Living Thankfully - Psalm 118

Ps 118 for KCC 26/2/2025

Introduction

Good morning everyone. Welcome back to those of you who have been on holiday. Welcome also to those who are visiting. Often at the start of the year, people who are new to the city may also be present. Welcome to you also. We are thin on the ground today because and substantial portion of people are away at Festival one.

Next week we will be starting a new 4 part series starting around the theme of not being ashamed of the gospel. Following that we will be concluding our series in the book of Luke.

We have been looking at a few Psalms over the holiday season and today is the last message in that series. I have been asked to speak on Psalm 118.

The Psalms are an incredible rich collection of songs and poems of praise, of lament, of trust, some are prophetic others are treasure troves of wisdom. Roger Ellsworth in his book Opening up Psalms says: “We need the Psalms because thy point us to Christ who is the source of our salvation. We also need them.… because they teach us to be occupied with God, ...they teach us to praise God, ...they teach us to have faith in God… and they teach us to value and practise both public worship and private devotion.”

They express every human emotion and address every human need. John R. W. Stott writes: ‘The reason why Christian people are drawn to the psalms is that they speak the universal language of the human soul … Whatever our spiritual mood may be, there is sure to be a psalm which reflects it—whether triumph or defeat, excitement or depression, joy or sorrow, praise or penitence, wonder or anger.’

So what sort of a Psalm are we looking at today? It is a psalm or a song of thanksgiving. The context is that of a communal festival of thanksgiving after a military victory. The psalmist is the leader, possibly a king leading the congregation in communal worship and celebration. There is a lovely feel to the psalm. There is poetic beauty in the way it repeats ideas or states one idea and then expands the idea for emphasis. But what I would really like to stress today is how thankfulness is to affect our hearts, and our minds or intellect, and also our will.

Lets read Psalm 118.

Pray.

Lead in thought:

Several weeks ago Emily asked us to reflect back on the year in small groups and consider what we could praise God for. I was somewhat shocked that I was stuck in the moment to think of something relevant to say. Later on in the service I was able to reflect and give thanks in my own way.

This psalm is an invitation to join in and give thanks to the Lord. There is a real sense of joy in the psalm. You may well feel that sense of wanting to join in and thank God. It kinda pulls at your heart.

There is jubilation present. Israel is to join in v.2 All the house of Aaron (in other words the priests) are to join in v.3. In fact anyone who fears the Lord is encouraged to join in v.4.

This heart response is echoed in v.21 and also at the end of the psalm in v 28-29.

But this heart response does not occur in isolation. The psalmist invites us to engage our minds to consider why we are giving thanks to the Lord.

Firstly he is good. But in classic Hebrew poetical style the psalmist expands our ideas. How is God good? Well he is characterised by a steadfast love, which endures forever.

Steadfast Love (Heb = hesed)

The Hebrew word used here for love (in the NIV) is hesed and is a very important word in the Old testament. It can be used about the love between people but is used profoundly of the love of God. It contains the idea yes, of Love. But it also contains the idea of covenant and of loyalty. God’s love for Israel was bound up in his covenant promises to Israel and they would not be broken. Within this covenant is also the concept of mercy. God is merciful to his people because he cares for them and looks after them despite their failure to keep their side of the covenant. A further aspect of this word is the concept of strength. God is the strong benefactor of this covenant agreement and we the weak and sinful covenant breakers take shelter in and call upon our strong and faithful God. This is further expanded by the idea that God’s love endures forever. Love, Mercy, Strength and Faithfulness belong to our God.

In God’s love, we have mercy and kindness, unwavering loyalty, and strength unlimited. His love will never fail. One of the facets of this loving God that we understand this side of history and the cross is that God’s commitment to his people is so strong and his mercy is so great that he was prepared to give himself as a sacrifice for our sins and to redeem his people back to himself. Mercy and love and justice and strength of commitment and loyalty are all seen in the cross.

Thankful to God

Call on him in distress

But back to our passage - how does the psalmist come to experience the steadfast love of the Lord? In v. 5 he calls out - even shouts out in desperation - to the Lord out of his distress. This word distress has the idea of being pressed down under intense pressure, a bit like being in a vice, with no escape. In fact the NIV uses this very phrase of being hard pressed. I wonder if you have every felt this. I know I have. It can seem like there are no options. You can feel harrassed, depressed, panicky, and anxious. Sometimes you can be sleepless, unable to eat. Sometimes in this situation people make terrible decisions out of panic. Is this you today? What did the psalmist do?

He cried to the Lord and was brought in to a spacious place. The word here is that of a great expanse, a place that has implications of safety and freedom. In other words the opposite of being pressed in. The pressure is relieved. He is in an open space. He is free.

Call on him for his help

In v. 6 we come to a little statement of profound importance. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.

Yes, he might be in distress, perhaps the circumstances causing distress are still present - but this statement here is a statement of confidence. With God present beside him, the psalmist is not afraid.

Not afraid of mere mortals v.6, nor his enemies v.7.

Of course this is in part because the hesed of God - his commitment, love, loyalty and power on behalf of those that fear him. The wonderful steadfast love of the Lord.

Call on him for refuge and safety

In the next 2 verses in 8 and 9, the psalmist reflects that it is better to take refuge in the Lord. He expands this thought to say that God is a better option for overall trust than even powerful people such as princes. This is the attitude of faith. Faith in a God who we can depend on in all circumstances.

