Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 6 (7)
Pray Psalm 118.1-6.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
The LORD is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
Sing Psalm 118.1-6.
(St. George’s Windsor: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come )
Thank the LORD, His love endures! All to whom His love is sure,
all who fear Him day by day, let them thanks and praise now say!
Out of my distress I cry; He will hear me from on high.
He will free me from all fear. What can man do to me here?
Read Psalm 118.1-29; meditate on verses 15-21.
Preparation
1. How does the psalmist respond to knowing the salvation of the Lord?
2. What does he say about the Lord’s “right hand”?
Meditation
This psalm features an inclusio—it begins and ends in the same place (cf. vv. 1, 29), thus tying up in a nice bundle a song chock full of pointers to Jesus.
He is the “with-us” God, Who stands by our side in times of trouble (v. 6). He is our advocate at the Father’s right hand (vv. 6, 7, 15, 16; cf. Heb. 7.25). He is our strength and our salvation (vv. 14, 21), which leads us to rejoice and praise Him for His saving work (vv. 15, 21). He opens to us—through Himself—the gates of righteousness, that we might grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and be made like Him (vv. 19, 20; cf. 2 Pet. 3.18; 2 Cor. 3.12-18). He is the Cornerstone the builders rejected but is now the Cornerstone of the new temple of the Lord, the Church (vv. 22, 23; cf. Eph. 2.19-22). He is the sacrifice, pleasing to God, Who takes away the sins of the world (v. 27; cf. Jn. 1.29). He is our God and is worthy of all our praise (vv. 27, 28). He is the Right Hand of the Lord, exalted and strong, Who acts powerfully to subdue the enemies of His people and to keep us in His salvation (vv. 15, 16).
The psalmist must have been filled with wonder as he penned this hymn, for he could not have understood the whole of what the Spirit was guiding him to compose. We do, however, and thus we should with even greater awe and wonder consider the Lord Jesus, Who has become our salvation, and Who, by His mercy keeps us and His grace strengthens us for the work to which we are called (vv. 1-9). Give thanks.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
the Right Hand of the LORD does valiantly” (Ps. 118.14, 15).
Moses and the people sang a song very similar to this one, in praise and thanksgiving to God, after their deliverance from the Egyptians:
“I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Ex. 15.1, 2).
Singing praise to God in difficult situations is the go-to response of His children.
Paul, having been put in the inner prison, with his feet fastened in the stocks, did not despair.
“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praising and singing hymns to God.” And their singing not only lifted their own spirits but was an astonishing witness to those in their Personal Mission Field—the other prisoners who “were listening to them” (Acts 16.25).
The power of praise, the power of the Holy Spirit, when He is pleased to act, is even more understood when God’s people have set the stage in courage and thanksgiving. “Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed” (Act 16.26). None of Paul’s fellow inmates were left wondering Whose Hand had wrought this powerful act. Their previous praise had proclaimed the truth.
Isaiah prophesied about a people yet to come, who would say:
“O LORD, I will praise You; though You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation’” (Is. 12.1, 2).
Because of God’s powerful Right Hand, and His work of salvation and redemption, we do not need to fear.
We have walked through the “gates of righteousness” (Ps. 118.19) with thanksgiving and praise.
So, we “praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Ps. 147.1). And better yet, “praise from the upright is beautiful” (Ps. 33.1). Those able to praise with “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps. 24.4) because of Jesus’ saving work.
We are upright in Him when we are “found in Him, not having [our] own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3.9).
And when this is the reason for our praise, we rejoice in Him and experience the life that He has planned for us to lead. That we may “know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead…that [we] may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of [us]” (Phil. 3.10-12).
The LORD is our strength and song and He has become our salvation.
May our praise have the same effect that the psalmist, Moses, Isaiah, and Paul experienced.
It is, after all, what God has planned and desires—beautiful praise from His redeemed children.
Reflection
1. Do you have a favorite hymn or song of praise? Sing it to the Lord right now.
2. What can you do to remind yourself to praise the Lord more often throughout the day?
3. What have you learned lately about the Lord? Give Him praise for that all day long.
The psalmist praises God, and calls upon all about him to give thanks to God for the glad tidings of great joy to all people, that there is a Redeemer, even Christ the Lord. In him the covenant of grace is made sure and everlasting.. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Psalm 118.19-29
Pray Psalm 118.14-29.
Praise God for our great salvation and especially for Jesus, seated at the Father’s right hand. Call on Him to help you grow in righteousness, to be glad in His Presence with you, to bless you in all your endeavors, and to make you a living sacrifice to Him for this day.
Sing Psalm 118.14-29.
(St. George’s Windsor: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come)
In the Savior we are strong! He is all our strength and song!
To His grace now raise your voice; in His righteousness rejoice!
For the LORD does valiantly; we shall live eternally.
Praise His works with all your breath, you whom He redeems from death.
All who know Christ’s righteousness, His great Name now thank and bless!
Through His gate the righteous pass, He our saving mercy has.
Cast aside and left alone, Christ is now our Cornerstone!
God has made His Son and Word our salvation: Praise the LORD!
Blessed are they who in His Name come and Jesus’ grace proclaim.
God His light upon us shines in the Savior’s sacrifice.
Praise and thanks to You, O LORD; we extol Your holy Word!
Thanks to You for You are good! Thanks to our great loving God!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
