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Psalm 118

12 Apr

Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.

10 Though hostile nations surrounded me,
    I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
    but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
    they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
    But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
13 My enemies did their best to kill me,
    but the Lord rescued me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
    The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
    The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
17 I will not die; instead, I will live
    to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
    but he did not let me die.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
    and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
    and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer
    and giving me victory!

22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing,
    and it is wonderful to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
    We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, Lord, please save us.
    Please, Lord, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, shining upon us.
    Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you!
    You are my God, and I will exalt you!

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.

Dear God, someone shared Psalm118:24 with me today. I was having trouble figuring out what scripture to meditate on earlier today, so I decided to read this whole psalm. Of course, it’s a good one. A classic. But I decided to focus on verse 22. “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” Verse 23 follows it and is good as well: “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.” I don’t know if David wrote this psalm or not. It’s not labeled as such, but it seems like it could be his voice.

Of course, verse 26 echoes the words shouted at Jesus during the triumphal entry beginning Passion week: “Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Messiah. David’s heir.

I can see how some nations around the world right now, even though they are not Christian or even Jewish, but they do harken back to the God of Abraham, would feel like verses 10-18 fit them right now:

10 Though hostile nations surrounded me,
    I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
    but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
    they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
    But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
13 My enemies did their best to kill me,
    but the Lord rescued me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
    The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
    The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
17 I will not die; instead, I will live
    to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
    but he did not let me die.

We can all use verses to justify our positions and support what we want them to support. I can sin and find a verse to support what I’ve done. But I can also find encouragement when others have sinned against me. It’s tricky to know when I am the sinner, when I have been sinned against, or when both are true.

Father, right now, I know the parts of this psalm that aretrue, above all else, are the parts that acknowledge who you are. 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever…28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you! 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give me eyes to see my sin. And yes, I do see my sin, and I am sorry for that. I regret it. It makes my heart heavy. Please forgive me. Show me your path forward. Help me to take the forgiveness I feel from you and offer it to others–even those who have wronged me the most. I will give you thanks, for your are good. Your faithful love endures forever. You are my God, and I will praise you. You are my God, and I will exalt you!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2026 in Psalms

 

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Psalm 118:1-9

11 Jan

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
    “His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
    and the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
    What can mere people do to me?
7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
    I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.

Psalm 118:1-9

Dear God, pain and trials cause us to call on you in ways that are wholly unique. Yesterday morning, I was calling on you and your power in unique ways. I was calling on the Holy Spirit. I was calling on angels. There are no foxhole atheists, and, at that moment, there was no theology beyond what I was willing to consider or avail myself of. DISORIENTATION. The stress was about helping a relative through a difficult time, but I was at the end of my physical, mental, and emotional abilities. I was completely disoriented. So was everyone else in the room. But I called on you and you chose to answer our prayers. I know you might not always. I know there are times when it is not within your design to do my bidding. I’m not sitting here this morning thinking about what I expect of you. I’m thinking about my faith and how different situations reveal the depths it can go to, and how shallowly I might normally operate.

So, sitting here now, I am “reoriented.” In Brueggemann’s psalm categorization system of “orientation,” “disorientation,” and “reorientation,” I was disoriented yesterday morning, but I am reoriented right now. So why don’t I call on you and really plunge into the depths of my faith here? Is it too fatiguing to let myself go that deep and that desperate continuously? Are you working all of this for my good? Are you taking the difficult situations and not wasting them by “reorienting” everyone involved?

Father, show me what to do today. I’m still with that relative and they still need my help, although it’s not as dire as it was. Help me to be what they need. Give me the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual strength to walk the path you have for me today. Use this situation to heal all of us who are involved. Use it to teach us. To draw each of us closer to you. To refine us. If there must be fire, Father, at least use its flame to refine me. Don’t let it be wasted.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2025 in Psalms

 

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