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
“This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This verse was the theme of my parents’ wedding and guided their marriage and relationship with their five sons. For them “the day” was the day of Jesus’ resurrection. This was surely not the original intent of the psalmist, but the early church recognized these words as describing the way God’s children were saved through the death and resurrection of God’s Son. Jesus remains the gate through which God leads us to eternal life. Our response is simply gratitude. The psalmist concludes by giving thanks to the LORD for God’s steadfast love, a common expression used in the Old Testament to affirm God’s attitude toward all God’s children. In this season of Easter we celebrate that love in the resurrected Christ.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank you for your gift of salvation. Amen.