God's Steadfast Love

Psalm 118
1O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
3Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
4Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
5Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
6With the Lord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me?
7The Lord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in mortals.
9It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.
10All nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.
14The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
15There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
16the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
17I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
20This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
23This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
29O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.





The Psalms in the Lectionary are intended to be used as responses to the lessons. Look for references in this Psalm to Easter ideas: unexpected life in the presence of death; "the cornerstone," a key symbol of Jesus in the early church; forgiveness and righteousness as a gift from God. Psalms 113-118 were read during the Passover celebration, giving this Psalm another strong connection with Holy Week.



On a more personal note - how does this Psalm resonate with you? Do you feel that God always rescues you when you are surrounded? Or do you sometimes feel abandoned? If God does always rescue you - does he always rescue others? If so, how can you help them when they feel abandoned? If not... why you and not others?



These questions are prompted by some local situations I'm aware of:

some who have had a rough life and yet feel very protected by God;

a girl in a coma, and those who pray for her and cannot understand how a loving omnipotent God can leave her there;

my own recent change in belief that God is not omnipotent - and, if God's power is limited, then perhaps my own prayer is a vital part of God's action in the world.



Many people have assumed that, if I believe God's power is limited, then I no longer believe that prayer is effective. On the contrary - if God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibeneficient, then intercessory prayer seems to me to be ineffective. God already knows the right thing to do, wants to do the right thing, and is capable of doing the right thing. What difference will my prayer make?

But if God's power is limited, then perhaps some kinds of prayer can produce some kinds of spiritual & physical impact on the world. I don't understand how; but I also don't really understand electromagnetism, and it clearly has an impact. So, should I be devoting more time to intercessory prayer?



Regardless, I claim with the psalmist that God's steadfast love endures forever. I simply see too much love in the universe - in spite of the laws of entropy, which make love difficult and hatred and destruction easy - to believe otherwise.