(About Eternity)
Psalm 118
Preface: My hometown of Elizabethton was a thriving little neighborhood once I was rising up and everybody got here out for the parades that marched down Elk Avenue, which is the principle avenue of our city. The Christmas parade was essentially the most thrilling as a result of Santa Claus was on the final float and he threw out sweet to the crowds that lined the streets. Later once I was in junior excessive and enjoying the trombone within the marching band, I turned part of the parade, and nothing made me happier than dressing up in my band uniform and marching within the Christmas parade.
The highschool I attended didn’t have a band and I let the trombone slide, so my parade days have been over for many years. However there’s a parade I do need to be a part of, and that’s the festive celebration of these coming into the gates of New Jerusalem. Isaac Watts put it this manner:
We’re marching to Zion,
Stunning, stunning Zion,
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The attractive metropolis of God.
We now have a foreshadowing of this festive procession in Psalm 118, the ultimate installment in what is named the Egyptian Hallel—Psalm 113 via 118. Let’s learn Psalm 118.
Psalm 118
1 Give due to the Lord, for he’s good;
his love endures eternally.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures eternally.”
3 Let the home of Aaron say:
“His love endures eternally.”
4 Let those that worry the Lord say:
“His love endures eternally.”
5 When arduous pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he introduced me right into a spacious place.
6 The Lord is with me; I cannot be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is with me; he’s my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord
than to belief in people.
9 It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord
than to belief in princes.
10 All of the nations surrounded me,
however within the title of the Lord I minimize them down.
11 They surrounded me on each facet,
however within the title of the Lord I minimize them down.
12 They swarmed round me like bees,
however they have been consumed as shortly as burning thorns;
within the title of the Lord I minimize them down.
13 I used to be pushed again and about to fall,
however the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my energy and my protection;
he has grow to be my salvation.
15 Shouts of pleasure and victory
resound within the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s proper hand has executed mighty issues!
16 The Lord’s proper hand is lifted excessive;
the Lord’s proper hand has executed mighty issues!”
17 I cannot die however stay,
and can proclaim what the Lord has executed.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
however he has not given me over to dying.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I’ll enter and provides due to the Lord.
20 That is the gate of the Lord
via which the righteous might enter.
21 I gives you thanks, for you answered me;
you could have grow to be my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has grow to be the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has executed this,
and it’s marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has executed it this very day;
allow us to rejoice right now and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes within the title of the Lord.
From the home of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his mild shine on us.
With boughs in hand, be a part of within the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You’re my God, and I’ll reward you;
you might be my God, and I’ll exalt you.
29 Give due to the Lord, for he’s good;
his love endures eternally.
Introduction
Psalm 118 was Martin Luther’s favourite Psalm. He mentioned, “That is my very own beloved psalm. Though the complete psalter and all of holy Scripture is pricey to me as my solely consolation and supply of life, I fell in love particularly with this psalm. Subsequently I name it my very own. When emperors and kings, the clever and discovered, and even saints couldn’t help me, this psalm proved a pal and helped me out of many nice troubles. In consequence, it’s dearer to me than all of the wealth, honor, and energy of the pope, the Turk, and the emperor. I’m most unwilling to commerce this psalm for all of it.”
That is additionally a Psalm that has strengthened many individuals throughout occasions of persecution. The Scottish Covenanter, Donald Cargill, for instance, sang this Psalm as he was set afire and burned on the stake.
This additionally occurs to be the center chapter of the Bible. There are 594 chapters earlier than Psalm 118, and 594 chapters after it. The extra I studied this psalm, the extra I spotted it must also be within the middle of my ideas. I’ve not given it sufficient consideration in my very own life. It’s the final of the Egyptian Hallel songs that we’ve been learning. This was the ultimate hymn Jesus sang, to the easiest of our data. It was the ending of the songs that have been historically sung on the Passover meal.
It divides into three elements.
1. Our Name to Thanksgiving (Verses 1 – 4)
Verses 1 via 4 function the preamble of this Psalm and are a name to thanksgiving for us. That is additionally one of many few chapters that start and finish with the identical phrases.
Verse 1 says: “Give due to the Lord, for he’s good; his love endures eternally.” And the tip of the psalm—verse 29—says, “Give due to the Lord, for he’s good; his love endures eternally.” So there’s little question concerning the theme of this Psalm. God’s love is indestructible, so we ought to be unendingly grateful.
This author right here is exuberant. He has a brand new imaginative and prescient of God’s love for him. One thing has occurred to remind him of how a lot the God of the universe loves him with a permanent, never-ending, indestructible love. You and I want a contemporary consciousness of the identical factor. What would occur if we actually understood this to the depth of our being?
