Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Brings Justice
1 The Lord is King!
Tell the earth to celebrate
and all islands to shout.
2 Dark clouds surround him,
and his throne is supported
by justice and fairness.
3 Fire leaps from his throne,
destroying his enemies,
4 and his lightning is so bright
that the earth sees it
and trembles.
5 Mountains melt away like wax
in the presence of the Lord
of all the earth.
6 The heavens announce,
“The Lord brings justice!”
Everyone sees God's glory.
7 Those who brag about
the useless idols they worship
are terribly ashamed,
and all the false gods
bow down to the Lord.
8 When the people of Zion
and of the towns of Judah
hear that God brings justice,
they will celebrate.
9 The Lord rules the whole earth,
and he is more glorious
than all the false gods.
10 Love the Lord
and hate evil!
God protects his loyal people
and rescues them
from violence.
11 If you obey and do right,
a light will show you the way
and fill you with happiness.
12 You are the Lord's people!
So celebrate and praise
the only God.
Our Lord Is King
1 (A) Our Lord, you are King!
You rule from your throne
above the winged creatures,[a]
as people tremble
and the earth shakes.
2 You are praised in Zion,
and you control all nations.
3 Only you are God!
And your power alone,
so great and fearsome,
is worthy of praise.
4 You are our mighty King,[b]
a lover of fairness,
who sees that justice is done
everywhere in Israel.
5 Our Lord and our God,
we praise you
and kneel down to worship you,
the God of holiness!
6 Moses and Aaron were two
of your priests.
Samuel was also one of those
who prayed in your name,
and you, our Lord,
answered their prayers.
7 (B) You spoke to them
from a thick cloud,
and they obeyed your laws.
8 Our Lord and our God,
you answered their prayers
and forgave their sins,
but when they did wrong,
you punished them.
9 We praise you, Lord God,
and we worship you
at your sacred mountain.
Only you are God!
The Lord Deserves To Be Praised
1 We don't deserve praise!
The Lord alone deserves
all of the praise,
because of his love
and faithfulness.
2 (A) Why should the nations ask,
“Where is your God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens,
doing as he chooses.
4 (B) The idols of the nations
are made of silver and gold.
5 They have a mouth and eyes,
but they can't speak or see.
6 Their ears can't hear,
and their noses can't smell.
7 Their hands have no feeling,
their legs don't move,
and they can't make a sound.
8 Everyone who made the idols
and all who trust them
are just as helpless
as those useless gods.
9 People of Israel,
you must trust the Lord
to help and protect you.
10 Family of Aaron the priest,
you must trust the Lord
to help and protect you.
11 All of you worship the Lord,
so you must trust him
to help and protect you.
12 The Lord will not forget
to give us his blessing;
he will bless all of Israel
and the family of Aaron.
13 (C) All who worship the Lord,
no matter who they are,
will receive his blessing.
14 I pray that the Lord
will let your family
and your descendants
always grow strong.
15 May the Lord who created
the heavens and the earth
give you his blessing.
16 The Lord has kept the heavens
for himself,
but he has given the earth
to us humans.
17 The dead are silent
and cannot praise the Lord,
18 but we will praise him
now and forevermore.
Shout praises to the Lord!
40-41 (A) The Lord's people left Egypt exactly 430 years after they had arrived. 42 On that night the Lord kept watch for them, and on this same night each year Israel will always keep watch in honor of the Lord.
Instructions for Passover
43 The Lord gave Moses and Aaron the following instructions for celebrating Passover:
Only Israelites may eat the Passover meal.
44 Your slaves may eat the meal if they have been circumcised, 45 but no foreigners who work for you are allowed to have any.
46 (B) The entire meal must be eaten inside, and no one may leave the house during the celebration.
No bones of the Passover lamb may be broken. 47 And all Israelites must take part in the meal.
48 If anyone who isn't an Israelite wants to celebrate Passover with you, every man and boy in that family must first be circumcised. Then they may join in the meal, just like native Israelites. No uncircumcised man or boy may eat the Passover meal! 49 This law applies both to native Israelites and to those foreigners who live among you.
50 The Israelites obeyed everything the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron to tell them. 51 And on that same day the Lord brought Israel's families and tribes out of Egypt.
29 (A) If the dead are not going to be raised to life, what will people do who are being baptized for them? Why are they being baptized for those dead people? 30 And why do we always risk our lives 31 and face death every day? The pride that I have in you because of Christ Jesus our Lord is what makes me say this. 32 (B) What do you think I gained by fighting wild animals in Ephesus? If the dead are not raised to life,
“Let's eat and drink.
Tomorrow we die.”
33 Don't fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you. 34 Be sensible and stop sinning. You should be embarrassed that some people still don't know about God.
What Our Bodies Will Be Like
35 Some of you have asked, “How will the dead be raised to life? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 Don't be foolish. A seed must die before it can sprout from the ground. 37 Wheat seeds and all other seeds look different from the sprouts that come up. 38 This is because God gives everything the kind of body he wants it to have. 39 People, animals, birds, and fish are each made of flesh, but none of them are alike. 40 Everything in the heavens has a body, and so does everything on earth. But each one is very different from all the others. 41 The sun isn't like the moon, the moon isn't like the stars, and each star is different.
Jesus Is Alive
(Mark 16.1-8; Luke 24.1-12; John 20.1-10)
28 The Sabbath was over, and it was almost daybreak on Sunday when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord's angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 The angel looked as bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards shook from fear and fell down, as though they were dead.
5 The angel said to the women, “Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was nailed to a cross. 6 He isn't here! God has raised him to life, just as Jesus said he would. Come, see the place where his body was lying. 7 Now hurry! Tell his disciples he has been raised to life and is on his way to Galilee. Go there, and you will see him. This is what I came to tell you.”
8 The women were frightened and yet very happy, as they hurried from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them and greeted them. They went near him, held on to his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said, “Don't be afraid! Tell my followers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.”
Report of the Guard
11 While the women were on their way, some soldiers who had been guarding the tomb went into the city. They told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 So the chief priests met with the leaders and decided to bribe the soldiers with a lot of money. 13 They said to the soldiers, “Tell everyone that Jesus' disciples came during the night and stole his body while you were asleep. 14 If the governor[a] hears about this, we will talk to him. You won't have anything to worry about.” 15 The soldiers took the money and did what they were told. The people of Judea still tell each other this story.
What Jesus' Followers Must Do
(Mark 16.14-18; Luke 24.36-49; John 20.19-23; Acts 1.6-8)
16 (A) Jesus' eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.