Lenten Devotional Psalm 118

From my good friend and colleague, Bob Orr, who wrote this devotional ...

Theme: Passion and Suffering	Palm Sunday, March 29
Scripture: Psalm 118 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;    his steadfast love endures for ever! Let Israel say,    'His steadfast love endures for ever.' Let the house of Aaron say,    'His steadfast love endures for ever.' Let those who fear the Lord say,    'His steadfast love endures for ever.'  Out of my distress I called on the Lord;    the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. With the Lord on my side I do not fear.    What can mortals do to me? The Lord is on my side to help me;    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord    than to put confidence in mortals. It is better to take refuge in the Lord    than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me;    in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;    in the name of the Lord I cut them off! They surrounded me like bees;    they blazed like a fire of thorns;    in the name of the Lord I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,    but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my might;    he has become my salvation. There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: 'The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;    the right hand of the Lord is exalted;    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.' I shall not die, but I shall live,    and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has punished me severely,    but he did not give me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness,    that I may enter through them    and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord;    the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me    and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected    has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing;    it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made;    let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!    O Lord, we beseech you, give us success! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.    We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God,    and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches,    up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;    you are my God, I will extol you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Devotion Let's be clear at the outset. This psalm/song comes to us in the Christian faith from our brothers and sisters in the Jewish faith. We owe them a debt which can only be repaid with daily gratitude. They lived and loved and followed our common God in ancient times centuries before Jesus, a Jew, was born in Bethlehem. This is one of a hundred and fifty poems which enrich our lives even as they surely did his. I urge you to read this Psalm slowly aloud and think why it was first sung. What did it represent to men and women of faith? Why was it important? What themes or ideas did the writer want to convey? What melody lifted these words to God? In my wife's family, there is a dear cousin who is schizophrenic. He has been in and out of institutions, group homes and hospitals for thirty years. He's fifty-six and was diagnosed with lung cancer last August. His mother wrote that she heard him quietly singing "Jesus Loves Me" in his bed a few weeks before he died in January. Now re-read this Psalm. Jesus may have quietly sung this song when he entered Jerusalem for Passover that last week of his life, or when he hung on the cross and died. "O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures for ever."
Prayer Lord of life, we turn to you and remember that some things are worth dying for. And living for. Amen.
About the Author Bob Orr has been helped to pray the Psalms by visiting a community of Catholic Trappist monks in Kentucky where at seven services throughout the day they have sung or recited the Psalms, every day, seven days a week, month in and month out, for over one hundred fifty years.