The phrase “love” right here is the Hebrew phrase hesed, which we noticed in Psalm 117. This phrase happens nearly 250 occasions within the Previous Testomony, and over half the occurrences are within the e-book of Psalms.
This phrase hesed is used, for instance, in Psalm 23:6, which tells us that goodness and mercy will comply with us all the times of our lives. The phrase mercy is definitely the Hebrew phrase hesed, which suggests God’s loyal, unconditional, lively, covenant love shall be out there to us each single day, no matter what the day brings.
Within the e-book of Ruth, Naomi begs her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth to return to Moab, however Ruth says, “No. The place you go, I’ll go. The place you reside, I’ll stay. Your God shall be my God. The place you die and are buried, there’ll I die and be buried. I’ll by no means go away you.” In Ruth 3:10, Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law is described as hesed. It’s a divine-type of loyalty and love.
Jeremiah used this phrase in Lamentations 3:22, when he mentioned, “Due to the Lord’s [hesed love for us] we’re not consumed, for His compassions by no means fail. They’re new each morning; nice is Your faithfulness.”
In Psalm 136, the phrase “His [hesed] love endures eternally” happens 26 occasions in 26 verses! It occupies the final half of each verse in that chapter, which is meant for an antiphonal studying or singing.
That is the perspective John the Apostle had in thoughts when he mentioned, “Good love casts out worry.” The extra we grasp God’s hesed love, the much less we’ll worry man’s hateful schemes or the satan’s hostile tips.
It’s not possible to overestimate the importance of God’s hesed love towards us. In actual fact, it’s not possible even to estimate it, as a result of it’s infinite—and our minds will not be. All we are able to actually do is underestimate it, however as we develop in Christ we must always underestimate it much less and fewer, and recognize it an increasing number of.
The Message model places it like this: “Thank God as a result of He’s good, as a result of His love by no means quits. Inform the world, Israel, ‘His love by no means quits.’ And also you, clan of Aaron, inform the world, ‘His love by no means quits.’ And also you who worry God, take part, ‘His love by no means quits.’”
So this man is exuberant as a result of he has a renewed consciousness of how a lot God loves him. Who’s he and what has occurred to him? What occasion led to his rediscovery of God’s love for him? Verses 5 via 14 tells us about his deliverance from misery.
2. Our Deliverance from Misery (Verses 5 – 18)
Verse 5 says: When arduous pressed, I cried to the Lord; he introduced me right into a spacious place. The Hebrew time period means a really slim or confining house. Have you ever ever seen a film during which the partitions of a room moved inward to squeeze a sufferer. Or have you ever examine among the POW cages, which have been too small for the prisoner to face or to lie down? Or have you ever examine a battle during which the bottom will get smaller and smaller because the enemy advances. The author right here is saying, “I used to be getting pressed to the wall, and all of the sudden the Lord reached down, picked me up, and set me down in a spacious place.”
Verse 6 and seven give us the person’s response to God’s deliverance. This man realized one thing: The Lord is with me; I cannot be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he’s my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
I particularly just like the phrase concerning the Lord being our helper. There’s a sure class of verses within the Bible I name my “assist” verses. Right here in verse 7, the author says, “The Lord is with me; He’s my helper.” And in verse 13 he’s going to say, “I used to be pushed again and about to fall, however the Lord helped me.”
Verses 8 and 9 say: It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord than to belief in people. It’s higher to take refuge within the Lord than to belief in princes.
This man was underneath unimaginable stress, however he cried out to the Lord and the Lord caught him up, put him in a spacious place, reassured him of His presence, alleviated his worry, and reminded him that He—the Lord—was there to assist him. So now, take a look at this man’s confidence. Verses 10 via 12 are brimming with braveness:
All of the nations surrounded me, however within the title of the Lord I minimize them down. They surrounded me on each facet, however within the title of the Lord I minimize them down. They swarmed round me like bees, however they have been consumed as shortly as burning thorns; within the title of the Lord I minimize them down.
Years and years in the past, I used to be mowing the again pasture once I ran right into a nest of hornets. It was a scorching day, and I used to be solely sporting shorts and footwear. I jumped off the mower and ran for my life, and the hornets have been proper behind me, attacking me with all of the anger they might carry of their little stingers. My entire physique was pockmarked with stings. That is the comparability this man makes. His enemies have been swarming round him like hornets. Verses 13 and 14 say: I used to be pushed again and about to fall, however the Lord helped me. The Lord is my energy and my protection; he has grow to be my salvation.
Now, let me pause and ask once more. Who is that this man? It may have been younger David when he was being chased by the Israeli military underneath the command of King Saul. It may have been King Jehoshaphat when he was invaded by the mixed armies of his enemies. It may have been Nehemiah when he was making an attempt to construct the partitions of Jerusalem in a digital warfare zone. It might be you or me.
