BaptistWay: Thanks for the Lord’s steadfast love

• The BaptistWay Bible study for May 26 focuses on Psalm 118.

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• The BaptistWay Bible study for May 26 focuses on Psalm 118.

 • Download a powerpoint resource for this lesson here.

John Calvin said about Psalm 118, “We, whose life is hid with Christ in God, ought to meditate upon this song all our days.” His comment relates to the psalm’s promise that God gives life in the face of death. Psalm 118 is a passionate song of thanksgiving to the Lord and invitation to trusting worship, especially for people who face the overwhelming crises of life.

Since the psalms were liturgies used at the temple, we can understand them better by imagining how they were employed in worship. This psalm begins and ends with shouts of praise that may have been voiced by worship leaders: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever.”

Love

The Hebrew word translated “love” in our text is hesed, which speaks of love that is steadfast, not reactive or temporary, and expresses itself in deeds of kindness. It is the kind of love from which the goodness and salvation of the Almighty comes. Verse 2 invites three groups of worshippers to join in declaring God’s hesed-kind of love, calling first upon the whole congregation, then the priests and finally all God-fearers to echo this great praise to the Lord.

The center of Psalm 118 contains two major worship movements. The first, verses 5-18, is a testimony of thanksgiving by a unique individual who is approaching the temple. The second part, verses 19-28, describes an entrance ceremony, where the testifier and the whole congregation enter the temple for worship, climactically declaring, “You are my God, and I will exult you!” (v. 28).

Thanksgiving

In the testimony section, an unidentified person offers a traditional psalmic song of thanksgiving. The first element of such a song is a report about facing difficult times in the past, which he describes in terms of being surrounded by enemy nations and being chastened by God for sins (vv. 5, 10-13, 18). The second element of the song of thanksgiving is crying out to God for help (v. 5). The third part of the song is grateful testimony about how God has answered prayer by providing salvation. The one giving testimony describes God’s rescue in these terms: “The Lord is with me, he is my helper” (v. 6); “in the name of the Lord, I cut them (enemies) down” (v. 11); the Lord is my strength and my song” (v. 14).


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Because of this experience, the rescued man testifies that in the face of danger, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in human beings” (v. 8). In James Mayes’ interpretation of the psalms, he notes how this verse highlights the difference “between the power of God as the possibility of faith and the power of man as the cause of fear.”

‘I will not die, but live’

Perhaps the testimony about God’s salvation in this psalm reminds us of the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The climactic part of the testimony is the moment when the man declares confidently, “I will not die but live” (v. 17). This ancient witness continues to guide the people of God in worship today as we find bedrock faith in the confident promises that “the Lord is with me. … I will not die but live!”

The second worship movement in the body of Psalm 118, verses 19-28, describes the thankful entry into the temple by the man who gave testimony in the first half of the psalm and by the community inspired through his example. The testifier confidently celebrates the opening of the temple gates for those whom God has saved and who come to give him thanks (vv. 19-20). The community enters with “boughs in hand” as they move to the altar for worship (v. 27).

Praise

Their celebration includes three expressions of praise that have become especially significant for the church. First, the temple congregation declares about the man who testified before them: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” (v. 26).

So significant was his example of gratitude that they praise him as a gift from God for their community. While the psalm does not identify the man nor his role in their society, by the time of the New Testament these words had developed a messianic connotation, so that when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem, the crowds found in the words of Psalm 118:22 a fitting praise for King Jesus (Matthew 21:9).

Second, the worshippers quote what probably was a proverb in their day: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (or cornerstone)” (v. 22). They apply the saying to the experience of the man who gave testimony, thinking about the way he was rejected by others as worthless, but chosen by God for salvation and for inspiring others to praise. The New Testament applies this motif to Jesus, who, though rejected by his people, became the chief stone of God’s salvation for them and for the world (Acts 4:11; 1Peter 2:4-8).

Finally, the worshippers of the psalm declare, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (v. 24). Their praise has echoed through the centuries in the worship of the church, serving as a watchword for every Sunday and a declaration particularly appropriate for Easter, when we celebrate with Christ, “I will not die but live!” The resurrection is the ultimate expression of the reality that “his love endures forever” and motivation to “rejoice and be glad.”

 


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