Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my supplications.
Verse 2Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
Verse 12What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?
Verse 13I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,
Verse 14I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
Verse 15Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
Verse 16O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the child of your serving girl. You have loosed my bonds.
Verse 17I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice and call on the name of the Lord.
Verse 18I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
Verse 19in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!
Devotion
So much in our world is changeable, impermanent, and ephemeral. The days of our lives move along so swiftly, and it seems as though everything is passing away in a flash. We ask, why is this so—doesn’t anything last anymore? This leads us to search for permanence, for stability, for those things that last and are unchangeable. The psalmist, surrounded by trials and problems of every kind, finds comfort and assurance in the constant, unchanging love of God for him: “O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 118:1). This becomes a refrain; when the psalmist proclaims the great unchanging love of God, the people reply, “the steadfast love of God endures forever.” We join with the people of Israel here, to celebrate in all things the unchanging, steadfast love of God, in the midst of a world where everything else is changing.
Prayer
O God, be our constant and unchanging Rock. In the midst of all those things around us that fail and pass away—“your steadfast love indeed endures forever.” Amen.