The LORD is on my side

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

² Let all Israel repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
³ Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
⁴ Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”

⁵ In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free.
⁶ The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
⁷ Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

¹⁰ Though hostile nations surrounded me,
I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹¹ Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
¹³ My enemies did their best to kill me,
but the Lord rescued me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
¹⁵ Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
¹⁶ The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
¹⁷ I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not let me die.

¹⁹ Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
²⁰ These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.
²¹ I thank you for answering my prayer
and giving me victory!

²² The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
²³ This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
²⁵ Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
²⁶ Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷ The Lord is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!

²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

The writer of this Psalm is not named, but it is believed to have been written by King David as an account of his troubles and triumphs over his enemies through God’s help.

At the same time, this Psalm is also very applicable to our Lord Jesus and is quoted in several places in the New Testament with a direct reference to Christ.

When I Googled this Psalm, I also discovered that it was Martin Luther’s favourite Psalm:

“This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life…this psalm proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles. As a result, it is dearer to me than all the wealth, honor, and power of the pope, the Turk, and the emperor. I would be most unwilling to trade this psalm for all of it.” (Martin Luther, cited by James Montgomery Boice)

Here are my reflections on some of my favourite verses in Psalm 118:

I called on the LORD in distress;  (Who do I go to in my distress? I need to call on the Lord, for He is only One who can truly help us)
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. (The Lord will answer when I call for help and set me in a place where I can breathe freely and live in His peace, even in difficult circumstances)
The LORD is on my side; (If God is for me, who can be against me!)
I will not fear. (Though life circumstances may look dark at times, God will always have the victory. Just look at Jesus on the cross and the empty tomb!)

Lord God, I thank you for this beautiful Psalm that reminds us where to go when we are in distress. Thank you that you are our loving Father who hears and who cares and is powerful to save us in our troubles. Help us to live in Your peace and not in fear, for You are on our side!

Written by Shelley Witt