4-27-25 Rejoice and Be Glad Barb Loomis (G)

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Barbara Loomis 4/27/25 Rejoice and Be Glad Psalms 118:14-29

Traditionally the second Sunday of Easter usually has the story of Doubting Thomas. I
didn’t feel like speaking about Doubting Thomas this Sunday and the other scripture
choices I had was one in Revelation and Psalms. Revelation is intimidating to me.So
Psalms it is. Psalm 118 is almost one of the greatest psalms in the Bible. What makes
it exceptional? Well, it talks about God’s steadfast love and goodness, mercy and
power. It tells about our Lord’s salvation. It calls us to worship. The psalms from 113 to
118 were part of what they called the Egyptian Hallel (HALLEL). Psalm 113 is a short
psalm of praise without reference to any historical context. It is best known for the
phrase “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”
These Psalms were recited during the Passover festival commemorating Israelites
deliverance from Egypt. Psalm 114 poetically relates to the Hebrews deliverance from
Egypt .They were also used for other Jewish festivals, such as the feast of the
tabernacle which was a seven day feast commemorating the years of wandering in the
wilderness by the Israelites. Appropriately Psalm 115 contrast those who trust in the
Lord and those who trust in idols. Psalm 116 is written from the perspective of an
individual who has been delivered from a dire situation “I love the Lord, because he has
heard my voice and my pleads for mercy.” Psalm 117 is both the shortest psalm and
the shortest chapter in the Bible, with only two verses, although psalms are not
technically chapters they are songs and poems. This is the whole song “Praise the
Lord, all nations! extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and
the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” Now we are to Psalm
118, it is often used on Palm Sunday, in our Christian faith because verse 27 which
Celebrates laying the branches in the pathway to the altar.

Even if verses one through four of Psalm 118 were not part of the Lectionary, they
speak volumes, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let
Israel say: His love endures forever. Let the House of Aaron say: His love endures
forever. Let those who fear the Lord say: His love endures forever”

I grew up with church services always opening early on with a responsive reading of a
psalm or a responsive singing of a psalm. I miss that, but it still lingers in my heart
because it’s part of me.

When our high school youth decided to be called The Calm
Psalms, it touched that cord in my heart once again. I didn’t influence them. They came
up with it on their own. I did point out that not everything in the psalms are calm, but
there are answers to many things in the psalms for our day-to-day life, our needs, our
comfort, and communication with God.

” Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. “

Just as the Lord‘s prayer gives us an outline for prayer in many ways, Psalm 118 gives
us an outline for living. It starts by centering us on God and God‘s attributes like being
eternal, being good and loving. His love that always endures forever. What does forever
mean to you? A child might say a long, long time. A teen might interpret forever as
being trapped. 40-year-old’s perspective of forever can be a combination of anticipation
and a heightened sense of the present.

Whereas, over 60 or 70 means finding some wisdom we hope, and looking toward
happiness, and meeting Jesus face to face.

I do believe that God really loves us, the ones that He created. We should take time to
appreciate his awesomeness. The more we try to see and appreciate God‘s brilliance
and the beauty of his creation the more we can learn to know Him.

Who actually wrote Psalm 118? Psalm 118 does not name an author in its title, but there
are those that believe it was King David. He is credited for many of the Psalms. King
David was often referred to as the sweet Psalmist of Israel. If King David had written
Psalm 118 that would’ve been around 1000 years before Jesus. It would definitely make
the Psalm prophetic. What better than a Psalm written by the king of Israel, a great king,
who was the smallest son of Jesse when he was chosen by God to become the King.
He was out tending the sheep when Samuel came to anoint David. If we truly listen to
the words of Psalm 118, it becomes unclear who wrote it and when it was written. There
are those that believe Psalm 118 was written around the time of 500 BC. That’s when
the book of Ezra talks about the rebuilding of the second temple. The first temple was
destroyed Around 586 BC by the Babylonians. The rubble from the temple was
collected by people to rebuild the city, not the temple. When the exiles returned, they
started to build the temple around 516 BC, but all that was left was the rejected stones.
This is described in verses 22 and 23 of our scripture today. So did David write the
Psalm or did somebody else write the Psalm? Was David gifted with a very prophetic
vision of what was to come? This Psalm is also interpreted as the triumph song of
Christ, the ideal servant, the perfect priest, He was the leader of the people. You have to
wonder what the words of this Psalm meant to Him as He sang them on that night in the
upper room with his disciples. He knew what was to come. He knew the crowds that
cheered that day, just as quickly would join the mocking and taunting crowd. He knew
they would turn their backs on him as he continued toward the cross. Jesus was the one
who came to save, but not in the way expected. A conquering king would’ve been better
or more understandable but that is not what happened. It’s not so different today,
because Jesus is someone we most often call upon when we have emergencies. Are
our words of faith and commitment to Jesus are always evident or do they melt away
according to the circumstances that we face? Do we turn to our Lord Jesus Christ to bail
us out when we have problems or is he part of our day-to-day life?

Did you ever think about how much Jesus gave for us? He came as a man to suffer as
we might suffer and more than most ever will suffer. He experienced the excruciating
pain of the nails and while he hung on the cross, he said “Father forgive them they know
not what they do.” We can be forgiven for every wrong thing we have ever done or will
do by just turning to Jesus and believing

I ask you to join in a responsive litany that I have phrase from Psalm 118 verses 24
through 29

This is the day that the Lord has made.
Rejoice and be glad in it!
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Lord, Please save us!
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Let us celebrate the presence of the Lord in our midst!
This is the day that the Lord has made.
The Lord is God! He has shined a light on us!
This is the day that the Lord has made.
You are my God— I will give thanks to you!
You are my God— I will lift you up on high!
This is the day that the Lord has made.
Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his faithful love lasts forever.
Let us rejoice and be glad. Amen