SONG OF PALMS AND PRAYER                                                                                   BFUMC

PSALM 118                                                                                                         JUNE 17, 2007

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever felt so happy about something you just felt like you had to give thanks to God?  One of the most wonderful feelings in the world is the feeling of being stressed out about some concern or anxiety about your future, you wonder, pray, worry, pray, worry, pray, etc, etc.  Finally, it works out and things go exactly as you needed and hoped.  Sometimes you have a whole series of disappointments and finally things fall into place and you simply cannot believe it.  You feel you've work and prayed forever and finally things fall into line.  You simply want to say, "Thank you God.  You are good.  You helped me.  You were really aware of my situation.  This is your favor upon me."

PSALM 118 IN OVERVIEW

This Psalm was probably written by a person who had just overcome great odds; he thought he was going to die but he didn't – vs. ¹⁷I didn't die. I lived! The Psalm seems to have been written after a national crisis, because the whole nation is called upon to give thanks – ²Tell the world, Israel, "His love never quits."  The Lord gave them victory over their enemies who were surrounding them - ⁵Pushed to the wall, I called to GOD; from the wide open spaces, he answered. . . In verse ⁷GOD's my strong champion; I flick off my enemies like flies. . . ¹⁰Hemmed in by barbarians, in GOD's name I rubbed their faces in the dirt.  NIV says, "In God's name I cut them off."  The King apparently had not been relying on political or military alliances, but had relied completely on Yahweh to come through, and God had done just that!  That is probably the meaning of the verse  ⁸Far better to take refuge in GOD than trust in people; Trust in man probably implies some sort of alliance. 

The city must have been surrounded by an enemy army, since in verse 10 he says, "All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off (NIV)."  That may be allegorical language – I've been boxed in by pressure put on me by other nations – or it could be literal, as if an army is really surrounding Jerusalem.  It reminds the reader of the period of Hezekiah and Sennacherib's invasion of 701 BCE.  Perhaps this Psalm hails from that period. 

I love the wording of verse ¹⁹Swing wide the city gates--the righteous gates! I'll walk right through and thank GOD! ²⁰This Temple Gate belongs to GOD, so the victors can enter and praise. 

This may have been timed to shout just as the Psalmist is entering up to Jerusalem's gates, so he knocks on the doors and shouts, "Open for me these righteous gates, I'm coming in to give thanks to Yahweh!"  While it is perhaps ceremonial, it does also retain a visceral response, almost as if someone was banging on the doors of the church in the middle of the night because they just wanted to pray in there to give thanks to God for something wonderful that has happened.

Notice the festal (celebration) ceremonial language of verse ²⁷GOD is God, he has bathed us in light. Festoon the shrine with garlands, hang colored banners above the altar! These people are celebrating with Palm boughs or garlands in their hands as a way of expressing their delirious joy.  This Psalm has a classic instance of inclusion – which is a technical term for a literary enclosure which marks off a section of text with its over-riding emphasis.  Notice that the Psalm begins and ends with exactly the same words, ¹Thank GOD because he's good, because his love never quits.  This is a Psalm about giving thanks to God because God has come through for you in a huge way.  He has proved to you that he is there, that he is aware of your situation, and that he's got a plan for your life and protection.

EXODUS IN REVIEW MIRROR

While this does probably arise from a historical circumstance of tremendous joy and liberation, there are all kinds of nuances of Exodus themes in this Psalm.  Especially there are literary nuances of Exodus 15, which is Moses' Psalm of Joy after the Egyptian army was destroyed in the Red Sea.  This Psalm has the famous words, "I will sing unto the LORD for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and rider thrown into the sea."  We see this in verse ¹⁴GOD's my strength, he's also my song, and now he's my salvation. This is identical to Exod 15:2 in Hebrew as well as English.  the language of vs. 15b, "The Lord's right hand has done mighty things (NIV)" is similar in the way the Exodus was described.

What is the significance of this?  The Psalmist is saying, "What has happened to us is similar to our ancestor's exodus from Egypt.  We were completely without hope, without a prayer, without strength or armies.  But God met us at the point of our need and delivered us from the presence of our enemies.  We are free from these our enemies because of Yahweh's strong right arm.  The God of the Exodus himself is still alive and aware of us – still taking care of us – still guiding and protecting us!  Praise Yah!

JESUS IN THE HEADLIGHTS

There are several verses here that Christians have looked to as connections to the life of Jesus – particularly to the events of Palm Sunday.  We already noted that they sang words from this Psalm when they said, "Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord" (v. 26).  The Message reads, ²⁶Blessed are you who enter in GOD's name.  But a key verse that ties this Psalm to Jesus is just a few verses above – ²²The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! In the NIV this reads, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone."  This is where the whole usage of the word, "Cornerstone" for Christian faith arises.  Lots of ministries and churches are called, "Cornerstone Ministries" or the like.  The next verse is, ²³This is GOD's work. We rub our eyes--we can hardly believe it! This again ties these events to Exodus, because the same word for "marvelous" in Hebrew is used repeatedly to describe the Exodus.

