Psalm 116:1-8 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 116:1-8 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 3The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
Verse 4Then I called on the name of the Lord: "O Lord, I pray, save my life!"
Verse 5Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
Verse 6The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
Verse 7Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
Verse 8For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
Devotion
Wednesday is as far from sabbath as one can get. Sabbath is three days past and three days yet to come. For many, Wednesday represents “church night”; for others, it is just another busy day.
When I ran cross country in college, we worked hard all week preparing for Saturday races. Even Sunday was a long day, with 15-20 mile runs to get the race soreness worked out. So on Wednesdays the coach told us, “Remember the sabbath and keep it slowly.” We ran only three miles.
Psalm 116 is a call to pray in the midst of the heaviness of life and death. “Return, O my soul to your rest … walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Pause and pray; return, if even for only a moment, to rest and walk. Otherwise you will never stop running, and the snares of death will encompass you.
Prayer
Lord of the sabbath, let us breathe today. Slow us for a moment in the midst of the day flying by. Amen.