First readingActs 1:1-11
The first historie I made, O Theophilus, anent a' that Jesus begude baith to do and to teach, till whatna day he was taen up, eftir that he had by the Holie Spirit gien commauns to the Apostles he had waled oot; and to wham he schawed his sel leevin eftir his sufferans, by mony sure and certain tokens, appearin to them throwe forty days, and speakin o’ the things anent the kingdom o’ God. And companyin wi’ them, chairged them no to gang awa frae Jerusalem, but to bide for the promise o’ the Faither, “ Whilk,” quo’ he, “ye hae heard o’ me. For in sooth John bapteez’t wi' watir, but ye sal be bapteez’t in Holie Spirit no mony days frae noo !”
And sae they, whan they cam thegither, speir’t at him, “Lord, do thou at this time bring back the kingdom to Isra’l?” And he said to them, “It isna for you to ken times and seasons, whilk the Faither has keepit in his ain haun. But ye sal hae strenth, eftir the Holie Spirit is come to ye; and ye sal be witnesses for me baith in Jerusalem, and in a’ Judea and Samaria, and to the far-awa’ ends o’ the yirth.”
And whan he had said thir things, while they war lookin on, he was liftit up; and a clud happit
him oot o’ their sicht. And while they lookit, peerin intil the heavens, as he gaed up, twa men stude by them in white cleedin; wha said, “Ye men frae Galilee ! why staun ye peerin intil the lift? The same Jesus, wha has been ta’en frae you intil Heeven, sal come in like mainner as ye hae seen him gang intil Heeven.”
(From The New Testament in Braid Scots (1904) by William Wye Smith here)
For the Lord owre a' is himlane till be fear'd;
the Lord wi' the tout o' a swesch.
Sing ye till God, sing a sang :
sing a sang till our King, sing ye.
For God himlane, o' the hail yirth is King;
God owre the hethen is king;
God sits on his thron, sae weel shiftit.
(From Psalm 47, The Psalms: frae Hebrew intil Scottis P. Hately Waddell (1891) here)
Second reading
Ephesians 1:17-23
That the God o’ oor Lord Jesus Christ, the Faither o’ glorie, may gie ye a spirit o’ wisdom and revealin in his knowledge: yere inward een bein fu’ o’ licht, that ye may come to ken what the hope o’ his blythe-bidden is, what his rich inheritance o’ glorie i’ the saunts, and what the unmeasured vastness o’ his pooer toward us wha hae faith, e’en as by the up haudin o’ his micht, whilk he wrocht in Christ, raisin him frae ’mang the deid, and settin him doon amang a’ the heevenlies, at his ain richt-haun, far up aboon a’ rule, and authorise, and pooer, and dominion, and ilka name that is named, no alane i’ this warld, but eke in that that is to come: and "pat a’ things under his feet"; and gied him as heid ower a' things to the Kirk; whilk in sooth is his body, the completion o’ him wha completes a’ in a’ for himsel.
(From The New Testament in Braid Scots (1904) by William Wye Smith here)
Gospel reading
Luke 24: 46-53
And [Jesus] said to [his discipilis], "For thus it is writtin, and thus it behuvit Crist to suffir, and ryse agane fra deid in the thrid day: And pennance and remissioun of synnis to be prechit in his name into al folkis, begynnand at Jerusalem. And ye ar witnessis of thir thingis. And I sal send the promitt of my fader into you: bot sit ye in the citee, till that ye be clethit with virtue fra on hie. And he ledde thame furth into Bethany: and quhen his handis war liftit vp, he blessit thame. And it was done, the quhile he blessit thame, he departit fra thame, and was born into heuen. And thai wirschipand went agane into Jerusalem with gret joy: And war euirmaire in the tempile, lovand and blessand God."
[From The New Testament in Scots Murdoch Nisbet [c.1520] (1901) vol 1 here]