READ PSALM 118
Can you find any lasting joy if all of your key plans for the future are fading away? In seasons of sustained loss, one of the hardest things to give is “thanksgiving.” Gratitude is a hard lens to look at your life through when you experience loss. We are prone to focus on what we’ve lost instead of what we have. Psalm 118 is an important part of our playlist because it refocuses our eyes on the treasure we have in Christ, giving us gratitude as a lens for life.
Psalm 118 is known as the “Egyptian Hallel.” Hallel in Hebrew means “praise” (think Hallel-ujah, which means praise God). Egyptian because this Psalm was an anthem of praise for God’s deliverance of Israel out of Egyptian bondage (Exodus), probably being sung at Passover. So, Psalm 118 pulls God’s people together in unified praise for all that He has done, while building an expectation for God’s continued presence and deliverance.
“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!.” This familiar Old Testament refrain begins and closes this song. Think of it as the chorus in your favorite song. It contains the big idea of the song which is explained in the verses. For God’s people, this refrain is an expression of celebrated confidence in God’s covenant love. God’s gracious commitment to his people is their sole source of celebration and the lens through which all of life is to be understood.
Sermon main idea: Gratitude lives with God’s goodness in full focus.
The text calls us to gratitude in God’s goodness by showing us three aspects of His love for us:
1.He is your helper: “I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.” (Psalm 118:13). As helper, God provides strength where you are weak. Yet, you must call on Him.
2.He is your salvation: “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” (Psalm 118:14). We cannot experience God’s power when we refuse to rely on his strength. God has made Jesus the Cornerstone meaning he is the only stable foundation upon which to build your life.
3.He is your God. “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.” (Psalm 118:28). The song closes with the Psalmist making God his own. He is giving God praise, choosing to lift up God as good in all of life. Live your life for Him.
QUESTIONS:
1.How has your life has been focusing on what you’ve lost, lately?
2.What does it mean that God is your “helper”?
3.Does God promise to deliver Christians from turmoil or through it? How does this change how you see pain and loss (Ps 118:18)?
4.What does it mean that Jesus is the Cornerstone (Ps 118:22-23, Acts 4:10-12)?
5.Share one way your relationship with God has made you grateful this week.