GOD’S HAND OF VICTORY (3)

“The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the RIGHT HAND of the Lord does VALIANTLY” – Psalm118:15

Psalm 118 is a Song of Victory, inviting Israel to praise God and proclaim Trust in GOD’S RIGHT HAND of VICTORY: “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” (Psa.118: 15-17). It is a radically inclusive invitation to all the peoples of the earth who read, pray, or hear the psalm, to join in praising the Lord. They were invited to join their voices to that of the psalm, to affirm that “His Mercy endures forever” (vv.1-4). The call to praise began with Israel, “Let Israel now say” (v.2). It was then located in the worship pattern of the priestly “house of Aaron,” and finally extended to include all “those who fear the Lord” (vv.3-4).

Psalm 118 falls into two halves. In verses 1-18 which constitute today’s text, the psalmist and other worshipers were on a pilgrimage toward Jerusalem for one of the great feasts. In verses 19-29, they had arrived at the temple, where their worship continued. This song for festive processional corporate worship asserts that God’s Mercy or Steadfast Love endures forever, irrespective of circumstance or situation. His Mercy endures to manifest His Life to us. Verses 15 and 16 constitute an invitation to engage in the “glad songs of Victory” in the tents of the righteous. In essence, “The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!" (v.16, Message Bible).

In the Psalms, the power of GOD’S RIGHT HAND was primarily associated with God’s Saving Acts in history. Later, it came to symbolize God’s protection and comfort of the perplexed in general. This language of the “right hand of the Lord” being “exalted” and doing “valiantly” derives from the exodus event. For example, Exodus 15:6 records the Song of the Sea: “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.” The “RIGHT HAND” of God is connected invariably to the POWER and VICTORY of the exodus event (Psa.74:11–13, 77:12-21). Much later, the same term was linked to God’s work in settling Israel in the Promised Land: “And He brought them to His holy border, this mountain which HIS RIGHT HAND had acquired” (Psa. 78:54).

In other psalms the phrase, “right hand of God” assumes a more general sense in terms of the comfort and care that is found in God’s Right Hand. For example, Psalm 63:8 says, “My soul follows close behind You; YOUR RIGHT HAND upholds me.” Again, Psalm 139:10 declares: “Even there Your HAND shall LEAD ME, and your RIGHT HAND shall hold me fast.” Referring to God’s Right Hand, Jeremiah promised a new “exodus,” in the return from Exile (Jer.23:7-8). Much as in the Psalms, the prophet used what God had done in the past to imagine and make sense of what He is or will do in the future. The true and ultimate “Exodus” – the Resurrection – is performed by God’s “Right Hand.”

Ultimately therefore, God’s Right Hand of Victory is the HAND of LIFE: “I shall not die, but LIVE, and declare the WORKS of the Lord” (v.17). Perhaps the psalmist had apprehended that he would die; or, he had felt that he was in imminent danger of dying. Suddenly, he seemed to have reflected over the threats of the past: “All nations surrounded me… They surrounded me…They surrounded me like bees… You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me” (vv.10-13). He saw that he was in danger. His enemies were tick round about him, and sought his life. But by the assurance of God’s Hand of Victory, he envisioned Life! By God’s Right Hand, Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ – the Resurrection and the Life – are perfectly safe and untouchable until our divine assignments and works on earth are accomplished.