(john xx. 19-31.)
19Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.20And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.
21Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
24But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the LORD. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
27Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
29Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
30And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
The Prayer
Most merciful God and Father, receive, we beseech thee, our hearty thanks for thy great goodness ; and especially for the blessings and mercies bestowed upon us this day. "We bless thee for the preaching of thy word, and for the administration of thy holy sacraments. We bless thee for thy gracious condescension, in having thy habitation among the sons of men, and in dwelling in the midst of the assemblies of thy people. Let thy blessing rest, we beseech thee, upon those whom thou hast called to minister in holy things; let them be clothed with righteousness; and let thy people rejoice in thy salvation. Grant that the words spoken in thy name may not be spoken in vain. Grant us grace so to hear and receive the godly counsel and instruction of those who are set over us in the Lord, that in all our words and deeds we may seek thy glory and the increase of thy kingdom.
We bless thee, heavenly Father, for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ as the resurrection and the life, and for the gracious declaration, that whosoever liveth and believeth in him shall never die. Grant us grace to humble ourselves before- thee, knowing that thou art able to exalt us in due time. May we follow the example of thy dearly-beloved Son, in patience, meekness, and humility. And as he died and rose again for us, so may we, who are baptized into his death, die from sin, and rise again unto righteousness, continually mortifying all our evil and corrupt affections, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living.
We commend to thy rich mercies in Christ Jesus, all the nations that are sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. May the Sun of Righteousness rise upon them, and the light of the everlasting gospel shine into their hearts, to give them the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Have mercy on the house of Israel, and teach them by thy Spirit to know that thou hast made that same Jesus, whom their forefathers crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Awaken the impenitent to a sense of their danger, by putting them in remembrance that thou hast appointed a day in which thou wilt judge the world in righteousness, by him whom thou hast ordained, whereof thou hast given assurance unto all men, in that thou hast raised him from the dead.
O Lord, I thank thee for this opportunity of worshiping thee in thy holy temple; pardon the wanderings of my heart, and accept my prayers and thanksgivings. Let thy word be profitable to my soul, and bless me and all who have waited upon thee, for thy dear Son's sake, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And now, 0 God, we commit ourselves, and all who are near and dear to us, to thy holy keeping. Let us go to our rest in humble trust and confidence in thy unfailing mercy. And let us remember, as we close our eyes in sleep, that the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and shall come forth— they that have done good, to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. And may we be so prepared by thy grace for this event, that, when our mortal bodies shall be committed to the ground, they may rest in sure and certain hope of a joyful resurrection to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee, 0 Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world without end.
Amen.
Retrieved from: Prayer Book, for the Use of Families and Individuals, By Benjamin Kurtz D.D., LL.D
(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.
Blessed Lord, impress my mind with a solemn sense of thy presence. May thy Holy Spirit assist me in my devotions; and enable me to hear thy word with profit to my soul, through Jesus Christ my Savior. Amen.
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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