Psalm 136
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who alone does great wonders,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who by wisdom made the heavens,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who laid out the earth upon the waters,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who made the great lights,
for his mercy endures for ever;

The sun to rule the day,
for his mercy endures for ever;

The moon and the stars to govern the night,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who smote the firstborn of Egypt,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And brought out Israel from among them,
for his mercy endures for ever;

With a mighty hand and outstretched arm,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And made Israel to pass through the midst of it,
for his mercy endures for ever;

But Pharaoh and his host he overthrew in the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And slew mighty kings,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And Og, the king of Bashan,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And gave away their land for a heritage,
for his mercy endures for ever;

A heritage for Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who remembered us when we were in trouble,
for his mercy endures for ever;

And delivered us from our enemies,
for his mercy endures for ever;

Who gives food to all creatures,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his mercy endures for ever.

Deuteronomy 7.1-11
When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, and he clears away many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you—and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles, and burn their idols with fire. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

It was not because you were more numerous than any other people that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you—for you were the fewest of all peoples. It was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath that he swore to your ancestors, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and who repays in their own person those who reject him. He does not delay but repays in their own person those who reject him. Therefore, observe diligently the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that I am commanding you today.

Ephesians 2.11-end
So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.

The Collect
Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.