I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
Psalm 118:17-21
There have already been several commemorative worship services for the late Queen Elizabeth, even though her official funeral will take place next Monday. Whatever one feels about the monarchy as an institution these events are being offered in recognition of Queen Elizabeth's personal faith and the peculiar relationship between the sovereign and the Church of England.
One of those services was held on Monday at St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh which is Church of Scotland. As with all the other services which will occur it was meticulously planned and the music supported the themes of mourning and gratitude. I am not high-falutin' in my liturgical tastes, including sacred music, yet I appreciate the exceptional quality of the music for these worship events.
During the St. Giles service a setting of a portion of Psalm 118 was sung in Gaelic by a celebrated folk musician named Karen Matheson who was accompanied by a harpist. It was beautiful and I've included the link below. My Gaelic is a tad rusty so I searched out the English words to these verses and they begin this blog entry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh9jHko6ObQ
Psalm 118 also offers an interesting take on placing our trust in God rather than princes and monarchs. Given that the former Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, was in the front row of St. Giles it was just as well that the text of the entire psalm was not included.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
Psalm 118: 8-9
Very lovely Celtic music !
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