Psalm 118:14-29 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 118:14-29 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14The Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
Verse 15There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
Verse 16the right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly."
Verse 17I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord.
Verse 18The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
Verse 19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
Verse 20This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.
Verse 21I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
Verse 22The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
Verse 23This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Verse 24This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Verse 25Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Verse 26Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Verse 27The Lord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
Verse 28You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
Verse 29O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Devotion
17I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
To realize my life has been spared repurposes the rest of my days. A near miss in traffic can rattle us and cause us to appreciate life and mark the beginning of a new chapter. It can change our calendars—a new day—the Lord’s day. From this point on, it’s all gravy; it’s all grace. Such a moment is a gateway to a different life.
As I built the stone face for our fireplace, no plan could have been contrived to make use of these strange shapes. Each piece, though, became valuable as the puzzle went together.
This psalm pictures God building with stones and retrieving a discarded one. The rejected stone is repurposed and becomes valuable. So the Lord renews our lives when we are built into the structure of the Kingdom, the living Body of Christ.
Prayer
God of new beginnings, help me to see my life through your eyes. I am no longer discarded or rejected, for you have chosen me in Christ and given me a new purpose. Thank you for this new day. Amen.