Seventh Sunday of Easter

The Collect

Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to thy kingdom in heaven: We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless, but send us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us to the same place where our Savior Christ is gone before; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen
Preface of the Ascension

Old Testament Reading

Acts 1:15-26
¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, ¹⁶"Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; ¹⁷for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." ¹⁸(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. ¹⁹And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰"For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ' Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, ' Let another take his office.' ²¹"Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." ²³And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen ²⁵to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." ²⁶And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. -- NKJV
- OR -
Exodus 28:1-4,9-10,29-30
¹"Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's sons: Nadab, Abihu, Elemazar, and Ithamar. ²And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. ³So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. ⁴And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. ⁹"Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: ¹⁰six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth. ²⁹"So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually. ³⁰And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 68:1-20
¹Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.

²As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

³But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God;
Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly.

⁴Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Extol Him who rides on the clouds,
By His name YAH,
And rejoice before Him.

⁵A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.

⁶God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

⁷O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah

⁸The earth shook;
The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,
Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,
When it was weary.

¹⁰Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.

¹¹The Lord gave the word;
Great was the company of those who proclaimed it:

¹²"Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home divides the spoil.

¹³Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
You will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And her feathers with yellow gold."

¹⁴When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
It was white as snow in Zalmon.

¹⁵A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

¹⁶Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks?
This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in;
Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.

¹⁷The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
Even thousands of thousands;
The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.

¹⁸You have ascended on high,
You have led captivity captive;
You have received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious,
That the LORD God might dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation! Selah

²⁰Our God is the God of salvation;
And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death.

-- NKJV

- OR -
Psalm 47
^{To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
1}Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

²For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.

³He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.

⁴He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

⁵God has gone up with a shout,
The LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

⁷For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.

⁸God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.

⁹The princes of the people have gathered together,
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
-- NKJV

New Testament Reading
1 John 5:9-15
⁹If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. ¹⁴Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. -- NKJV
- OR -
Acts 1:15-26
¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said, ¹⁶"Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus; ¹⁷for he was numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry." ¹⁸(Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out. ¹⁹And it became known to all those dwelling in Jerusalem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is, Field of Blood.) ²⁰"For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ' Let his dwelling place be desolate, And let no one live in it'; and, ' Let another take his office.' ²¹"Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection." ²³And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen ²⁵to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." ²⁶And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

John 17:11-19
¹¹Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. ¹²While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. ¹⁸As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. -- NKJV