Knowing God is On Your Side (Psalm 118:6)

Children's Lesson (click here)

I. The Kid You Wanted on Your Team

Thinking back to your school days, do you remember learning about this concept: 'survival of the fittest'? Do you remember in which class that lesson was covered? Yes, exactly: P.E.! The class was P.E., and that lesson was entitled, “dodge-ball”. You see, you don't need to be a biologist on some distant island to observe and study 'survival of the fittest'. You simply need to go to your local elementary school or middle school and take in a game of dodge-ball.

But for a non-athlete like me, the equally difficult part of dodge-ball took place before the game, when team captains were choosing kids for their team. Now, there's really no need to focus this morning on that awkward reality of being the last person (or the second to last person) picked... though I do feel like I could speak from the heart on that subject. What I'm hoping you'll think about is that kid who was always the first person picked. Do you remember that kid? The really athletic one... the fast one... the one with the long arms who could turn the ball into a deadly projectile? And then jump over or tuck and roll to avoid being hit? That was the kid you wanted on your team. When he was on your side, victory seemed inevitable. Let me repeat that...

This morning we arrive at the end of Our Bible Reading Plan, finishing in Psalm 118. I do hope that you've been encouraged by these readings, and by all the ways in which the Old Testament prepared us for Jesus, and all the ways the New Testament confirmed God's ancient plan.

II. The Passage: “Yahweh is on My Side” (118:6)

Now, our focus this morning will be on a single verse, verse 6. But before we dig into that verse, let me tell you a few things about this psalm...

First, notice the bookends of this psalm: verses 1 and 29. They are exactly the same: “Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!”

Second, though verses 5-14 use first-person, singular pronouns, the psalm seems to be a song of corporate confession (notice verses 1-4). It may draw from an older, royal song regarding military victory, but in its final form, it seems to be a song used in a worshipful procession to the temple in Jerusalem. You can see city references in verses 19-20 (where the psalm speaks of the city gates), and temple references in verses 26-27: “We bless you from the house of Yahweh” and, “Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!”

Third, the first-person, singular references in verses 5-14 are most likely meant to be the words of a representative Jew, one who can speak for the whole nation. And clues from those verses (clues about the threat from the nations, and being set free, but also being disciplined by God... these seem) to point to a date after the Babylonian exile, and after the walls and temple had been rebuilt. So as verse 18 indicates, “Yahweh has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.” The nation has been disciplined, but not destroyed. Therefore, the faithful worshiper sings (v. 15) “glad songs of salvation” in light of God's powerful “right hand”.

Now, keeping those ideas in mind, look with me at verse 6. Listen to this powerful confession, a confession that every individual and the nation as a whole could affirm. The psalmist writes...

Yahweh is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

Even though this confession is an ancient confession, is it your confession as well, this morning? I see three significant aspects or parts of this short but very sweet verse. Let's talk about those:

Part 1: “Yahweh is on my side.” This statement can also be translated, “Yahweh is for me.” Now, think about that declaration. 'God is on my side'. Not the kid who always gets picked first. Not my BFF. Not this or that YouTube influencer or respected public figure. No... “Yahweh, the God of Israel... the God who made heaven and earth... the God who made you and me... the God over every earthly power and every human heart... the God with whom nothing is impossible. That God is on my side, says the writer. Verse 7, specifies: “Yahweh is on my side as my helper.”

The psalmist is telling us that God's salvation is not like a random person in a grocery store parking lot who helps a struggling individual load cases of water into his or her car. As nice as that image is, the help boasted about in this psalm is not random assistance to a complete stranger. No. It's help flowing from a personal commitment. “God is on my side... God is for me.”

But let's be clear: to declare that God is on your side, does not mean God always agrees with you. He doesn't. God being on your side doesn't mean he always takes your side. It means that whether you are right or wrong, God is present and committed to helping you, with either correction or commendation; or as the psalm puts it, with either “discipline” or “triumph”.

Part 2: “I will not fear.” How does this song, how does this statement encourage the worshiper? It reminds him or her that if God is on your side, you don't need to be afraid. This is a declaration: “I will not fear.” I don't think that means such a person will never face fear, never feel fear, never wrestle with fear. I think it means such a person is dropping an anchor; and when fears press in, he or she will pull on that line and remember just how firm that anchor really is. “I will not fear.” Why? Because “Yahweh is on my side.” But the the psalm gets even more specific...

