{"id":14210,"date":"2025-04-20T23:17:59","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T03:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=14210"},"modified":"2025-08-12T22:53:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T02:53:47","slug":"psalms-of-trust-for-easter-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/?p=14210","title":{"rendered":"Psalms of Trust for Easter Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bluebells\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Christ is Risen!<\/p>\n

I had a lovely Easter Sunday – sang in the choir for two services, where we invite folks from the congregation to join us in singing the Hallelujah Chorus, with orchestral accompaniment. The 11:00 service especially had many voices raised and was magnificent. Then I had Easter dinner with a dear friend since childhood and her family – and got some much-needed Mom hugs from her Mom besides.<\/p>\n

Since I’ve been doing the Laments for Lent<\/a><\/em> series, I wanted to do a follow-up on Easter. Instead of looking at Laments, I want to look at two Psalms of Trust.<\/p>\n

Psalms of Trust don’t have a particular form like the Lament, but they do have seven Key Concepts that show up (not all of them in all Psalms of Trust, but definite themes):<\/p>\n

\u2022 Trust
\n\u2022 Refuge
\n\u2022 No Fear
\n\u2022 Vindication
\n\u2022 Guidance
\n\u2022 Deliverance
\n\u2022 Faithfulness<\/p>\n

Since it’s already been a long day, I think I will just type out these two Psalms of Trust related to Easter. But as always, let me recommend that you try following the example of the psalmists and try praying to God using these themes as a jumping-off point.<\/p>\n

Psalm 31 is the other Psalm Jesus quoted on the cross with the words, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Here’s the rest of this beautiful Psalm:<\/p>\n

Psalm 31–<\/p>\n

In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
\nlet me never be put to shame;
\ndeliver me in your righteousness.
\nTurn your ear to me,
\ncome quickly to my rescue;
\nbe my rock of refuge,
\na strong fortress to save me.
\nSince you are my rock and my fortress,
\nfor the sake of your name lead and guide me.
\nKeep me free from the trap that is set for me,
\nfor you are my refuge.
\nInto your hands I commit my spirit;
\ndeliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
\nI hate those who cling to worthless idols;
\nas for me, I trust in the LORD.
\nI will be glad and rejoice in your love,
\nfor you saw my affliction
\nand knew the anguish of my soul.
\nYou have not given me into the hands of the enemy
\nbut have set my feet in a spacious place.
\nBe merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
\nmy eyes grow weak with sorrow,
\nmy soul and my body with grief.
\nMy life is consumed by anguish
\nand my years by groaning;
\nmy strength fails because of my affliction,
\nand my bones grow weak.
\nBecause of all my enemies,
\nI am the utter contempt of my neighbors
\nand an object of dread to my closest friends –
\nthose who see me on the street flee from me.
\nI am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
\nI have become like broken pottery.
\nFor I hear many whispering,
\n“Terror on every side!”
\nThey conspire against me
\nand plot to take my life.
\nBut I trust in you, LORD;
\nI say, “You are my God.”
\nMy times are in your hands;
\ndeliver me from the hands of my enemies,
\nfrom those who pursue me.
\nLet your face shine on your servant;
\nsave me in your unfailing love.
\nLet me not be put to shame, LORD,
\nfor I have cried out to you;
\nbut let the wicked be put to shame
\nand be silent in the realm of the dead.
\nLet their lying lips be silenced,
\nfor with pride and contempt
\nthey speak arrogantly against the righteous.
\nHow abundant are the good things
\nthat you have stored up for those who fear you,
\nthat you bestow in the sight of all,
\non those who take refuge in you.
\nIn the shelter of your presence you hide them
\nfrom all human intrigues;
\nyou keep them safe in your dwelling
\nfrom accusing tongues.
\nPraise be to the LORD,
\nfor he showed me the wonders of his love
\nwhen I was in a city under siege.
\nIn my alarm I said,
\n“I am cut off from your sight!”
\nYet you heard my cry for mercy
\nwhen I called to you for help.
\nLove the LORD, all his faithful people!
\nThe LORD preserves those who are true to him,
\nbut the proud he pays back in full.
\nBe strong and take heart,
\nall you who hope in the LORD.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And another Psalm of Trust seems appropriate for Easter. Peter quoted Psalm 16 in his Pentecost sermon of Acts 2, explaining that death could not keep its hold on Christ. Let’s look at that entire Psalm.<\/p>\n

Psalm 16–<\/p>\n

Keep me safe, my God,
\nfor in you I take refuge.
\nI say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
\napart from you I have no good thing.”
\nI say of the holy people who are in the land,
\n“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
\nThose who run after other gods will suffer more and more.
\nI will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
\nor take up their names on my lips.
\nLORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
\nyou make my lot secure.
\nThe boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
\nsurely I have a delightful inheritance.
\nI will praise the LORD who counsels me;
\neven at night my heart instructs me.
\nI keep my eyes always on the LORD.
\nWith him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
\nTherefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
\nmy body also will rest secure,
\nbecause you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
\nnor will you let your faithful one see decay.
\nYou make known to me the path of life;
\nyou will fill me with joy in your presence,
\nwith eternal pleasures at your right hand.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There – I don’t know about you, but those words help me refocus in troubled times.<\/p>\n

In fact, I changed my mind. Let me try writing my own very short Psalm of Trust after all. Because whatever happens, I want to remember that God is my refuge.<\/p>\n

A Psalm of Trust for Easter<\/p>\n

Christ is risen!
\nHe is risen indeed!
\nChrist is the King of kings
\nand Lord of lords,
\nwho shall reign for ever and ever.
\nHallelujah!<\/p>\n

Lord, I was reminded today
\nthat Mary’s mind couldn’t process the empty tomb
\nuntil you said her name.
\nThe Resurrection was the great reversal,
\nturning what seemed like utter defeat
\ninto triumph and joy.<\/p>\n

And you, Resurrected Christ,
\nLord of life,
\nare our refuge and strength.<\/p>\n

Our circumstances seem bad,
\nthe news seems dire,
\nour livelihoods aren’t secure,
\nthe future feels ominous,
\nand it’s hard to know where to turn
\nand what to do.<\/p>\n

But Lord God, may we remember
\nthat you are our refuge.
\nMay we look to follow Christ,
\nloving our neighbors
\nand being kind to the least of these.<\/p>\n

And may we remember that even the grave is not the end of the story,
\nfor you are the Resurrection and the Life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christ is Risen! I had a lovely Easter Sunday – sang in the choir for two services, where we invite folks from the congregation to join us in singing the Hallelujah Chorus, with orchestral accompaniment. The 11:00 service especially had many voices raised and was magnificent. Then I had Easter dinner with a dear friend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-praying-with-the-psalmists","category-psalms-of-trust"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14210"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14214,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14210\/revisions\/14214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/sonderjourneys\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}