From One We Can Judge The Rest

(john xx. 1-18.)

¹The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

²Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

³Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

⁴So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

⁵And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

⁶Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

⁷And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

⁸Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

⁹For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

¹⁰Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

¹¹But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

¹²And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

¹³And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my LORD, and I know not where they have laid him.

¹⁴And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

¹⁵Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

¹⁷Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

¹⁸Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

The Prayer

Almighty God and heavenly Father: we praise thee for the glorious resurrection of thy blessed Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, whom we acknowledge as the very Paschal Lamb foreshadowed in the Scriptures, and offered on the cross as a propitiation for the sins of the world; who, by the shedding of his own precious blood, has overcome death, and, by rising from the grave, is made the first-fruits of them that sleep, and has opened unto us the gate of everlasting life.

We confess that we are by nature dead in trespasses and sins, and cannot, by our own power, raise ourselves to newness of life. But blessed be thy name that thou hast, of thy abundant mercy, begotten us again to a lively hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefined, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for all those who are kept by thy power through faith unto salvation.

Give us grace, heavenly Father, so to bewail our sinfulness, and so to meditate on thy wondrous love, that we may find our hearts dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We beseech thee, gracious God, to grant us thy special blessing this day. May the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in us, and direct us in all our duties. Raise our thoughts from the things of this world, and fix them upon those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at thy right hand.

Since Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast: not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. May we fervently join in the prayers and praises of thy people in the courts of thy sanctuary.

Grant also to all those who shall assemble with us in thy house of prayer, that they may be plen- teously endued with thy heavenly grace, and be prepared, with meek heart and due reverence, to hear and receive thy holy word, and to be meet partakers of thy holy mysteries.

Pour down thy Spirit from on high on the ministers of thy blessed gospel: and, while they preach Jesus and the resurrection, let thy word, in their mouth, be as life from the dead; that so they who are sleeping in their sins may awake, and arise from the dead, that Christ may give them light.

And now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is well- pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Retrieved from: Prayer Book, for the Use of Families and Individuals, By Benjamin Kurtz D.D., LL.D

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