Meditation 252
Psalm 118: 1-2; 15-29
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good his steadfast love endures forever. This psalm of thanksgiving pours out praise of God for God’s steadfast and enduring love. When the psalmist recounts the deeds of the Lord (verse 17) there is evidence to back up the faith statement that begins the psalm.
We usually read this psalm on Palm Sunday. The early Christians, most of whom were steeped in the traditions of the Jewish faith, would have understood that God’s life-giving work was continued in the life, teaching and resurrection of Jesus. (J Clinton McCann Jr. Working Preacher) When they read “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” they would have seen the rejection and resurrection of Jesus as the continuation of the loving/saving action of God toward people.
The psalmist is confident that God will deliver, saying “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; the right hand of the Lord is exalted.” (verses 15b-16) The reference to the right hand of God is a reference to a song of praise sung by the Israelites after they were saved from Pharaoh’s army, where they sing that the Lord’s right hand was glorious in power when it was stretched out to save them. (Exodus 15: 6,12) In Jewish liturgy, Psalm 118 “concludes the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118) which is used at Passover, a celebration that recalls and recounts the deliverance from Egypt.” (J Clinton McCann Jr. Working Preacher)
As the psalmist recounts the deeds of the Lord there was the exodus to be remembered when God led the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, across the wilderness to the Promised Land. When the Israelites traveled through the wilderness the right hand of God protected and guided them, and their identity as a nation was formed as they learned, through experience, to rely on God. They were no longer slaves owned by the Egyptians, but they were the loved people of God, who were led by God’s right hand. Generations later the Israelites would be taken into captivity for a time, and even while they were in exile, God was with them, and when they returned to their homeland, they again had reason to praise God. And so, the prophet Isaiah wrote “See I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone. A precious corner stone, a sure foundation.” (Isaiah 28:16) When the psalmist recounted the deeds of the Lord, there was reason to rejoice.
When the right hand of God guided the Israelites across the wilderness, they learned that they were no longer slaves owned by the Egyptians, but they were the loved people of God. The people learned to trust God and they began to see themselves as those who could choose to follow the covenant that God had made with them. They were no longer slaves whose choices were made by someone else. While most of us have not been owned by another as the Israelites were owned by the Egyptians, we may struggle with habits or attitudes that cause us to behave in ways we do not like. Just as the right hand of God could deliver the Israelites from slavery, so the right hand of God can deliver us from being controlled by that which we know to be unhelpful. We like the psalmist can say that God’s steadfast love endures forever.