Psalms and the Seasons of Your LifeSample

A Psalm for the Season of Thankfulness

Psalm 118 chooses to look back and look forward, to take heart from the past, and to look with a strong heart to the future. It is a thanksgiving hymn, beginning and ending on that theme.

The first four verses serve as a call to worship. There is public praise: “Let Israel say” (v. 2); there is priestly praise: “Let the house of Aaron say” (v. 3); and there is personal praise: “Let those who fear the Lord say” (v. 4). And the content of the praise is, “His love endures forever.”

The writer of the psalm conveys that his journey with Jehovah has been challenging. Verse 5 details his anguished cry to the Lord. A colloquial way to translate it would be “between a rock and a hard place.” Nevertheless, the author’s conclusion is liberating: “He answered by setting me free” (NCB).

This believer makes pertinent choices in verses 8 and 9: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord” than to trust in man or princes. And despite being surrounded and ringed by his enemies (vv. 10–12), and despite being pushed to his limits, “about to fall” (v. 13), he found mankind’s extremity to be God’s opportunity!

His thanksgiving then looks back to the deliverance God gave to Israel in Egypt in verse 14. But the psalmist not only remembers the troubles and triumphs of the past; he also looks to the future, a future that promises to display the same deliverance that God is glorified for in the writer’s scrapbook.

The two words save us in verse 25 are a translation of the word hosanna. And the psalmist looks to the Lord to act redemptively in his future and “give him success.” This psalmist expects more victories to be forthcoming. His dreams are bigger than his memories. Are your dreams bigger than your memories? Is the best yet to come for you?

This “hosanna” looks forward to Palm Sunday, to Jesus’ entry into the city of Jerusalem, as He prepares to conquer sin and even the final enemy—death! Look back over your life and reflect on the “rock and hard place” times. Remember how the Lord brought you through the narrowest of alleys. And then, dream and envision a future where He comes again to bring strength, songs, and salvation.

We adapted this plan from another resource. Learn more at http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/a-psalm-for-every-season/411900.