A Meditation

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Let Israel now say...
Let the house of Aaron now say...
Let those who fear the Lord now say,
'His mercy endures forever.'

I called on the Lord in my distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
The Lord is on my side: I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
...It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

...You pushed me violently, that I might fall,
But the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.
...He has not given me over to death.

Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.

I will praise You, for You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

The stone which the builders rejected  has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made; I will be glad and rejoice in it.

Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
God is the Lord, and He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise You.
You are my God, I will exalt You.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever."

~From Psalm 118

My attention was drawn to this psalm this morning as I read Acts 4 to my children. Peter quoted this in answer to the priests and Sadducees when they asked him in what power or by what name he healed a cripple.

Just a couple of verses above Peter's quoted verse, my eyes fell here: "This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter".
Jesus said: "I am the Door. No man comes to the Father but by Me."
The Good Shepherd.
The Door of the sheepfold.
The Way.
The Gate.

Just below that, it says: "I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation." Jehovah's salvation.
Yehoshuah.
Y'shua.
Jesus.

Afterward, it says: "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."
The day of salvation.
The day of the rejected stone.
The gate by which the righteous enter.
This was the Lord's doing.

"Save now."
Hosanna.
They said that, didn't they?
"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"
Yehoshuah.
Jehovah is salvation.
He has become our salvation.
He came in the name of the Lord.

"God is the Lord, and He has given us light."
"I am the Light of the world."

"Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar."
"This is My body, which is broken for you..."
Behold, the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

The Lord is for us, among those who help us! In our distress, He answers us. He answered us with this salvation. I am set in a broad place. I am set in Christ. The Lord is on my side.

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."
That is the central verse of the entire Bible. That is the central message of the entire Bible. Put your trust in the Lord. His right hand has done valiantly, and is exalted. Jesus Christ is at the right hand of  the Father.
He has done valiantly.
He has accomplished salvation.
He has become our salvation, and ever lives to make intercession for us.
That means He goes between us and God. He envelopes us in Himself, and stands for us.

We were pushed violently, that we might fall.
But the Lord helped us. He has become our salvation.

That's why the voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous.
We shall not die, but live.
He has not given us over to death.
Walk through the gate of the Lord, the gate of righteousness.
He has become your salvation.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

Thank You, Jesus.