The Lord Is God
Psalm 118:1–29
The Lord is God. Psalm 118:27
The last three verses of Psalm 118 are a powerful summary and application of the psalm: “The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”
These verses make three powerful statements about God and about our right relationship to him.
1. “The Lord is God.” In verse 27 the word “Lord” is the proper name Jehovah, or Yahweh. The verse is saying that it is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, who is truly God, not one of the other competing gods of this rebellious, evil world. This is the great issue of religion, not, Is there a god? (the Bible says it is only the fool who questions this—Ps. 14:1), but rather, Who is the true God? In this verse the psalmist says that Jehovah is the true God and that he has revealed this to us by making his light shine on us. This is the God who is being worshiped at the altar in Jerusalem, he and none other.
2. “You are my God.” This God is the psalmist’s own personal God, not merely the God of Israel, even less a God who is the result of some abstract philosophical speculation. Jehovah is his God, one in whom he has placed his own personal trust and to whom he has made a personal commitment. Is this God your God?
3. “The Lord . . . is good.” In verse 29 the psalmist calls on the people among whom he is bearing witness to thank God because this true God “is good.” The psalm began and now also ends with these words, drawing us back to consider the experience of the psalmist (and ourselves) once again.
The writer found that God is good because God had been good to him. He had been oppressed, but God had freed him from his oppression. He had been attacked, but God had delivered him from his enemies. He had been about to fall, but God had raised him up and given him important work to do, testifying to God’s goodness. Is it any different for those who have been saved by Jesus Christ? We too have been freed from sin, delivered, and given work to do. If that is your case, thank God and get to work.
Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865
Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.