An Eastertide Psalm for These Days

(Inspired by Psalm 107)

O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;

For God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

those who are witnesses to Christ’s emergence from the darkened tomb

and who have beheld his appearance from behind locked doors.

The Light of All People still shines, through online worship, in lonely hospital rooms, among the sick and the sick at heart, and with those who are imprisoned in body, mind or in spirit.

He is with us!

The covenant loyalty of God could not be curtailed by those who persecuted the prophets, and it could not be stopped by an ancient instrument of Roman terror – the cross. Nor shall a pandemic, loss of income or loss of life reign victorious in God’s good creation. With faith drawn from the past, and hope that propels us toward the future, let us thank the Lord for steadfast love, and let us tell of God’s wondrous deeds with joyful songs.

Some were sick, through no fault of their own. God sent doctors and nurses and first responders who showed the heart of the divine through their selfless acts of love. Yet many people died, and many mourned. And the One who came down among us and gave himself to suffering and pain for our sake mourned with them. The Light shined still, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Some were staggered by the weight of their worries and found themselves at wit’s end by the relentless assault of bad news. Some peered out in aching loneliness from their darkened homes at deserted streets and wondered if things would ever be the same. Some did not know when they would see another paycheck.

Yet let us continue to extol God in the midst of these uncertain days. For God turns deserts into pools of water and parched land into springs of water;

God brings those who have lost their way back into fruitful relationships and blesses them with a promising future yet unseen.

Brighter days are coming and are here, for the Lord is risen indeed! He declares the victory of God over the temporary terrors of this world, even the chains of death itself.

When we are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble and sorrow, God pours contempt on kings who claim total authority and knocks them to the ground. But God raises up those in need, calms their distress, and blesses them.

This is God’s steadfast love, which endures forever.

Those who have eyes to see it are glad, and they celebrate that lament will once again give way to joy and thanksgiving. Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.