Psalm 118

It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    then to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    then to trust in princes.

Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.

You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

Some of you may have known Ed Cooper who passed away yesterday. I just keep thinking about the line "Open for Ed the gates of the righteous, he will enter and give thanks to the Lord."

Ed was a marvellous servant of Christ. I'm partial to him because I know he joined with me in praying for one of my kids all these years. He was the annoying facebook grandpa that was completely oblivious but always encouraging to him. 

It's just crazy when one of the Lord's saints goes home. If he lived well they leave a hole, a hole that seems so hard to fill. But for them, they're going home. They enter in to give thanks to the Lord.

What a crazy tension God leaves with us when we calls home His saints. To be sorrowful but ever rejoicing. 

You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.