The Lord is on My Side

Introduction:

The 118th Psalm is an important Psalm throughout scripture though it is not always cited in the rest of the bible. This Psalm is used even today as part of major Jewish celebrations such as Passover to give thanks to God. During passover the Psalms 113-114 are sung before the meal while Psalms 115-118 are sung after the meal. This is referenced in

Mark 14:26 KJV 1900

And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

So it is very likely that this Psalm was sung by Jesus prior to going to the garden and then the cross. Many commentators believe that this Psalm was sung in

Ezra 3:11 KJV 1900

And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

I believe that while this Psalm may have been sung at this time along with other psalms; however, it seems more likely that they were singing Psalm 136 which is related to Psalm 118. Notice that in Ezra it says they sung in course. Psalm 118 could be sung this way however, it is obvious that Psalm 136 was designed to be sung antiphonally. As added support to my conclusion, Psalm 136 was used in temple worship and the passage in Ezra is dedicating the construction of the Temple.

This Psalm is also used prophetically. A key passage that we won’t be looking at today talks about “the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” Jesus referenced this in

Mark 12:10 KJV 1900

And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

Many times when we approach Psalms with Messianic importance, we lose sight of the big picture of the Psalm. I would like this afternoon to draw our attention back to the purpose for which it was written.

The Psalm itself tells the tale of a leader most likely David who has been persecuted and rejected, but is now made triumphant by the Lord. In the Psalm, the hero calls the nation to worship alongside him, tells the story of his deliverance by the Lord, exalts the Lord and seeks admittance before the altar. He is recognized and given admittance to sacrifice before the Lord. The Psalm is written to give thanks to God for his deliverance and prosperity. As we look at the Psalm I want to look at three different aspects of thanksgiving that should be involved in our lives.

I. The Corporate Nature of Thanksgiving vs 1-4

The Psalm begins with a call to give thanks to God. David himself is not the only one giving thanks here. He begins by calling all those around him to join in with him. First of all, he calls for Israel to join in his worship (vs 2). These are the people of God. Those who have entered into covenant relationship with Him. Secondly, he calls for the priests to give thanks to God (vs 3). David’s deliverance was also a deliverance for the priests as many of them had been ill-treated by Saul. Thirdly, he calls for believing Gentiles to give thanks to God. These are a separate group from the other two groups and yet the fear the Lord.

God expects believer to join together in our thanksgiving to him. We can have our private dinners with family and go around the table saying what we are thankful for, but there is an important aspect of the Christian life that demands that we worship and give thanks as a group. We are a unified people in Christ and joining together in moments like this aid in our unity. They enable us to say with the same voice How great is our God.

Ephesians 5:18–20 KJV 1900

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Psalm 66:5 KJV 1900

Come and see the works of God: He is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

1 Corinthians 12:26 KJV 1900

And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.

Part of living together as a community of believer’s is not only sharing our sorrows, but also our joys. I challenge you today: don’t sit there passively while the rest of us are giving thanks. Join in with us and let us exalt God together.

II. The Personal Nature of Thanksgiving vs 5-13

In the corporate nature of this type of thanksgiving, it is easy to forget the personal nature of thanksgiving. We say things like thank you Lord that you have blessed this church in such and such ways; or that You have blessed this country in this way; or even that you have blessed this family. David did not hesitate to praise God from his personal experience.

I called on the Lord in distress… and set me in a large place. vs 5 It is helpful to understand the meaning behind the word’s here. The word distress carries the idea of being pressed upon as in a narrow gorge. When the Lord heard his prayer, he was set in a large place or a wide place. Sometimes life feels like it is pressing in upon us, but in Christ we are set in a wide place a free place. There is ultimate freedom in the Lord that we would never have in the world.

The Lord is on my side vs 6-7 When all the world is against us, we can rest assured that God is on our side. He will fight for us. Jesus has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The next verse declares that he takes my part. Now there are some things we need to keep in mind about this issue of the Lord being on our side. As an example let me ask you, is the Lord going to be on my side as I rob a bank? The obvious answer is no. So there must be more to it that just the plain statement.

Notice that it is based on our relationship with God- the Lord is on my side- Jesus Christ must be your Lord for this statement to be true. In the first four verses of the chapter and the last verse a phrase has been continually stated: for his mercy endureth forever. The Hebrew word for mercy in this passage is hard to translate fully. The word is hesed which is translated as love, lovingkindness, mercy, favor, loyalty, faithfulness. Mercy is probably a good word to use because it deals with something that we do not deserve in and of ourselves, but the basis of this merciful steadfast lovingkindness is God’s covenant relationship with His people. Explain the nature of covenant relationships: a covenant is a binding relationship between two people who make promises to one another. A common example of a covenant is marriage. Now in todays day and age, this covenant means almost nothing to most people; but it is a serious commitment between a man and a women sealed by vows before witnesses.

God being on our side does not guarantee immediate results- assuming this psalm was written by David; we know historically that David was persecuted by Saul for quite awhile. Eventually, the day came that God delivered him, but it was not instantaneous. Sometimes we have to lose the battle to win the war. An example of this would be Jesus Christ, Himself. Satan probably thought he had won as Jesus hung on the cross, but by His death and resurrection Jesus conquered the power of death and hell.

God is on our side when we are on His side- when our pursuits are righteous and align with His plan, we can have confidence that He will triumph. God had already told David that he was to be the King of Israel.

III. The Doxological Nature of Thanksgiving vs 14

This passage seems to be a quote from Ex 15:2 where Moses sang after being delivered from Egypt. We are told to give thanks to God because of who He is and what He has done.

a. He is good vs 1

b. The Lord is my strength vs 14

c. The Lord is my song vs 14

d. The Lord is become my salvation vs 14 (present gospel if there are visitors)

IV. The Christological Nature of Thanksgiving vs 19-29 (Optional Point for other sermons)

God’s unfailing covenant love is shown in Jesus Christ. God made covenants with mankind throughout history and in all of those situations, man failed their end of the bargain. Finally in the New Covenant, God Himself became a man in the person of Jesus Christ to allow mankind to be able to enter Covenant relationship with God based on His merit and not our own. But verse 22 says:

Psalm 118:22 KJV 1900

The stone which the builders refused Is become the head stone of the corner.

Many on earth have rejected the sacrifice of Christ and live outside this New Covenant. Those of us who have found forgiveness for our sins...

Conclusion:

If I were to sum up this entire message, I would say that God has called us to glorify Him by corporate thanksgiving based on our own personal experiences. Because of our covenant relationship God has with us, we can be sure that He is on our side. He wants what is best for us and will fight for us. Sometimes when we fail God or have set backs in our lives, we feel like God is against us. But this type of thinking is completely against what His word says. Even when we go through suffering and trials, God has not forsaken us. The purpose of God’s discipline in our lives the bible says is always for our good. I want to conclude todays message by saying that I am thankful that God is for us even when the world is against us.