Psalm 118 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say: “His love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the LORD say: “His love endures forever.” 5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free. 6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 7 The LORD is with me; he is my helper. I will look in triumph on myenemies. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORDI cut them off. 11They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. 12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORDI cut them off. 13I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. 15 Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things! 16 The LORD’s right hand is lifted high; the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!” 17I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORDwe bless you. 27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. 28You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
THE STONE THE BUILDERS REJECTED HAS BECOME THE CAPSTONE is also found in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:7. In Matthew 21:42 Christ used it to sum up the parable of the wicked tenants. “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ” ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed”.
This psalm starts and ends with the phase his love endures forever. One of the greatest truths that mankind fails to see is how God’s love endures forever. This phase is repeated five times in this psalm. I have witness how the world rejects God and his way daily. He is the stone they reject as they build their life and try to shape the world around them. The truth that they do not grasp is that their world will be taken from them. So as we go on our journey in this life we must make verse fourteen our guiding light “the LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”
Psalm 117 1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. 2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.
This short psalm is everything a person really needs to know about God.
This poem was from a chain email, so I will pass it on all who look at this psalm.
God Lives Under The Bed
I envy Kevin. My brother Kevin thinks God lives under the bed. At least that’s what I heard him say one night.
He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen,” Are you there, God?” he said. “Where are you? Oh, I see. Under the bed…” I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement.
But that night something else lingered long after the humor I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in. He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. Apart from his size (he’s 6-foot-2); there are few ways in which he is an adult.
He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and he always will. He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas and those airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different. Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed. The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child. He does not seem dissatisfied. He lopes out to the bus every morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work. He wrings his hands excitedly while the water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day’s laundry chores. And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That’s the day my Dad takes Kevin to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and speculates loudly on the destination of each passenger inside. “That one’s going’ to Chi-car-go!” Kevin shouts as he claps his hands. His anticipation is so great he can hardly sleep on Friday nights. And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.
He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent.
His life is simple.
He will never know the entanglements of wealth of power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.
His hands are diligent. Kevin is never as happy as when he is working. When he unloads the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely in it.
He does not shrink from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job until it is finished. But when his tasks are done,
Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others.
His heart is pure.
He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of arguing.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances,
Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry.
He is always transparent, always sincere.
And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.
Kevin seems to know God – to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an “educated” person to grasp.
God seems like his closest companion.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.
It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap.
I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride, my circumstances – they all become disabilities when I do not trust them to God’s care.
Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn?
After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of God.
And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
1I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, save me!” 5 The LORD is gracious and righteous; ourGod is full of compassion. 6 The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. 7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. 8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.
10I believed; therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” 11 And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.” 12 How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? 13I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 14I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all hispeople. 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of hissaints. 16 O LORD, truly I am yourservant; I am yourservant, the son of yourmaidservant; you have freed me from my chains. 17I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. 18I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all hispeople, 19 in the courts of the house of the LORD in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.
Charles Spurgeon notes to the Village Preacher called this Psalm “Psalm of Thanksgiving in the Person of Christ”. As I read this Psalm, I can picture Christ living this Psalm during his time on this earth. Spurgeon writes that this Psalm is a continuation of Psalm 115 was is consider the Passover Psalm. It could be considered as a Psalm that represents the nation of Israel coming out of the bondage of Egypt. As we look at the first verse, we see three key points that should be in our life. First, I love the Lord. Second, God hears my voice. And third, my cry that he heard is for mercy. Why do I cry for mercy? Mercy is defined as: compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one’s power; compassion, pity, or benevolence. Who else could I turn to, beside God? However, if I picture this as a Psalm that my Lord would pray, why would he call for mercy? Would it be because of John 3:16?
As a young boy around eleven I would help milk the cows in the early mornings and evenings seven days a week. It was during this time in my life I remember the song “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” that would play on the radio at this time. This was back in the early sixties. This Psalm reminds me of my story of a journey with Jesus that started at an early age. The Christian walk is not just a walk that means I go to church on Sunday but left out my beliefs in my daily secular walk. No, it is a walk that makes me a servant to God’s way, and His will.
1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. 2 Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3OurGod is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But theiridols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 5They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 6they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; 7they have hands, but cannot feel feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them. 9 O house of Israel, trust in the LORD –he is their help and shield. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD –he is their help and shield. 11You who fear him trust in the LORD – he is their help and shield. 12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us: He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron, 13he will bless those who fear the LORD – small and great alike. 14 May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children. 15 May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man. 17 It is not the dead who praise the LORDthose who go down to silence; 18 it is we who extol the LORD, both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD.
In chapter one of his book Knowledge of The Holy, A.W. Tozer writes:
That our idea of God corresponds as nearly as possible to the true being of God is of immense importance to us. Compared with our actual thoughts about Him, our creedal statements are of little consequence. Our real idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. Only after an ordeal of painful self-probing are, we likely to discover what we actually believe about God.
By studying God’s Word daily, we get to look into his mirror of truth. It is amazing how the first impression of the people we meet are later changed as we grow to know the other person better. If we get pass the first impression our personal relationship with that person will usually deepen and grow richer. This is also true of our idea of God. This relationship grows once we learn the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. In today’s reading the phrase fear of the Lord or fear the Lord is used in Psalm 111, Psalm 112, Psalm 115 and Proverb 23. So, as a starting point in developing a better relationship with God ask yourself this question “What does the fear of the Lord mean to me?”. Therefore, as I study the Psalms and the rest of God’s Word I must start off with a fear of the Lord that looks at God as creator of this universe and a God that does whatever pleases Him.
Verses sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen gets us the focus of our praise. Our praise goes to the Lord of heaven, not to men on this earth. No matter how powerful a man becomes, no matter how rich a man becomes, no matter how famous a man becomes; he will die. Those who gods are created by man will die and go down in silence; however, we who extol the Lord will praise the Lord both now and forever. Yes, we have life eternal.
My 5 Daily Psalms 