Psalm 118:14-29 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 118:14-29 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
Verse 15There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
Verse 16the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly."
Verse 17I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.
Verse 18The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
Verse 19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
Verse 20This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
Verse 21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
Verse 22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
Verse 23This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Verse 24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Verse 25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Verse 26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Verse 27The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
Verse 28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
Verse 29O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Devotion
How long do you think the Easter glow will last if we just confine it to one day of our calendar year? A week? A month? Soon the realities of the world will come walking back to us. There will be a funeral for a loved one. We or a loved one will experience an illness. No matter how we hope against hope, there will be bad days and hard days ahead.
The psalmist invites us to sing, "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." How do we do that on our bad days? How do we do that when we are sick? When we live a life changed by the Easter message, it becomes a lot clearer. We realize we don't walk through life alone. We understand the joy the psalmist writes about, knowing we are in a relationship with God.
Prayer
Loving Savior, remind us today how blessed we are to walk hand in hand with you. In the midst of our life, help us rejoice knowing that your grace is enough and has transformed us into the people this world needs us to be. Amen.