Sunday Devotional: Psalm 118 ~ His everlasting mercy

Psalm 118 (NKJV)

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

² Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the Lord now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”

Three times is the reminder that the Lord’s mercy is everlasting ... once for the nation of Israel, once for those called into special ministry (as the house of Aaron was, within the tribe of Levi), and once for all who fear the Lord ... in other words, for His people, specifically and in general.

His mercy endures forever ... His mercy endures forever ... His mercy endures forever.

And I am so grateful that it does ...

⁵ I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
⁶ The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
⁷ The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
⁸ It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
⁹ It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.

At the end of a grueling day, feeling emotionally battered and exhausted, this is both comforting and sobering ... first, that God is truly with us, on our side ... and that if we put confidence in other humans—even important, powerful ones—we are bound to be disappointed. How many times am I guilty of putting my expectation on another person and not God?

¹⁰ All nations surrounded me,
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
¹¹ They surrounded me,
Yes, they surrounded me;
But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
¹² They surrounded me like bees;
They were quenched like a fire of thorns;
For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
¹³ You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.

Regardless of how trouble surrounds us, how pushed and pulled we are by the forces of darkness (and this includes the darkness inside our own selves), the Lord is our deliverer—our strength and salvation.

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.

Maybe the trouble we’ve faced is a result of our own doing, and God has allowed it for chastening—for discipline. Even then, there is a limit, as long as we’re still living and breathing.

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly ... I’m reminded of that verse in Exodus, Be still! The Lord will fight for you. Indeed, if we have the patience to let God have the situation—any that we find ourselves in—then He can and will do His work in it. The difficulty is often in the surrendering ...

And yet His mercy endures forever.

And so the Psalmist finishes out this one in poetic praise:

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.

²¹ I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

²² The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
²³ This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷ God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.

²⁹ Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.