Psalm 16 – NIV
1 Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.2 I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”3 As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.4 The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Saturday we celebrated my parents’ 60th Wedding Anniversary. The celebration was held at Central Methodist Church in Newberry, and was attended by nearly 150 friends and family members from as far away as New Mexico.
The repeated comments I heard were that our guests were so glad to have such a celebration while the celebrants are still with us, rather than at a funeral. It was good to see relatives I hadn’t seen in awhile. I would have loved to have spent time with each of them. However, a setting like this just isn’t conducive to long conversations. I had little time other than to just welcome them and express our delight that they had attended. I also had little time to take pictures, even though I was well-armed with cameras. The very few I took can be seen here.
As a tribute to my parents, my siblings and their families sang several old hymns, including “My Wonderful Lord”, “Power in the Blood”, “It Is Well”, “Are You Washed in the Blood”, and “The Old Account Was Settled”. We ended with a piece that I had written for the occasion – “A Delightful Inheritance.” This was taken from Psalm 16, quoted above. Our encore was an a capella rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” We tried it from memory, and it fell apart before we got through it, but we had fun.
My parents seemed to appreciate the celebration, and we were glad to do this for them.
