His Steadfast Love Endures Forever Sermon by Freddy Fritz, Psalms 118:1-29

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His Steadfast Love Endures Forever Series

Contributed by Freddy Fritz on Aug 23, 2024 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Psalms 118:1-29

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Summary: Psalm 118:1-29 gives us several practical instructions about praising God for his steadfast love.

Introduction

What was Martin Luther’s favorite psalm?

You may say, as I thought, that it was Psalm 46. After all, Martin Luther wrote the great hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” based on Psalm 46.

But, if you said that Psalm 46 was Martin Luther’s favorite psalm, you and I would be wrong.

Martin Luther’s favorite psalm was Psalm 118. In the preface to his sixty-page exposition of the psalm, Luther wrote:

This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of the Holy Scriptures are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore, I call it my own. When emperors and kings, the wise and the learned, and even saints could not aid me, 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 (Luther, Selected Psalms III, 45).

We do not have time to explore this beautiful psalm in detail, but I hope to give you a bird’s eye view.

Let me make a few brief introductory comments about Psalm 118.

It is one of fifty anonymous psalms. We don’t know who wrote it, making it difficult to determine when it was written.

It is the last of six psalms known as the “Egyptian Hallel” psalms.

“Hallel” means “praise,” so the Egyptian Hallel psalms praised God for his redemption from Egypt in the Exodus to the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion.

The six psalms making up the Egyptian Hallel, Psalms 113 to 118, were sung during the Passover meal.

The first two, Psalms 113 and 114, were sung before the Passover meal, and the last four, Psalms 115 to 118, were sung after the Passover meal.

So, Psalm 118 was the last psalm that Jesus sang with his disciples on the night he celebrated the Passover Meal before his arrest, betrayal, and crucifixion.

Psalm 118 is located between the shortest psalm (117) and the longest psalm (119) in the Psalter.

Psalm 118 may have been used when the temple's foundation was laid in the days of Ezra.

Psalm 118:22 mentions the cornerstone of the temple, and Ezra 3:10–11 says:

And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

“For he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

Psalm 118 was used for public worship, particularly when celebrating the Passover Meal.

Commentator Warren Wiersbe, whose outline I am following, writes:

The pronouns “I” and “me” in verses 5–21 refer to the nation of Israel and not the psalmist. But the psalm speaks to all believers in every age and gives them four practical instructions (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Exultant, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series [Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004], 97).

Scripture

Let us read Psalm 118:1-29:

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

4 Let those who fear the LORD say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;

the LORD answered me and set me free.