Psalm 118:1-7
118:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
My first year of seminary, we had to keep a psalm journal for my Old Testament class. What this meant was, we had to read and pray three psalms a day and reflect on them. Looking back on it, it was a great exercise and a discipline that I have since fallen away from. At the time, however, I did not enjoy the exercise.
I enjoyed the psalms of praise, like this psalm (118) and others such as 136, 23, and 1. "Give thanks to Lord for God is good; his love endures forever." That seems like an easy mandate. "The Lord is my helper." There's something I can agree with and completely support.
"I shall look in triumph on those who hate me." Wait a minute. That sounds like pride. It sounds like delighting in someone else's failure or trouble. It makes us out to seem vengeful arrogant, and rude.
But we are those things.
The exercise helped me see that the whole range of emotion we have belongs to God. There is nothing we can think, say, or feel that is not a part of our relationship with God. While I was worried that God couldn't handle my griefs and joys, my hopes and fears, I read the words of the church in the Psalms. For God's steadfast love endures forever. Nothing we can do can change that.
Prayer: Enduring God, thank you that you are bigger than us. Teach us to cast all of our emotions, trials, and celebrations on you. Free us from the thought that we have to carry our burdens alone. Amen.
G. Thomas Martin