Psalm for Sunday, April 12, 2026

Reflections 

Psalm 118: 2-4, 13-15, 22-24   (Read)

“I was hard pressed and was falling,

but the Lord came to my help.”

 

Once again we visit this powerful psalm of praise

and thanksgiving. This time the verses stress 

the enduring love that God has for us – so much so 

that despite the part we played in crucifying His son, 

God went ahead and carried out His plan to save us.

“God’s mercy endures forever.”

“I was hard pressed and falling, but the Lord came 

to my help.” This verse could be about us.   Are we 

any different from our psalmist, any less desperate 

or in need of the Lord's healing power and presence 

in our lives? 

“My strength and my courage is the Lord.” He is 

present to us, just as He was in those early days of the 

church described in today's 1^st reading (Acts 2: 42-47),

and in the Gospel (John 20: 19-31). We may not have 

the awesome experience of physically putting our hand 

in the Lord’s side and our fingers into the nail marks 

on His hand, but He is with us.

We are victorious over death. The Lord’s deliverance 

is cause for joy.  Just when we were down, the Lord raises 

us up. “I was hard pressed and falling, but the Lord has 

been my Savior.” The joyful shout of victory is heard.

We are on firm ground after all – Christ has become our

cornerstone, as our psalmist reminds us. Christ has become 

a source of strength for us, despite His apparent weakness 

that day on the cross, when He died a shameful death. 

The Lord is present to us when we are frightened as He 

was present to those frightened disciples in the Upper Room. 

Who would have been more hard pressed and falling

than they were before Jesus appeared to them and blessed 

them and extended His peace to them? That same source of 

strength and might the psalmist speaks of is available to us; 

all we have to do is open our hearts and receive His saving grace.

 

As Peter tells us in today's 2^nd reading (1 Peter 1: 3-9), Christ’s 

resurrection gives us a living hope and a powerful faith. This is 

cause for rejoicing: “By the Lord has this been done; it is 

wonderful in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made.”

Along with the disciples and the early church, “Let us be glad 

and rejoice in it.”

Amen

 

Discussion Questions for Reflection

1.   Our psalmist was 'hard pressed and falling,' but affirms that the Lord has been his savior.   Describe how you have been saved by the Lord and given strength and courage by Him.

2.  The Psalm declares, "The joyful shout of victory is heard."   Speak of what makes you joyful during this Easter season, and tell of how you have shouted and rejoiced in the Lord's resurrection.