Psalm
117 reminds me of the West Virginia coal mine collapse a few years
back. A number of men were able to get to a safe place, but
with limited air, supplies and light, each knew that they would not
survive. Each man wrote a note to his loved ones, on whatever
paper they could find. Not surprisingly, they did not discuss
work, or violations, or legal matters. I recall they spoke
words of comfort and hope
of a future reunion “on the other side”. Perhaps that is a
good rule of thumb for all of our communication! This two-verse
psalm says, “Praise
the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples“.
“Extol” is a word that is always positive. It is the
opposite of criticize. Is there anyone in your life that would
benefit from that kind of attitude? The psalm ends with another
reminder that God is fully and completely focused on us. We are
not inconspicuously hidden in a corner hoping He will notice.
No, God is looking straight at us with anticipation. “For
great is His love toward us“.
Finally the writer once again reminds us that it is not our own
wonderfulness, but “the
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever“.
You are included in God’s promise. According to Galatians
3:26, “You
are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus“.
God’s face lights up when He sees you. I hope that brings a
smile to your face.
Psalm
118 reminds me of how many things get discarded these days.
From paper plates to once expensive electronics, many things just
have no value after a while. Sadly, I think there are too many
people that also experience the feeling of being discarded.
Life’s circumstances have left them in the “reject pile”.
I believe this psalm is for those of us needing to be rescued from
the heap. You might be asking, “What lasts?” The
psalmist shouts to us, “Give
thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever“.
No matter what your situation, this applies to you. Next he
lists all sorts of people from the common man to the religious and
concludes after each, “His
love endures forever“.
He speaks personally, “In
my anguish… He answered by setting me free“.
After God’s reclamation project, he has a new perspective, “What
can man do to me?” And
what has he learned from his experience? “It
is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man“.
People will let us down, even when we “trust
in
princes”
(or princesses!). Do you know that feeling? Maybe you are
sitting there now. Don’t give up hope.
The
psalmist writes that his enemies, “swarmed
around me like bees”
and being pushed to the brink, “about
to fall, but
the
Lord helped me“.
He wants you to hear his words from the other side of salvation, “The
Lord is
my
strength and my song… joy and victory resound
the
Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”.
He shared this encouragement with us today, “I
will not die but live“.
It was not without pain, “The
Lord has
chastened
me severely“.
But listen to the result in his life, “The
stone the builders rejected has become the capstone“.
Sometimes
what looks like junk to others can become a shining example for all
to see. Today is a new day, “This
is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it“.
Rusty old discards become useful in the hand of God. I believe
he is talking about us, “Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the Lord“.
With the scrap of paper that is your life, what will you write?
“Give
thanks to the Lord,
for
he is good; his love endures forever“