Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 97
1 The Lord reigns,(A) let the earth be glad;(B)
let the distant shores(C) rejoice.
2 Clouds(D) and thick darkness(E) surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.(F)
3 Fire(G) goes before(H) him
and consumes(I) his foes on every side.
4 His lightning(J) lights up the world;
the earth(K) sees and trembles.(L)
5 The mountains melt(M) like wax(N) before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.(O)
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,(P)
and all peoples see his glory.(Q)
7 All who worship images(R) are put to shame,(S)
those who boast in idols(T)—
worship him,(U) all you gods!(V)
8 Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad(W)
because of your judgments,(X) Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High(Y) over all the earth;(Z)
you are exalted(AA) far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,(AB)
for he guards(AC) the lives of his faithful ones(AD)
and delivers(AE) them from the hand of the wicked.(AF)
11 Light shines[a](AG) on the righteous(AH)
and joy on the upright in heart.(AI)
12 Rejoice in the Lord,(AJ) you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.(AK)
Psalm 99
1 The Lord reigns,(A)
let the nations tremble;(B)
he sits enthroned(C) between the cherubim,(D)
let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord(E) in Zion;(F)
he is exalted(G) over all the nations.
3 Let them praise(H) your great and awesome name(I)—
he is holy.(J)
4 The King(K) is mighty, he loves justice(L)—
you have established equity;(M)
in Jacob you have done
what is just and right.(N)
5 Exalt(O) the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.
Psalm 115(A)
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,(B)
because of your love and faithfulness.(C)
2 Why do the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(D)
3 Our God is in heaven;(E)
he does whatever pleases him.(F)
4 But their idols are silver and gold,(G)
made by human hands.(H)
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(I)
eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but cannot walk,
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
9 All you Israelites, trust(J) in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
10 House of Aaron,(K) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
11 You who fear him,(L) trust in the Lord—
he is their help and shield.
12 The Lord remembers(M) us and will bless us:(N)
He will bless his people Israel,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear(O) the Lord—
small and great alike.
14 May the Lord cause you to flourish,(P)
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(Q) and earth.
40 Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt[a] was 430 years.(A) 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions(B) left Egypt.(C) 42 Because the Lord kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the Lord for the generations to come.(D)
Passover Restrictions
43 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover meal:(E)
“No foreigner(F) may eat it. 44 Any slave you have bought may eat it after you have circumcised(G) him, 45 but a temporary resident or a hired worker(H) may not eat it.
46 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.(I) 47 The whole community of Israel must celebrate it.
48 “A foreigner residing among you who wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover must have all the males in his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the land.(J) No uncircumcised(K) male may eat it. 49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner(L) residing among you.”
50 All the Israelites did just what the Lord had commanded(M) Moses and Aaron. 51 And on that very day the Lord brought the Israelites out of Egypt(N) by their divisions.(O)
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?(A) 31 I face death every day(B)—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts(C) in Ephesus(D) with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
33 Do not be misled:(F) “Bad company corrupts good character.”[b](G) 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God(H)—I say this to your shame.(I)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask,(J) “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”(K) 36 How foolish!(L) What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.(M) 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.(N) 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor,(O) the moon another and the stars another;(P) and star differs from star in splendor.
Jesus Has Risen(A)
28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene(B) and the other Mary(C) went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake,(D) for an angel(E) of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone(F) and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.(G) 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid,(H) for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.(I) Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.(J) There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them.(K) “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers(L) to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
The Guards’ Report
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards(M) went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away(N) while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor,(O) we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.(P)
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