Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 136[a]
136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his loyal love endures.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his loyal love endures,
4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself,
for his loyal love endures,
5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,
for his loyal love endures,
6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,
for his loyal love endures,
7 to the one who made the great lights,
for his loyal love endures,
8 the sun to rule by day,
for his loyal love endures,
9 the moon and stars to rule by night,
for his loyal love endures,
10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his loyal love endures,
11 and led Israel out from their midst,
for his loyal love endures,
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his loyal love endures,
13 to the one who divided[c] the Red Sea[d] in two,[e]
for his loyal love endures,
14 and led Israel through its midst,
for his loyal love endures,
15 and tossed[f] Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his loyal love endures,
16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,
for his loyal love endures,
17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for his loyal love endures,
18 and killed powerful kings,
for his loyal love endures,
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his loyal love endures,
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his loyal love endures,
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
for his loyal love endures,
22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,
for his loyal love endures,
23 to the one who remembered us when we were down,[g]
for his loyal love endures,
24 and snatched us away from our enemies,
for his loyal love endures,
25 to the one who gives food to all living things,[h]
for his loyal love endures.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his loyal love endures!
Psalm 118[a]
118 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let Israel say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
3 Let the family[c] of Aaron say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord[d] say,
“Yes, his loyal love endures.”
5 In my distress[e] I cried out to the Lord.
The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place.[f]
6 The Lord is on my side;[g] I am not afraid.
What can people do to me?[h]
7 The Lord is on my side[i] as my helper.[j]
I look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take shelter[k] in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me.[l]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord[m] I pushed them away.[n]
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me.
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
12 They surrounded me like bees.
But they disappeared as quickly[o] as a fire among thorns.[p]
Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.
13 “You aggressively attacked me[q] and tried to knock me down,[r]
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me;[s]
he has become my deliverer.”[t]
15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly.[u]
The Lord’s right hand conquers.[v]
16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory;[w]
the Lord’s right hand conquers.
17 I will not die, but live,
and I will proclaim what the Lord has done.[x]
18 The Lord severely[y] punished me,
but he did not hand me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple.[z]
I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate—
the godly enter through it.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me,
and have become my deliverer.
22 The stone that the builders discarded[aa]
has become the cornerstone.[ab]
23 This is the Lord’s work.
We consider it amazing![ac]
24 This is the day the Lord has brought about.[ad]
We will be happy and rejoice in it.
25 Please, Lord, deliver!
Please, Lord, grant us success![ae]
26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord[af] be blessed.
We will pronounce blessings on you[ag] in the Lord’s temple.[ah]
27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us.[ai]
Tie the offering[aj] with ropes
to the horns of the altar.[ak]
28 You are my[al] God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God and I will praise you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.[am]
11 “When the Lord brings you[a] into the land of the Canaanites,[b] as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it[c] to you, 12 then you must give over[d] to the Lord the first offspring of every womb.[e] Every firstling[f] of a beast that you have[g]—the males will be the Lord’s.[h] 13 Every firstling[i] of a donkey you must redeem[j] with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck.[k] Every firstborn of[l] your sons you must redeem.
14 [m] “In the future,[n] when your son asks you[o] ‘What is this?’[p] you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand[q] the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery.[r] 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused[s] to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals.[t] That is why I am sacrificing[u] to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’ 16 It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets[v] on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.”[w]
51 Listen,[a] I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,[b] but we will all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the blinking[c] of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[d]
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”[e]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 So then, dear brothers and sisters,[f] be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The Resurrection
24 Now on the first day[a] of the week, at early dawn, the women[b] went to the tomb, taking the aromatic spices[c] they had prepared. 2 They[d] found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb,[e] 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.[f] 4 While[g] they were perplexed[h] about this, suddenly[i] two men stood beside them in dazzling[j] attire. 5 The[k] women[l] were terribly frightened[m] and bowed[n] their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living[o] among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised![p] Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,[q] 7 that[r] the Son of Man must be delivered[s] into the hands of sinful men,[t] and be crucified,[u] and on the third day rise again.”[v] 8 Then[w] the women remembered his words,[x] 9 and when they returned from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven[y] and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene,[z] Joanna,[aa] Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed like pure nonsense[ab] to them, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb.[ac] He bent down[ad] and saw only the strips of linen cloth;[ae] then he went home,[af] wondering[ag] what had happened.[ah]
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