Part 3: “What can man do to me?” This is helpful in reminding us that the fear in view here is not fear of getting cancer or getting blown away by a tornado. It's being afraid of what others can and might do to you. As I mentioned earlier, in light of the context here, this kind of fear was most likely provoked by things like political and military threats. But if we start there, think honestly about the rhetorical question the writer asks here: what can man do to me? Well. Mr. Psalmist... he can threaten me. He can frame me. He can oppress me. He can take my livelihood. He can enslave me. He can exile me. He can end my life. What do you mean, “What can man do to me?”

But, seeing as most of us are not facing those kinds of threats, let's ask it again: what can man do to me? Well... he (or she) can question me. He can disagree with me. He can dismiss me. He can judge me. He can laugh at me. He can tear me down. He can humiliate me. He can reject me. He can take advantage of me. He can deceive me. He can manipulate me. He can dash my hopes. He can be disappointed in me. He can overlook me. He can pressure me. He can blame me. He can lie about me. He can take me for granted. He (or she) can 'gaslight' me. He (or she) can betray me. He (or she) can be utterly indifferent towards me.

Every single day, this is what other human beings can do to us. And quite often, to some degree, they do! So in addition to possible human threats of things like physical danger, or financial ruin, or political persecution, there are these very common and very painful realities of personal, relational, emotional, mental injury... realities that, as some of you know all too well, can dominate your thoughts, tempt you to raise your walls, and weigh down your heart each and ever day.

So how in the world can this psalmist say what he's saying? How can he ask a rhetorical question like this: “What can man do to me?” Is he ignorant? Is he insensitive? No. No. He can ask that question because... God is on his side. Okay. Wait. Does that mean he believes God will somehow keep him from, that God will shield him from all of these troubles; from outward and inward injury? No. I don't think so. He understands, from personal experience, how God can use “distress” (v. 5) in order to “discipline” (v. 18). But to answer that question decisively, and to answer that question for us, we need to move over to the New Testament (NT).

III. If God is For Us

Look with me at the best-known NT affirmation of this beautiful OT idea; that is, “Yahweh is on my side.” Turn over to Romans 8. This is what Paul writes in verse 31... “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Sound familiar? Isn't that just another way of expressing the same truths we heard in Psalm 118:6? So what is the Apostle speaking of when he mentions “these things”? He's talking about our sufferings. If God is for you, if God is on your side, does that mean he will shield you from suffering? No.

So how then can Romans 8 help us with Psalm 118; specifically, how can it help us when the psalmist says, “What can man do to me?” Is he minimizing our suffering? No. He and Paul are not minimizing human suffering. They are maximizing God's love. Drop down to verse 35:

Who shall [i.e., what can man do... to] separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [drop down to v. 37]... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters, friends, do you remember the bookends in Psalm 118? “Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” What is most powerful about the fact that God is on my side is not that he shields me from suffering, but how he causes all things, including my suffering, to work together for my good. And my ultimate good is enjoying his love forever, and ever, and ever. And no one can take me from that love. No man or woman can change the changeless love of God... toward me. Nothing they can say to me can accomplish that. Nothing they can do to me can accomplish that. Please hear this: when God's love is the most important thing in your life, and you know that life cannot be taken from you, then you can boldly say, “What can man do to me?” When God is on your side, that victory is inevitable.

And how can I know his steadfast love will remain steadfast for me personally? Because of the rejected stone that became the cornerstone. Listen to Psalm 118:22–23... “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is Yahweh’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Did you know verse 22 is quoted five times in the NT (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7)? And every time, it is said to be fulfilled by Jesus. You see, because he was rejected on the cross for our sins, we are accepted forever by God. And because he was raised up on the third day to be our cornerstone, we can stand firm, immovable, on the fact that nothing can “separate us from the love God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen? And all that is available to us by grace alone, through faith/trust alone. Ask yourself: “In what ways does God want me to remember this truth morning, that God is on my side... or that he wants to be, if I will turn from sin and self and trust him?” When we do that, when we return to that stunning truth, we (no matter what we're facing) will be able to say everyday, with the worshipers in Psalm 118, verse 24, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”