However is there another person this might be? That’s the best query of this Psalm. Whoever it’s, there are different individuals who rejoice in His wonderful deliverance. Right here was a person who was pressed to the wall. He was operating out of room, he was being stung by a swarm of bees, because it have been. And God stepped in and pulled him out of his peril. And now everybody who’s righteous is celebrating. Take a look at verse 15: Shouts of pleasure and victory resound within the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s proper hand has executed mighty issues!”
That’s the center verse of the center chapter of the Bible. Have you ever ever been in a restaurant with tv screens on completely different ball video games, and all of the sudden in a single a part of the restaurant a loud refrain of cheers goes up? Effectively, so far as you may see on this spacious place, there are tents occupied by good and righteous folks, and one thing has occurred to make all of them cheer and shout and cry and sing directly, and so they cry out, “Yahweh’s proper hand has executed one thing with sudden energy and momentous consequence.”
This man who has been delivered goes on to say in verses 17: The Lord’s proper hand is lifted excessive; the Lord’s proper hand has executed mighty issues!” I cannot die however stay, and can proclaim what the Lord has executed. The Lord has chastened me severely, however he has not given me over to dying.”
I used to be whipped. The Lord let me be scourged, however I cannot die however stay. Who is that this individual? Effectively, in a single sense, after all, it’s you and me, these of us who love and comply with the Lord and who discover that He delivers us from one hazard after one other due to His timeless love. However that’s not the total reply. Let’s take a look at the final a part of this psalm—our parade of victory.
3. Our Parade of Victory (Verses 19 – 29)
Typically in our little city we had victory parades. Effectively, this man, who ran out of room and was scourged however who’s alive and victorious invitations us to affix him for a victory parade. Take a look at verses 19 and 20:
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I’ll enter and provides due to the Lord. That is the gate of the Lord via which the righteous might enter.
Now we’re marching to Zion. We’re going as much as the temple. There are a collection of gates, and so they open for us as we make our means into the presence of God.
In verse 21, the person once more expresses His thanksgiving: I gives you thanks, for you answered me; you could have grow to be my salvation. He’s so grateful. He was arduous pressed. He was surrounded on each facet by enemies. He was tortured by stinging and scourging. However he’s alive and He’s going to stay and lead us all in a parade to Zion. Who’s He?
Verse 22: He’s the stone the builders rejected [who] has grow to be the cornerstone.
In Matthew 21:42, Jesus requested His critics, “Have you ever by no means learn within the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has grow to be the cornerstone; the Lord has executed this, and it’s marvelous in our eyes’?”
When Peter and John have been defending themselves for therapeutic a lame man earlier than the Jewish ruling council within the e-book of Acts, Peter with boldness and intrepidity, mentioned, “It’s by the title of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who you crucified however whom God raised from the useless, that this man stands earlier than you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has grow to be the cornerstone.’ Salvation is present in nobody else, for there isn’t any different title underneath heaven given to males by which we should be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
The apostle Peter wasn’t executed. On this first letter, he mentioned, “To you who consider, this stone is treasured. However to those that don’t consider, ‘The stone the builders rejected has grow to be the cornerstone’” (1 Peter 2:7).
The apostle Paul mentioned, “Christ Jesus Himself [is] the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20).
Persevering with with Psalm 118, we now come to one in all our favourite verses: “That is the day the Lord has made. Allow us to rejoice and be glad in it.” In its rapid context, at the present time is the day God the Father supplied for our salvation via Jesus Christ,” though it’s additionally true for us each single day as people who find themselves residing within the glory of that salvation. I fairly often quote this verse aloud upon awakening within the morning: “That is the day the Lord has made. I’ll rejoice and be glad in it!”
That is our parade music. Take a look at verse 25: “Lord, save us!” The Hebrew phrase is “Hosanna!” Lord, grant us success. Blessed is He who comes within the title of the Lord! Hosanna within the highest!”
The crowds sang this on Palm Sunday, however the leaders crucified Jesus anyway. However now we now have received the victory via Jesus Christ, and as we make our means down the parade path to Heaven, we are able to sing with new actuality: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes within the title of the Lord!
Verses 26 and 27 say: Blessed is he who comes within the title of the Lord. From the home of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his mild shine on us.
Now all of us who know the Lord and share in His victory are invited to affix the parade. Verse 27 goes on to means: With boughs in hand, be a part of within the festal procession up to the horns of the altar—that’s proper up into the presence of God in Heaven. And as we achieve this, we are going to sing verses 28 and 29:
You’re my God, and I’ll reward you;
you might be my God, and I’ll exalt you.