Thank him for victory

In v. 10-13 the psalmist reflects on the scenario where he was surrounded by nations on very side and pushed hard. The pressure was immense. It is these verses that suggest that this writer was probably one of the kings. In this pressured scenario where he is pretty much done, and about to collapse because the problems were coming at him on all sides, like angry bees buzzing around, or even like an explosive ever spreading out of control fire, he finds his help in the Lord.

Thank him in song

In v14-15 he now bursts out in song as a statement of what God means to him. The Lord is my strength and my song - is a matter of fact. That is what God always is. He is the place of refuge. He the person who the psalmist depends on and calls on when things are pretty bad. And then the Lord also becomes his salvation. God will deliver.

Joy and gladness in v.15 give the idea of jubilation not just from the psalmist, but to a whole community of faith. Songs are sung in the tents of the righteous. They are at home, safe and secure and celebrating. The victory is directly attributed to the Lord in 3 parallel statements of the Lord’s valiant deeds and His help in lifting up this king who was falling. The right hand of the Lord is a frequently used OT description of God’s power and deliverance and is used here with emphasis.

Declare and celebrate God’s deeds

In v. 17-18 we realised that he had been in a serious position, possibly with threat to his life. Yet he comes out of it and confidently declares that he will not die but live. A recount of the deeds of the Lord is both a statement of faith and also a deliberate celebration of God’s action in his life

Accept his discipline

But then out the blue he brings out the theological context of his distress in v. 18. The idea here is that God has disciplined or chastised him through this period of distress. Immediately we bring to mind our studies in 1Kings where the multiple failures of the kings of Judah and Israel resulted in their perpetual difficulties with the nations around them and eventually the final judgement of God on them as a nation with their eventual exile. This psalm celebrates the victory that comes from calling on the name of the Lord, not as some kind of magical incantation, but rather that of a repentant and now committed life of dependence on Jehovah God. The king and his followers are now living by faith and are part of the righteous people of God. They can now enter into God’s presence. This is what true faith is all about.

Celebrate in worship

And so now in v.19 the psalmist cries out - “0pen to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord”. This is paralleled immediately in v.20 by the rest of the now righteous congregation who are also calling out to enter into the gates of the Lord to bring their thanksgiving.

Celebrate his welcome

In v. 21-24 he rejoices in the that God has answered him and has become his salvation. He is like a stone that was initially rejected by the builders - meaning perhaps some in house opposition to his leadership - and he is now the cornerstone. And he and his community are now welcomed into the house of the Lord.

But all of a sudden with our knowledge of the New Testament record we are plunged forward to the time of Jesus. In Luke 20:17 Jesus pointedly applies these verses in himself, implying the failure of the leaders of the Jews to recognise him as the Messiah. He implies that he is the cornerstone on which the hopes of the people of God depend. And in Luke 19:38 we read last year how the crowd welcomed Jesus as the messiah and cried out Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord, echoing the words of v. 26 of our psalm today.

The psalmist now cries out in joy again, celebrating the God’s light that has shined down on him and his people. He is now ready to proceed with the festival offering of thanksgiving. We might well say “Bring it on”. We are ready to celebrate together.

Celebrate the cross

I find it very poignant that this very song may well have been sung at the final passover that Jesus celebrated with his disciples just before they got up to go out to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is where Jesus was bound and brought up to the authorities and was then bound to the cross.

Astonishingly we now remember this event with joy and jubilation because we recognise that this is where an ultimate victory over sin and death was won where Jesus was crucified on our behalf but rose again in victory over sin and death.

We too can now echo the final words of this Psalm 118:28–29 “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

So What are we to make of all of this and what lessons can we take for ourselves from this psalm?

Firstly let us also come ready to thank God, for he is indeed good. We can celebrate his steadfast love.

We need to learn and practice calling out to him in our distress and difficulties. You may find it helpful to reflect on Philippians 4:4–9 where Paul instructs the Philippian church on a life of thanksgiving. This is a great antidote to anxiety.

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

We need to practice recounting to each other and reflecting with each other on the variety of ways in which God has been our refuge and strength. We also need to help each other in our times of distress and assist each other in calling on God for his help in our predicaments.

I believe that this psalm is an encouragement to both private and corporate worship with thanksgiving. The setting here is communal, but our lives need to reflect a private committment to thankfulness and gratitude to all that God has done. This will be reflected in our speech, in our attitudes and actions. This psalmist has responded by writing a song and leading the congregation in worship. You may wish to write a poem, or a song, or draw a painting, or spend time in prayer. Your service to the Lord is also an act of worship that needs to have gratitude and thanksgiving at its very core. There are many ways to thank God for all he is and what he has done.

I do need to point out that we fight daily battles with sin, and doubt, anxiety and anger. We are not fighting people per se, but we are often engaged in a fight about ideas and about what is right and wrong , and things that are honouring or dishonouring to God. We are reminded in Ephesians 6:12 that “... we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

We are in a battle and there are victories to be won in Jesus’ name. But these are not battles of personal violence. We are to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. In Philippians again we read - Let your reasonableness or as the NIV says, let your gentleness be known to all men.

So there is much to learn here and train ourselves in to be thankful, looking for and celebrating God’s work in and through us.

These activities will need the engagement of our minds and intellect as well as our will. We will find our heart and emotions stirred because of all that God has done and is still doing in our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Prayer