Our Shepherd at Cedar Springs
Psalm 136 is a liturgy of thanks to the Lord as Creator and Redeemer, with the repeated refrain, “His love endures forever.” This litany of gratitude includes the names of two kings, Sihon and Og (v 19-20). Verses 19 and 20 aren’t my favorite Bible verses, but I’m fond of them because of — as one friend put it — their “particularity,” their attention to detail.
So, this Thanksgiving blog post will be given to particularity about a particular event, our recent Psalm 23 retreat at Cedar Springs. It would be difficult to write about the whole retreat, so I’ll just single out a few things, like the psalmist did with Sihon and Og, and I will follow the pattern of both Psalm 23 and Psalm 136.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Like a shepherd, he led us to green pastures and quiet waters through Kerrie’s sublime sabbatical reflections.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Like a shepherd, he led us beside uproarious waters, as we all belly laughed at 11 year old Arlo’s jokes to kick off our talent show.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. Like a shepherd, he led us down a path of bodily praise through Doug, who got us all dancing! Even me, who’s normally so ridiculously self conscious as to not even dance alone in a dark closet.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. Like a shepherd, his staff drew me and my wife near as we revisited a dark valley we walked through ten years ago.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. As the consummate host, he set a food-filled table before us in the presence of mealtime friends — friends we had never met at church services, even though we only sat four rows apart.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. He caused the cups of our vocal cords to overflow, as Jocelyn and her team’s worshipful craft engendered singing that FILLED the room!
His love endures forever.
So, in this Thanksgiving week, we give thanks to the Lord for he is good, because his goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our lives. His goodness and mercy surely followed us to Cedar Springs on the days of November 10th, 11th, and 12th. And they follow us still, as we look forward to dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.
Why?
Because his love endures forever!