Thursday Psalms: Rejoice and Be Glad!

Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!

Today's Psalm is not a song of "feel-good" encouragement.  This is a psalm of lament   The eternal nature & strength of God stands in sharp contrast to the brevity of our lives, which are full of sinfulness, frailty, and weakness.  As punishment for the first sins in the garden of Eden, physical, bodily death is unavoidable for all God's creation, including you, me and all people [v 3].  With the last Sunday of the church year quickly upon us, our worship and Bible readings point us to the Last Day, when Jesus Christ will return in triumph, to judge all people and rescue His children.  With the Last Day in view, verses 7, 8 and 11 are particularly frightening.

Psalm 90:1-12

¹ Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world,

     from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

³ You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

⁴ For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

        ⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.

⁷ For we are brought to an end by Your anger; by Your wrath we are dismayed.

⁸ You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

⁹ For all our days pass away under Your wrath;

     we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty;

     yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.

¹¹ Who considers the power of Your anger, and Your wrath according to the fear of You?

¹² So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 

Death is God's unavoidable punishment for our sins.  We deserve nothing but God's anger, His wrath and His punishment.  There is nothing you or I can do, we can't be good enough so God would turn away and not punish our sin.  But God, who IS love, did something about our terrible condition.  Check out Romans 5:8  "but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Death is God's unavoidable punishment for your sins, so God punished His Son Jesus as He died on Calvary's cross.  Jesus had pity on you.  Jesus took your sins and your death upon Himself, setting you FREE from both!  God points us in this direction in the next two verses of this psalm:  

¹³  Return, O Lord!  How long?  Have pity on Your servants!

¹⁴  Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Rejoice!  Be Glad!  By His steadfast love for you, Jesus Christ satisfied the wrath and anger of His Father, so you can rejoice and be glad all your days!  Start today!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188 

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

     Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website       Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"Blessed be the LORD, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation."  Psalm 68:19

Pilgrim Worship Sunday November 8, 2026

 

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins   William Blake (1757–1827)

 Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

November 8, 2026

We're thankful you've come here to watch our service and to worship the one true God!

This was another exciting Sunday at Pilgrim Lutheran Church!  Our Sunday schedule has our Worship service beginning at 10:30 am.  Afterwards, around 11:40 or so, please join us and enjoy food and conversations together.

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us on Sunday mornings!  Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about this worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS

  Old Testament:  Amos 5:18-24

               Psalm:  Psalm 70

              Epistle:  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

              Gospel:  Matthew 25:1-13

THEME FOR WORSHIP 

Over the next few weeks, the assigned Gospel readings point us toward the end times and the second coming of our Lord.  Beginning today with the Parable of the Ten Virgins, we’re called to be ready, watchful and prepared for Jesus’ arriving.

There is definite urgency in Jesus’ words; time is not simply rolling on forever.  There will be an end.  The Bridegroom will return, and we must live, wait and be ready.  How does God help us live this way?

To watch the video of today's service, please click HERE.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188   

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

       Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website           Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"Blessed be the LORD, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation."  Psalm 68:19

Thursday Psalms: God Is Your Help!

Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!

In today's Psalm, King David is in urgent despair.  He is being attacked by others around him; those who want to hurt him, and who desire his death.  David's enemies take great joy in his suffering, saying “Aha, Aha!”.  David cries out to God:  Help me, and now!  In verse four David pauses to consider others who are not in despair, and then returns to his own urgent needs for God's help.

Psalm 70 

¹ Make haste, O God, to deliver me!

      O Lord, make haste to help me!

² Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life!

      Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

³ Let them turn back because of their shame

      who say, “Aha, Aha!”

⁴ May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in you!

      May those who love Your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

⁵ But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!

   You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay! 

David's prayer in this psalm is our prayer also.  We often despair and are helpless as we endure the attacks, rejection and conflict from others.  If we're honest with ourselves, we often selfishly smirk and say “Aha, Aha!” about others, even other Christians with whom we don't get along.  O Father in heaven, forgive our petty and selfish sins!  We're also attacked by loneliness, sickness, financial despair, and the loss of loved ones.  We think about broken relationships which we can't change, including ourselves.  In all our struggles, we join David in praying urgently "I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!".

But in all his and our despair, David reminds us in the final verse:  God is your help and your deliverer.  God never promises to fix all the attacks you suffer, but does promise to help us through our struggles.  Consider God's promise in Joshua 1:9  "Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."   God is your Help! 

God is also your Deliverer!  He has delivered you out of the hands of the most horrible attacker, the devil.  Confess your sins, and be delivered by your heavenly Father's love & forgiveness!  Trust in the sure certainty that God has already delivered you to blessed life, here in the now and eternally in the not-yet.  

Give thanks to God, who is your Help!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188 

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

     Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website       Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"Blessed be the LORD, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation."  Psalm 68:19