Thursday in Easter — Open Word

FIRST READING

Isaiah 25:1-5

Verse 1. O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders — plans formed long ago — in perfect faithfulness. Verse 2. Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt. Verse 3. Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You. Verse 4. For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall, Verse 5. like heat in a dry land. You subdue the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

PSALM

Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19

I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice — my appeal for mercy.

Because He has inclined His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.

The ropes of death entangled me; the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!”

How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me?

I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.

I will offer to You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.

I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people,

in the courts of the LORD’s house, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Hallelujah!

SECOND READING

1 Peter 1:8b-12

Verse 8. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, Verse 9. now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Verse 10. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully, Verse 11. trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Verse 12. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, when they foretold the things now announced by those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.