Thy Strong Word - Psalms for the Easter Season: 16, 118, 34, and 113

Hosted by Rev. Will Weedon, LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain.

With guest Rev. Nabil Nour from Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota.

Today’s program is a rebroadcast from April 4, 2018.

Psalms 16, 118, 34, 113

Psalm 16

You Will Not Abandon My Soul

A Miktam^[a] of David.

16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.^[b]

⁴The sorrows of those who run after^[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

⁵The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
⁶The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.^[d]
⁸I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being^[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
¹⁰For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.^[f]

¹¹You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Footnotes:

Psalm 16:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 16:3 Or To the saints in the land, the excellent in whom is all my delight, I say:
Psalm 16:4 Or who acquire
Psalm 16:7 Hebrew my kidneys instruct me
Psalm 16:9 Hebrew my glory
Psalm 16:10 Or see the pit

Psalm 118

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

118 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

²Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
³Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
⁴Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

⁵Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
⁷The Lord is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

¹⁰All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹¹They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹²They surrounded me like bees;
    they went out like a fire among thorns;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
¹³I was pushed hard,^[a] so that I was falling,
    but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
¹⁵Glad songs of salvation
    are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
¹⁶    the right hand of the Lord exalts,
    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”

¹⁷I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
¹⁸The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
²¹I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
²²The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.^[b]
²³This is the Lord‘s doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!

²⁶Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!

²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
²⁹Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Footnotes:

Psalm 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard
Psalm 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner

Psalm 34

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

^[a] Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
³Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
⁹Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹²What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
¹⁶The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
²⁰He keeps all his bones;
    not one of them is broken.
²¹Affliction will slay the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
²²The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Footnotes:

Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

Psalm 113

Who Is like the Lord Our God?

113 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!

²Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
³From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
⁵Who is like the Lord our God,
    who is seated on high,
⁶who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
⁷He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
⁸to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
⁹He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

Lutheran Heritage Foundation - Underwriter of Thy Strong Word — Underwriter of Thy Strong Word

Rev. William Weedon

We have the distinct privilege of borrowing LCMS Director of Worship and International Center Chaplain Rev. William Chancellor Weedon for an hour a day to add Host of Thy Strong Word to his list of titles. Native to the central Maryland area just outside of Washington D.C., he enthusiastically enjoys his coffee, playing piano, and singing heartily, as well as spending time in the pool with his wife Cindi, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren. He’s one of those people that listens to Christmas music year-round, but we still let him in our studios. You may find him reading a good murder mystery or some writing by Johann Gerhard, Joseph Ratzinger, or Alexander Schmemann while eating a chocolate torte made by his wife Cindi. When he’s read all the books he can manage, he escapes outside to hike, bike, or even run in his Vivobarefoot shoes that Andy Bates, his favorite famous person, told him to buy.