 Now death’s stinger is sin, and sin’s power is the Law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah![e]
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn’t wasted.
Jesus is Raised from the Dead(A)
24 But at early dawn on the first day of the week,[a] they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus.[b] 4 While they were puzzling over this, two men in dazzling robes suddenly stood beside them. 5 While the women remained terrified, bowing their faces to the ground, the men[c] asked them, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is living? 6 He is not here, but has been raised.[d] Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day.’”
8 Then the women[e] remembered Jesus’[f] words. 9 They returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven disciples[g] and all the others. 10 The women who told the apostles about it were Mary Magdalene,[h] Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some[i] others. 11 But what they said seemed nonsense to them, so they did not believe them. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. He stooped down and saw only the linen cloths. Then he went home, wondering about what had happened.[j]
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