Main Thought:
On Holy Thursday Jesus prepared the Passover and instituted the Sacrament of the Altar. He was betrayed and arrested in the night. This psalm praises God for His mercy, especially when we face death. He indeed is gracious, righteous, and merciful.
Psalm 116:1-9
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
Prayer
We give thanks to You, our God, who has hitherto graciously and mightily helped us in all our needs. Be our refuge and help, and when our last day comes, grant that we fall asleep commending our souls into the hands of Your Son, Jesus Christ, confident that through His name our death is precious in Your sight. Amen.