What Christians are saying is something like this.  "God has a marvelous way of taking something that is discarded in human opinion, something no one thought anything of, and transforming it into something marvelous.  That is what happened in the Exodus; no one thought Israel was anything but a gaggle of slaves, but just look what God did to them.  He took the building block that masons would have thrown away and build a beautiful covenant people to witness for him on earth.  That God has done the same thing with the Psalmist who wrote 118 and with Jesus.  Israel felt rejected by the world, but discovered that God was making them the chief cornerstone (place of great honor).  Jesus was not esteemed and received with open arms but rejected.  Yet, God raised Jesus up and made him the cornerstone of a new and emerging Kingdom of God.  Jesus is the cornerstone that was rejected just like Israel was in the OT."

One commentator says this: "In other words, by articulating the significance of Jesus through Psalm 118, the Gospel writers profess that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are an extension of God's saving activity in the exodus and return from exile… For Christians, Easter is above all the day on which we say ²⁴This is the very day GOD acted."

PRESENT DAY PRINCIPLES

There are two interesting phrases that I want to bring to your attention from this Psalm.  The relate to two different principles for life.  First Principle: God had a good purpose for your worst disappointments but you must have the right attitude.

 ¹⁸GOD tested me, he pushed me hard, but he didn't hand me over to Death. In the middle of this Psalm, the Psalmist tells us something that he hadn't mentioned before.  Previously, the language has all been, "My enemies surrounded me, they swarmed around me like bees, but I trusted in Yahweh and he helped me."  Now, this whole situation that the Psalmist found himself in is, in some way, God's doing.  Not that God caused it, but that God has a plan in these unfortunate events.  It isn't simply that I was the victim, but God saved me from trouble.  It is more complicated than that; God had a hand, not only in the salvation, but in the trouble itself.  God wanted to used this to "test" me.  The Psalmist was able to look at these terrible events and realize that God also had a purpose in it all; God wanted this to be a spiritually beneficial experience.  You can either play the victim card and say, "Look what happened to me.  Look what those terrible people have done to me.  I've been framed."  Or You can say, "I can spiritual grow from this experience.  God has a plan for me, even in this."  Whether you grow depends upon your attitude.  Have the right attitude.

Second Principle: Yesterday's deliverance and success sets the stage for tomorrows dangers.  In verse 25 we realize that the Psalmist hasn't completely been delivered.  In the NIV we read, "O Lord, save us.  O Lord, grant us success."  Even when they are celebrating in Jerusalem all God's kindness and deliverance, there are still tremendous challenges and threats.  It isn't a done deal.  Life never is.  One victory opens up new threats, new potential dangers, new challenges.

I was thinking about this in relationship to Ashley Smith

Atlanta hostage to get $10,000 reward

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Former hostage Ashley Smith, who helped police peacefully capture suspected Atlanta courthouse killer Brian Nichols, will receive a $10,000 reward from the state of Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue has announced.

Now that Ashley's terrible ordeal is over, is she completely free from danger.  No, in a sense, her real challenges are just beginning.  She will be facing the challenges of fame, movie contracts, book deals, etc. etc.  What an incredible story this is; the violent death of her husband, her courage while being abducted and held, her wisdom and level-headedness.  This woman, overnight, has gone from complete anonymity to a nationally known and respected person.  She has the character and grace that we all hope our faith would bring into our lives in times of stress.  But her challenges are perhaps greater now than ever.  She could blow this royally, or she could continue to grow into a whole new challenge.  One deliverance leads to whole new challenges and dangers.

Look, we never outgrow our desperation for God's grace, presence and mercy.  I think this is what the Psalmist knows and is telling us if we read carefully.  Don't think that the dangers are in the past; there are always dangers ahead, and sometimes, success in the past only makes for greater dangers in the future.  Here's another headline.

BERNARD EBBERS GUILTY.  He Could Spend The Rest Of His Life In Prison. 

Bernard is the business phenom from Mississippi whose WorldCom was the darling of the telecom industry.  They called him the Telecom Cowboy who took a small long-distance company global by steering a snowballing set of mergers and acquisitions.

Now, Bernard Ebbers is the government's biggest catch since it began pursuing the largest corporate fraudsters three years ago. He could spend the rest of his life in federal prison. The 63-year-old former CEO of WorldCom was convicted Tuesday of orchestrating the $11 billion fraud that sank the company in 2002, the biggest corporate fraud.

Bernard went from success to failure.  He wasn't able to manage God's previous blessing without learning the lessons of failure.  Now Bernard will probably spend the rest of his life in prison.  He is an example of failure in passing the tests that arose from yesterday's successes.

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, Give me the kind of spiritual depth to successfully navigate life's successes and failures with courage and grace.  In times of happiness, let me rejoice in you, knowing that the greater challenges lie ahead.  In times of failure, help me to have the right attitude, to realize that you have a purpose both in the successes and failures of life.  Thank you for being my Lord.  Hosanna in the Highest.  Amen.