O Give Thanks To The LORD, For He Is Good
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Object:
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous ...
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord ...
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes ...
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
-- Psalm 118:15a, 17, 22-23, 26a
Theme: Jubilant celebration of Yahweh's covenant love
Outline
A Worship Service
1 -- A new convert and the congregation are welcomed by priests.
2-4 -- Priests, congregation, and convert gather at gates, and repeat a creed.
5-9 -- The new convert, coming to Jerusalem, having been taught, now tells his experience of God's covenant love.
10-14 -- Congregation (Israel) echoes his story (v. 14 -- a chorus, from Exodus 15:2).
15-18 -- At the temple gates, priests and people give their testimony.
19-20 -- Worshipers request entrance; the priest invites them in.
21-25 -- Now in the holy place, there is thanks and praise to God by all as the marvelous salvation from the LORD is proclaimed.
26-29 -- Branches from the Feast of Booths are brought to the altar as a climax, with benediction, thanksgiving, and praise.
Notes
• Thanksgiving
• One of the Hallel Psalms (113-118).
• This psalm may have been first used at the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) in the time of Nehemiah. (See Nehemiah 8:14-18.)
• This was always sung at Passovers, the last of the Hallel (Psalms 113-118).
• "Cornerstone" (v. 22) = the top or crowning stone, "the head of the corner" bonding the walls and completing the building. Powers of the world rejected it, but God gave it the most important and honored place in his kingdom. Jesus applied the passage to himself (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17) and Peter quotes it (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). (See also Ephesians 2:20.) Christ was Israel's real representative, who fulfilled the calling in which Israel had failed.
• "Hosanna" (vv. 25-26) -- These were used by the disciples as Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) to welcome him. "Save us, we pray" ("Hosanna") became a familiar shout of acclamation, and "he who comes" had become a reference to the Messiah (Matthew 11:3; John 4:25).
• "Horns of the altar" (v. 27) = the projections at its corners. Altars provided sanctuary for guilty fugitives, who, in a ritual act of "taking hold of the horns" were safe while awaiting trial. (See 1 Kings 2:28.) This is a symbol of God's mercy.
• This was Luther's favorite psalm. "Although the entire Psalter and all of the Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm, especially ... [it] proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles ... This psalm praises God especially for the greatest benefit He bestowed on the world, namely, for Christ and His kingdom of grace."1
For Reflection
• This psalm is one of the propers for the day of Easter. What makes it so very appropriate in our celebration of "The Resurrection Of Our Lord"?
• Look for verses that can be prophetic hints of Christ's passion and resurrection.
Prayer
O God, you showed your glory in the obedience of Jesus unto death on a cross, your power in raising him from the dead, and your redeeming love by exalting him to be Lord of all. May all who profess faith in Jesus come to share his kind of love, which no evil can destroy, so that all the world may be drawn to you, entering your kingdom through the gate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 14 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), pp. 45, 47.
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord ...
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the LORD's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes ...
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
-- Psalm 118:15a, 17, 22-23, 26a
Theme: Jubilant celebration of Yahweh's covenant love
Outline
A Worship Service
1 -- A new convert and the congregation are welcomed by priests.
2-4 -- Priests, congregation, and convert gather at gates, and repeat a creed.
5-9 -- The new convert, coming to Jerusalem, having been taught, now tells his experience of God's covenant love.
10-14 -- Congregation (Israel) echoes his story (v. 14 -- a chorus, from Exodus 15:2).
15-18 -- At the temple gates, priests and people give their testimony.
19-20 -- Worshipers request entrance; the priest invites them in.
21-25 -- Now in the holy place, there is thanks and praise to God by all as the marvelous salvation from the LORD is proclaimed.
26-29 -- Branches from the Feast of Booths are brought to the altar as a climax, with benediction, thanksgiving, and praise.
Notes
• Thanksgiving
• One of the Hallel Psalms (113-118).
• This psalm may have been first used at the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) in the time of Nehemiah. (See Nehemiah 8:14-18.)
• This was always sung at Passovers, the last of the Hallel (Psalms 113-118).
• "Cornerstone" (v. 22) = the top or crowning stone, "the head of the corner" bonding the walls and completing the building. Powers of the world rejected it, but God gave it the most important and honored place in his kingdom. Jesus applied the passage to himself (Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17) and Peter quotes it (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). (See also Ephesians 2:20.) Christ was Israel's real representative, who fulfilled the calling in which Israel had failed.
• "Hosanna" (vv. 25-26) -- These were used by the disciples as Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) to welcome him. "Save us, we pray" ("Hosanna") became a familiar shout of acclamation, and "he who comes" had become a reference to the Messiah (Matthew 11:3; John 4:25).
• "Horns of the altar" (v. 27) = the projections at its corners. Altars provided sanctuary for guilty fugitives, who, in a ritual act of "taking hold of the horns" were safe while awaiting trial. (See 1 Kings 2:28.) This is a symbol of God's mercy.
• This was Luther's favorite psalm. "Although the entire Psalter and all of the Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm, especially ... [it] proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles ... This psalm praises God especially for the greatest benefit He bestowed on the world, namely, for Christ and His kingdom of grace."1
For Reflection
• This psalm is one of the propers for the day of Easter. What makes it so very appropriate in our celebration of "The Resurrection Of Our Lord"?
• Look for verses that can be prophetic hints of Christ's passion and resurrection.
Prayer
O God, you showed your glory in the obedience of Jesus unto death on a cross, your power in raising him from the dead, and your redeeming love by exalting him to be Lord of all. May all who profess faith in Jesus come to share his kind of love, which no evil can destroy, so that all the world may be drawn to you, entering your kingdom through the gate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 14 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), pp. 45, 47.
