A Reading For Holy Saturday

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Divine and everlasting Savior,
Thou didst go into the grave to make death a sleep
from which our mortal bodies shall arise on the Last Day.
We shall live because Thou livest.
Let me look forward with joy
to the day of my departure,
confidently believing that I shall rise
from the dust of the earth
with a body like unto Thy glorious body.
Be with me when my last hour cometh.

Forgive me all my sins,
fill my soul with peace.
Make me unafraid of the Judgment to come,
knowing that there is no condemnation
for them that believe.
O death, where is thy sting?
I thank Thee, Lord,
for Thine eternal victory over death and the grave.

Comfort the hearts of those who are sorrowing
because the angel of death has
crossed the threshold of their homes
and taken a precious soul out of their midst.
Hold out to them through Thy Word
the glory of heaven,
when by Thine infinite grace
they shall see Thee and those who are Thine
gathered around Thine eternal throne.

Give me daily the blessed assurance
that heaven is my home.
Make me watchful and wakeful.
Keep me on the narrow way
which leads me to eternal glory.
Give me the grace to say with confident assurance:
I believe in the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting.
Abide with me day by day
until I, now believing,
shall see Thee face to face forevermore.
Amen.

  • From the 1951 Lutheran Book of Prayer