“Pushed to the wall, I called to God;
      from the wide open spaces, he answered.
   God’s now at my side and I’m not afraid;
      who would dare lay a hand on me?”  Psalm 118 

When things go wrong we often call on God.  Rescue me, we pray with desperation.  Sometimes we get ourselves into the mess we are seeking deliverance from - sometimes it is out of the blue.  Our wish is usually that God would pick us up out of the seemingly unescapable jam we are stuck in.  In this instance, the Psalmist got just what he was hoping for.  His or her back was pushed to the wall, God stepped in.  The sense that Yahweh had stood shoulder to shoulder with them prompted this Psalm of thanksgiving and a tremendous confidence - “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can human beings do to me?”

This psalm contains some of the most well-known prophetic descriptions of what the Christ would be: verse 22 talks about the rejected stone becoming the very cornerstone.  Not only a stone worthy of being accepted, but the hand-crafted foundational piece that holds the building together.  Not just a great teacher, but The Teacher.  Verse 26 is a preview of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem… these very words would be screamed and sung as he arrived in King David’s city.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

God, through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, rescued us from the sin-mess we have made for ourselves.  God has stepped in and stood shoulder to shoulder with us, and asks us all if we want to be taken to the wide open spaces of His Redemption.  Total redemption.  All we have to do is say yes.  This starts a long and difficult journey, but it all starts with a simple acceptance of help we can’t give ourselves or anyone else.  God did this because He is good and His love endures forever - verse 29 tells us this.  Following the lead of the psalmist, those of us who have received this Holy helping hand should respond with a bolstered confidence (in Jehovah’s provision).  With gratitude.  With songs.  With thanks.  With praise.  With each other.

Thank you Father God - you have rescued us.  May we respond with thanks and devotion.  May we give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; His love endures forever.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Daily Readings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.