Thanksgiving, Always part 2
I Am Thankful for the Lord’s Faithfulness: Psalm 118
I read the other day a remarkable example of faithfulness. In 2005, the Guinness Book of World Records said that Percy and Florence Arrowsmith held two records—the longest marriage of a living couple (80 years) and having the largest married couple’s aggregate age (205 years).
Both Mr. and Mrs. Arrowsmith have since died, but they left good advice for those who want to have a lasting marriage. Florence said, “You must never go to sleep bad friends. If you’ve had a quarrel, you make it up. Never be afraid to say, ‘sorry’.”
Percy’s advice was a bit different. He said the secret to his long marriage was just two words, “Yes, dear.”
For those of you curious, Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher now hold the record in 2011 being married for 86 years. They have both passed since 2011, but they also demonstrate true faithfulness. It is that kind of faithful grit that sticks with another person through thick, thin, and everything between. That kind of faithfulness doesn’t happen without a measure of grace. And, today, as we take a look at God’s faithfulness, we can best understand it through His love and grace for us.
Faithfulness is a product from love. God remains faithful out of love for His people. Turn with me to Psalm 118 in which we read about the enduring love of God.
Psalm 118:1-4: His love endures forever
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.”
The pattern in these verses of Israel to Aaron to “All who fear” is repeated in the Gospel story. Israel was God’s nation chosen to be His people. Aaron is the first High Priest who represented all proceeding High Priests and epitomizes the Levitical Priests. It is a type of linguistic zooming in from all Israel to the priests themselves who are to praise the Lord for His love endures forever. Then, as Israel is drawn into God’s presence by the High Priest, they are then to zoom out, go out, and share God’s enduring love to “all who fear the Lord”. Likewise, the Gospel story is that Jesus, our Great High Priest, comes to Israel first calling them to seek the Lord. Then, all who follow Him are given the commission to go out sharing the Good News of God’s enduring love, and then “All who fear the Lord” will also praise His wonderful love.
A quick note about ‘steadfast love’. The KJV has ‘mercy’ and the ASV uses ‘lovingkindness’. The Hebrew is chesed, and it is a word without an English equivalent. In fact, translators and theologians have had to make up English words to attempt at conveying its meaning, which is why we have ‘lovingkindess’ as an option. It is a covenant love, and its New Testament equivalent is charis, which is the word for ‘grace’. When Martin Luther translated a German version of the Bible, he used the German word for grace in both places. Consider verse 1 with ‘grace’: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His grace endures forever!” We may never have the perfect English word for chesed, but the essential truth is God’s faithfulness is a direct result of His love and grace for us.
The more we know and experience God’s love, the more we will understand His faithfulness.
5-13: His love endures through trials
Notice in verse 7, “I look in triumph over my enemies.” Now, it is a fact of life that you can’t please everyone, but this verse is not about your ability to squash your enemies, but rather God’s faithfulness to send us the victory with His power. Notice from his distress, he calls on the Lord. The Lord answers and sets him free. The Lord is on his side as a helper. The psalmist sees victory over his enemies because the Lord has intervened.
Compare it to John 14:15-17:
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
On this side of the cross, the Lord is quite literally right there with us, because His Holy Spirit dwells in us. When we give thanks for God's faithfulness, it is not thankful that sometimes He hears, or occasionally He descends to take a look at His people. We are thankful that He is right here with us, because He is right within us. For the Christian who has received eternal life and forgiveness, they have also received the Holy Spirit--God within us. And if the same God who raised Christ, who transformed our heart, and who sealed us for eternity is within us, then what have we to fear? What else can we do but say "Thank you!"
We look on our enemies with victory, because Jesus has already conquered this world. 1 John 4:4 reminds us, "Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world." Christ has already conquered sin and death. And who is our enemy?
Paul says it best in Eph 6:12,
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Our enemies are not the people around us, they are the demonic forces which cloud people's minds and drag them further into sin. Christ did not come to conquer people, He came to conquer sin and death and destroy the work of Satan. That work has been accomplished, therefore we can walk in this world with confidence and victory--not because of what we have done, but because of what He has done.
We look at this world in victory, because Jesus is victorious over the world.
Verses 8&9 is a couplet which reminds us it is far better to trust in the Lord than any mortal man. Remember, a good rule of thumb when interpreting the Bible is: if something is repeated, it’s worth noting. Here, the couplet points us to the truth God’s faithfulness is infinitely superior to any man, even a prince.
This year especially we have seen the failings of political leaders. Despite their best efforts, they are still human. Regardless of where a Christian stands on the political spectrum, we can all agree the Lord’s faithfulness endures. It endured through Trump, through Obama, through Bush, and every president or king before, and it will endure Biden and whoever is next.
It is better to trust in the Lord than any man, prince, or political system.
Psalm 118:14-24: His love endures through salvation
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The Lord is the author and finisher of our faith, as Hebrews says in chapter 12:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Look at the parallels between our psalm and Hebrews:
“The Lord has become my salvation” and “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith”
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly...[it] exalts” and “seated at the right hand of the throne of God”
What was foreshadowed in the Psalms has come to fulfillment in Christ. The Lord has become our salvation by going to the cross, despising the shame, and being raised again. And now, consider the next lines. How can we say, “I shall not die, but I shall live”? Because Christ is risen! Because He lives and sits at the right hand of the throne of God, so too will all those who trust in the Lord live. And even when we find ourselves in verse 18, which we see again in Hebrews 12:6, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives”, we remember “He has not given me over to death.” If we have breath in our lungs, the Lord is not done with us. If we find ourselves in trials and in times of discipline, the Lord is faithful to see us through it.
The Lord is faithful to save and faithful to discipline, because of His great love for us.
Consider the next several lines and their parallel with Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:13-14,
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
That narrow gate that leads to life has been opened by Christ. The psalmist prayed for God to open the gate of righteousness, and the Lord answered that prayer with Christ! “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” is a prophecy of Christ as Peter states in Acts 4. It is through Christ that we find salvation and the fulfillment of God’s faithful promise to save His people.
Now look closer at verse 24. Typically this verse is quoted as a wake-up song. But if we consider it comes at the end of this section in which the psalmist is looking toward the salvation that comes in Christ, we can also see this ‘day’ is not just any ordinary day. The day that the Lord has made is the Day of Salvation. Let us rejoice and be glad, because today, anyone who calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved!
God’s faithfulness has been, and continues to be, demonstrated in the Work of Christ.
Psalm 118:25-29: God’s faithfulness drives us to faithfulness
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
Once again we see a prophetic allusion in verse 26, as Jesus quotes this verse in Matthew when telling Jerusalem that they will not see Him again until they are shouting this verse. The Gospels record that when Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last time, the crowds welcomed Him with shouts of “Hosanna, Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord.”
Verse 27 is the crux of this final section of the psalm. The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. ‘Light’ is a common metaphor for wisdom and understanding. Many of the Early Church Fathers also understood ‘light’ as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit. They understood the Trinity as the Spirit emanates from the Father much like light emanates from the source of the light. Whether we interpret this verse as alluding to the Holy Spirit or simply God’s wisdom, the principle still holds. Our proper response is sacrifice and praise.
God’s faithfulness drives us to worship.
We give thanks, and we extol the Lord, because He is good! His love and grace endures forever!
What else can we do but worship?
Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and see the face of the Most High, our Salvation, and the Most Faithful!
Do not trust in any man or woman or political leader, or even yourself. Place your trust in the One who has proven Himself faithful, full of grace, full of mercy, and able to save—Jesus Christ the Lord.