Ever Faithful - January 31 Readings: Psalm 118

This is the last day of our "Month of Praise." I hope you will continue to enter the presence of the Lord in praise throughout the year.

Today's Praise Passage:   Psalm 118

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His faithful love endures forever.”

 5 I called to the Lord in distress;
the Lord answered me
and put me in a spacious place.
6 The Lord is for me; I will not be afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
7 The Lord is my helper,
Therefore, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humanity.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in nobles.

 10 All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they were extinguished like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I destroyed them.
13 They pushed me hard to make me fall,
but the Lord helped me.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
 15 There are shouts of joy and victory
in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!
16 The Lord’s right hand is raised.
The Lord’s right hand performs valiantly!”
17 I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord disciplined me severely
but did not give me over to death.

 19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the Lord’s gate;
the righteous will enter through it.
21 I will give thanks to you
because you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This came from the Lord;
it is wondrous in our sight.

24 This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
 25 Lord, save us!
Lord, please grant us success!
26 He who comes in the name
of the Lord is blessed.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God and has given us light.
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks.
You are my God; I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.

Through the Bible Reading: Exodus 15-16, Matthew 20, Psalm 18:19-25, Proverbs3:34-35

Some of our readers want a little more "meaty" devotional, so I am including a link to the through Through the Bible in One Year readings we did last year. 

Devotional: Ever Faithful 

Don't you hate those "7-11" choruses with all their repetition?

Oops! Evidently, the Psalmist didn't get the memo that repetition was bad. In this psalm, he repeats a phrase that is repeated 26 times in Psalm 136. Though vowels can tend to vary, the basic spelling of the phrase might be "leolam chesdu." Literally, that is, "to forever (is) his steadfast love." "His faithful love endures forever. It is an eternal constant in the life of his people.

Psalm reviews the goodness of God to Israel, beginning with God's sovereign power in Creation, then reminds the reader how God saved Israel from Egypt and gave them the Promised Land by acts of power. His faithfulness even in the light of Israel's sin is constant. It is likely that the phrase "leolam chesdu" was repeated by the people of God in response to the leader's recitation of God's goodness. Here, the psalmist is more personal. He reviews how God showed his love personally, to him. God's love is corporate - to Israel, to the church. It is also personal. His faithful love endures forever.

We live daily with two realities in our lives. We are often not faithful to God. We seek him but we struggle with the flesh and we fail. We stray from the Good Shepherd's care and fall into sin's snares. Like the hymn says, "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it."

The second reality is the greatest blessing in life. God's faithfulness is neverending. When we are weak, he is strong. When the storms of life blow, he is a faithful refuge. When life's circumstances crash against us, he is a refuge of grace. When the enemy marshals his forces to attack, greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. The faithfulness of God is bigger than any problem we have or any failure in us.

Leolam Chesdu. That is worth repeating!

Thank you, Lord, for you constant faithfulness. May I never presume on your grace, but may I always rely on it. Your grace is greater than my sin. 

NOTE: there is an alternate, secondary interpretation of this passage. Notice verse 26, the verse the people quoted at Jesus' Triumphal Entry. It can be interesting to read this passage from Jesus' perspective and see it as a Messianic psalm. 

Think and Pray:

Meditate on this passage and write down:

1. The character qualities of God for which you can praise him. 

2. The gracious acts of God for which you can give thanks to him. 

Revel in the faithfulness of God.
Read this passage and recount all that it says about the goodness of God. Don't rush this one. It is a treasure trove of blessing.