“God’s faithful love lasts forever,” repeated the psalmist’s refrain. Psalm 118 became one of the hymns the Hebrew people sang every Passover. Jesus almost certainly sang it with his disciples the night before his crucifixion (cf. Mark 14:26). Hebrews quoted it, and added “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” Trusting in God’s unfailing love, the psalmist, Jesus and the early Christians all asked, “What can anyone do to me?”

• Psalm 118:6 said, “The Lord is for me [or “with me”]—I won’t be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” Our first (frightening) thought may be, “People could do plenty to me.” Only as we look below life’s surface does the psalmist’s claim begin to make sense. What bad things has God’s presence helped you survive, or even turned to a good purpose? How does that affect your ability to trust God moving forward?
• The letter to the Hebrews helped its readers to look beyond this life’s horizon by adding, “We don’t have a permanent city here, but rather we are looking for the city that is still to come” (Hebrews 13:14). What are some hurts and wrongs, in your life or in the broader history of the world, which only God can make right in eternity? Are you confident that God will in fact make those things right?