Psalm 118:1–6 1O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: Because his mercy endureth for ever. 2Let Israel now say, That his mercy endureth for ever. 3Let the house of Aaron now say, That his mercy endureth for ever. 4Let them now that fear the Lord say, That his mercy endureth for ever. 5I called upon the Lord in distress: The Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. 6The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me?
I did not have time to write much again this morning, but I would like to point out one little nugget about Psalm 118.
It was Martin Luther’s favorite Psalm.
In his dedication to Psalm 118, Luther wrote:
“This is my own beloved psalm"[1]
It is no surprise as to the reason this one would be chosen for him. He had been threatened by the most powerful men of his day for his position on justification by faith but chose to faithfully take a stand despite their threats. I can only guess that he must have believed verse 6.
Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: What can man do unto me?
Luther went on to write
“Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore, I call it my own. When emperors and kings, the wise and the learned, and even saints could not aid me, this psalm proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles. As a result, it is dearer to me than all the wealth, honor, and power of the pope, the Turk, and the emperor. I would be most unwilling to trade this psalm for all of it.”
Luther old pal, I call this Psalm my own too!
I will live confidently today with the knowledge that I have the approval of God the Father because I have trusted in the finished work of his Son. I will not fear what this day has hidden in my way. I will not worry about why some don’t like me or why others refuse to give this guy a chance to prove himself. I have God the Holy Spirit within me everywhere I go. Today will be a good day with Jesus!
Will you like Luther and I call this Psalm your own?
10/15/20
[1] Ngien, D. (2015). Fruit for the Soul: Luther on the Lament Psalms (p. 230). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.