Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray with Me”.
Some of the most familiar Bible verses occur in Psalm 118. Which of these do you recognize?
This is the day that the Lord has made,
let us rejoice and be glad in it (v. 24).
The Lord is my strength and my song,
he has become my salvation (v. 14).
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone (v. 22).
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (v. 26).
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death (v. 18).
Psalm 118 is the last in a string of six praise psalms. It repeats many themes from the earlier psalms.
Let’s pray some of these themes.
Lord, you are our strength and our song,
you have become our salvation (v. 14).
When we feel the frenzy and angst of modern life, when pandemic lockdown silences our song, when life is uninspiring and we grow discouraged, you are our strength and song and salvation. You rescue us and give us new life.
This is the day that the Lord has made,
we will rejoice and be glad in it (v. 24)
Forces of darkness threaten our world, but you are unwavering light. Our short lives decay into dust, but you are eternal life. O God, hear our prayer, hear our songs about your greatness, hear our words that praise your love. This is the day you made. We receive it with joy and thanks.
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
and he brought me into a spacious place (v. 5).
From birth to grave, we litter our narrow lives with failed and unfinished projects. Our years are marked by conformity to cultural and religious and political rules. Our understanding is limited by the few books we have read, and the fewer we have understood. Our prayers are defined by brevity and desperation. O Lord, bring us out of our narrowness into a spacious place. May our hearts beat with the pulse of your heart. May we extend ourselves for your kingdom. May we be generous to all you have created.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone (v. 22).
When the poet was rejected and scorned, you rescued him and made his story of salvation a cornerstone of temple worship. When Christ was rejected by religious and political leaders, you made him the foundation of your kingdom. Look also upon us, small and insignificant, and build us like living stones into a spiritual house, a living priesthood (1 Peter 2:5).
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (v. 26).
O Christ, the Palm Sunday crowd that cheered your parade into Jerusalem shouted, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. Two thousand years later, as we follow your work in the world, we wait for another parade in which you will come as king.
Blessed are you, Christ, for you come in the name of the Lord. Come quickly.
Amen.
I’m Daniel on the channel “Pray with Me”.
YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube
Pray with Me 