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LECTIO DIVINA Psalm 118 2Nd Sunday of Easter Year a Fr

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Page 1 of 19 LECTIO DIVINA Psalm 118 2nd Sunday of Easter Year A Fr. Michael Brizio, IMC www.frmichaelbrizio.com 1) OPENING PRAYER: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy his consolations. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. 2) READING OF THE WORD (What the Word says): Psalm 118 1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his mercy endures forever. 2 Let Israel say: his mercy endures forever. 3 Let the house of Aaron say, his mercy endures forever. 4 Let those who fear the LORD say, his mercy endures forever. 5 In danger I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. Page 2 of 19 6 The LORD is with me; I am not afraid; what can mortals do against me? 7 The LORD is with me as my helper; I shall look in triumph on my foes. 8 Better to take refuge in the LORD than to put one’s trust in mortals. 9 Better to take refuge in the LORD than to put one’s trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me; in the LORD’s name I cut them off. 11 They surrounded me on every side; in the LORD’s name I cut them off. 12 They surrounded me like bees; they burned up like fire among thorns; in the LORD’s name I cut them off. 13 I was hard pressed and falling, but the LORD came to my help. 14 The LORD, my strength and might, has become my savior. 15 The joyful shout of deliverance is heard in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand works valiantly; 16 the LORD’s right hand is raised; the LORD’s right hand works valiantly.” 17 I shall not die but live and declare the deeds of the LORD. 18 The LORD chastised me harshly, but did not hand me over to death. 19 Open the gates of righteousness; I will enter and thank the LORD. 20 This is the LORD’s own gate, through it the righteous enter. 21 I thank you for you answered me; you have been my savior. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. 25 LORD, grant salvation! LORD, grant good fortune! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God and has enlightened us. Join in procession with leafy branches up to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, I give you thanks; my God, I offer you praise. 29 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his mercy endures forever. Page 3 of 19 3) EXPLANATION (What the Word means): Composition and Context This psalm may be classified as a communal thanksgiving for a great deliverance from the oppressing enemies that surrounded and almost destroyed the people of Israel in what appears to have been divine chastening. The psalm appears to be a little confusing at first glance. For example, the verbs change from singular to plural on occasion; but this probably indicates that the psalmist was speaking on behalf of the nation—hence a communal thanksgiving. Also, parts of the work are antiphonal. A number of commentators suggest that the individual was the king, or if there was no king, a Davidic prince or some other leader. The “I” of the first part of the psalm is the leader of the worship procession in the final part who speaks on behalf of the people. From the report of the deliverance in the first part one can learn that the people suffered greatly under the oppression of the nations but were then delivered by God in an amazing victory. And from the liturgical section to follow, one can also learn that they had returned to their own place to start anew as the people of God and so made their way to the sanctuary to praise the Lord. There is some disagreement on the occasion or setting of the psalm. A number of commentators do agree that the psalm was written to celebrate the victory of the king and his people in battle with a liturgical procession to the sanctuary to offer praise to the Lord (along the lines of the account in 2 Chronicles 20:27-28). Exactly what victory that was is left open for speculation. A more common and more plausible view is that the psalm represents a post-exilic liturgical thanksgiving. Commentators propose four possible times for this: 1) the first Feast of Tabernacles after the return (Ezra 3:1-4); 2) the laying of the cornerstone (Ezra 3:8-13); 3) the consecration of the completed temple (Ezra 6:15-18); or 4) the great Feast of Tabernacles after the completion (Nehemiah 8:13- 18). Page 4 of 19 Some prefer the last option, noting that the Jewish tradition says the psalm itself was used at the Feast of Tabernacles (b. Sukkah, 45a—b) and that the psalm indicates that the temple was complete? However, in Jewish tradition the psalm was part of the Hallel and used at all the festivals, Passover especially. Furthermore, the fact that later Judaism used the psalm at the Feast of Tabernacles does not prove it was written for that occasion. The use of the psalm in the Gospels witnesses to its use for Passover as well. The general understanding is that the psalm was post-exilic. The ideas of the psalm fit the return from the exile better than any other occasion in Israel’s history. It is not just about the king’s (people’s) victory over oppressing enemies. The oppression was divine chastening for the nation. And when the nation was able to gain victory over her enemies, the faithful praised the Lord for establishing a new beginning for his kingdom program in which they would all share. v.1: Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his mercy endures forever. v.2: Let Israel say: his mercy endures forever. v.3: Let the house of Aaron say, his mercy endures forever. v.4: Let those who fear the LORD say, his mercy endures forever. The first few verses of this psalm follow a form for calling the whole assembly to praise the Lord; but that does not in any way weaken the theology that is expressed again and again in it, that the loyal love (Psalm 23:6) of the Lord is everlasting (Psalm 61:4). Everything expressed in the verses to follow will demonstrate the working out of God’s faithful covenant love to his people. Page 5 of 19 So after the initial call “give thanks” and the reason, “for he is good, his mercy endures forever” (Psalm 34:8), the call is for different groups in the assembly, Israelites, priests, and then all who fear the Lord, to repeat the anthem, “his mercy endures forever.” v.5: In danger I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. The main reason for the praise is stated succinctly: the psalmist (i.e., the people) cried to the Lord from his anguish and the Lord answered him and set him free. On the surface this appears to be the thanksgiving of an individual, but as the report of the dilemma and then of the deliverance unfolds it will be clear that the individual is the spokesman for the people, perhaps the king if this was written in the time of the monarchy, but more likely if written after the return then a Davidic prince or some other leader of the people. Thus, it was not a personal dilemma and deliverance, but a national disaster. Here he simply says “danger” (Psalm 120:1). v.6: The LORD is with me; I am not afraid; what can mortals do against me? The psalmist immediately acknowledges that the deliverance was due to divine intervention, meaning that in the conflict the Lord was on his side. If the Lord was with him, who could then be against him and succeed (Romans 8:31)? So, he states that he will not fear (Psalm 2:11) because there is nothing that man can do to him. Page 6 of 19 v.7: The LORD is with me as my helper; I shall look in triumph on my foes. The word “helper” (Psalm 46:1) does not minimize God’s part in the victory at all; it means that God did for his people what they could not do for themselves—get free from captivity. And the result of this “help” from the Lord is a triumphant celebration: “I shall look in triumph on my foes” (Psalm 139:21). The psalmist is anticipating the celebration of the victory; to look on one’s enemies is to look from the perspective of the victor. v.8: Better to take refuge in the LORD than to put one’s trust in mortals. There is no comparison between the Lord’s ability and that of mortal man; and yet the nation did “put confidence” in other nations on the eve of the deportation to Babylon rather than trust in the sovereign Lord.
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