HELP!
Opening Prayer
My Jesus, I need You, be my strength today as I meet You in Your Word.
Read Psalm 118
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my defense[a];
he has become my salvation.
15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
25 Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[b]
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up[c] to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Footnotes:
a Psalm 118:14 Or song
b Psalm 118:26 The Hebrew is plural.
c Psalm 118:27 Or Bind the festal sacrifice with ropes / and take it
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What has the Lord helped you through?This Sunday reading gives us the chance to pause and think about Jesus’ situation from His own point of view. Imagine reading this psalm from Jesus’ perspective.
His human nature surely senses what is going to happen. Betrayed by His own short-sighted people, He is to be delivered into the hands of Pilate and certain death. His divine nature knows this is so. His sense of disappointment must be great. So, as we saw earlier in Mark 14:32–42, Jesus does what He has done all His life – He spends time alone with His heavenly Father and sets His face to what is to come.
In doing this, Jesus reflects a model for prayer described for all times and all occasions in today’s psalm. Are we in a season of joy and blessings? Then thank the Lord for it and rejoice (1, 29). Are we in a time of trial? Then thank the Lord for that, because it is in trial that we learn most about our faith (13). And there are blessings to be had in trials if we look for them, the greatest being when we can look back and say: “I got through that because the Lord helped me” (13, 14).
Apply
Find a rock, hold it in your hand and remember what God has done for you and how He has been faithful. Keep the rock in a visible place as a remembrance.
Closing prayer
I praise You, my God, that You are faithful. Remind me often of just how much I can trust You.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.