Give due to the Lord, for he’s good;
his love endures eternally.
By the tip of the Psalm we’re within the Lord’s home. By means of Jesus Christ, we’re marching towards Heaven and into our wonderful expertise of everlasting life.
Now, bear in mind, this was the ultimate music Jesus sang within the Higher Room earlier than heading out to Gethsemane and Golgotha.
The Scottish preacher, Andrew Bonar, wrote: “When Himself sung His Psalm, wouldn’t His eye look onward, to not Resurrection solely, however to Ascension, too, when He entered the gates of righteousness above—however not least to His Second Coming and His passing with His ransomed into New Jerusalem, after they collectively enter in via the gates of the town…. It appears to be the Redeemer Himself, now surrounded by this multitude of ransomed ones, in whom He sees the travail of His soul and is happy, who closes this Psalm by a thanksgiving to His Father for these outcomes and by an invite to all of the universe to affix in and reward the God of affection. He, within the days of His First Coming, sang it as His hymn whereas rising from the desk to go to the backyard of Gethsemane; however at His Second Coming, He’ll sing it with the tone of greater than conqueror, having realized the entire. We might entitle a Psalm that incorporates such stirring incidents, previous and potential, ‘The Redeemers Battle, Triumph, and Glorification, shared in by His Redeemed.’”
Conclusion
In closing, I’ve undertaken to do one thing I don’t know if I ought to have executed. That is such a sacred passage. But when you’ll give me a little bit of persistence, I’ve taken Psalm 118 and tried, with my restricted mind and creativeness, to conceive of how Jesus may need interpreted this Psalm as He sang it on that never-to-be forgotten night time. To the perfect of our data, this was the ultimate hymn of His pure life—his deathbed music, because it have been. Let’s attempt to enter into the marvel and keenness and glory of it.
My Father, how I thank You for Your goodness to Me. Your love for Me is indestructible. I would like all of the folks of Israel to know Your love is indestructible. I would like all of the clergymen of Israel to know Your love for them is indestructible. Oh, might everybody who fears You proclaim Your indestructible love.
Father, I’m about to be arduous pressed towards the jagged wooden of the rugged cross. With this music, I’m crying out to You within the agency confidence You’ll elevate me as much as a spacious place.
As a result of You’re with Me, I cannot be afraid of what these mere mortals will do to Me.
You’re with Me, and You’re My Helper. I’ll conquer my enemies. It’s higher to lean on You than to lean on My disciples. It’s higher to lean on You than to depend on the Jewish leaders or Roman rulers.
The entire world is towards Me, however I’ll overrule it. They will encompass Me as I grasp on the cross, however I’m going to overrule them. They will assault Me like a swarm of offended hornets, however I’ll overcome. They’ll push me to the bounds of endurance, however You’ll assist me.
Father, You’re My energy, and My music, and My salvation. Sure, there shall be cries of anguish; however they may quickly get replaced by shouts of pleasure and victory within the properties of My followers, who will proclaim in amazement, “The Lord’s proper hand has executed mighty issues!”
Sure, Your proper hand is lifted excessive and can do mighty issues. I cannot be overcome by dying. I’ll overcome dying and can stay and can proclaim Your glory. I could also be scourged and whipped, however I’ll emerge from ache and dying, and I shall be victorious and able to go ahead.
Go forward and open the gates of Heaven, as a result of I’m on My means, and I’ll enter these gates with thanksgiving to You, Father, for these gates are swinging open to each one who finds their righteousness in Me.
I can not cease thanking You for the best way You’ll hear Me and assist Me, and for Your promise to carry Me from the useless. I’m the stone the builders rejected, however I’ll grow to be the cornerstone for My folks. You may have executed this, and it’s marvelous in My eyes.
Hey, everybody! That is the day the Lord has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad in it. Hosanna! Hosanna within the highest! Reward God for His success.
Pay attention, Father, as Your youngsters amass alongside the parade route, all the best way from right here to the Heavenly Temple, they may reward Me, singing: “Blessed is He who comes within the title of the Lord. From the home of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and He has made His mild shine on us.”
I can see them now, Father, with confetti and ticker tape and banners, cheering with pleasure as they march towards Zion, and as they sing: “You’re my God, and I’ll reward you; You’re my God, and I’ll exalt you.”
My Father, how I thank You for Your goodness to Me. Your love for Me is totally indestructible.
Perhaps that was a little bit of what our Lord thought-about as He sang Psalm 118 that mystic night time. This Psalm was for Him and additionally it is for us. So…
Come, we that love the Lord
And let our joys be identified;
Take part a music with candy accord,
And thus encompass the throne.
We’re marching to Zion,
Stunning, stunning Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The attractive metropolis of God.
