(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)
This is the song the
ancient people of God sang as they processed with the priests from the pool of
Siloam through the Water Gate and to the Temple for the water pouring ceremony
at The Feast of Tabernacles each year:
Psalms 118
1Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2Let all Israel repeat:
"His faithful love endures forever."
3Let Aaron's descendants, the priests, repeat:
"His faithful love endures forever."
4Let all who fear the LORD repeat:
"His faithful love endures forever."
5In my distress I prayed to the LORD,
and the LORD answered me and set me free.
6The LORD is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
7Yes, the LORD is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in people.
9It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
10Though hostile nations surrounded me,
I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD.
11Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
but I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD.
12They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
But I destroyed them all with the authority of the LORD.
13My enemies did their best to kill me,
but the LORD rescued me.
14The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
15Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious
things!
16The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious
things!
17I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the LORD has done.
18The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not let me die.
19Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the LORD.
20These gates lead to the presence of the LORD,
and the godly enter there.
21I thank you for answering my prayer
and giving me victory!
22The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
23This is the LORD's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
24This is the day the LORD has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25Please, LORD, please save us.
Please, LORD, please give us success.
26Bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27The LORD is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
There is a water-pouring ceremony at The Feast of Tabernacles!
In ancient times it was the service to ask for rain on the crops in the days to come
while thanking God for the provision He has already given.
We not only need physical rain to survive our life in this world, we need the rain that falls called the Rauch Ha Kodesh, The Holy Spirit.
This is the Living Water that Jesus Christ has to offer to us.
This is how our spirits are refreshed each year as our bodies are physically refreshed with water.
It is the Spirit of God who causes us to imitate Jesus in his death and resurrection.
The Spirit of God is as refreshing as rising from the grave to a new and restored life in The Kingdom of God. This is the Spirit that causes us to grow in grace and it is the Spirit of God that allows us to experience Emmanuel;
God with us.
We not only need physical rain to survive our life in this world, we need the rain that falls called the Rauch Ha Kodesh, The Holy Spirit.
This is the Living Water that Jesus Christ has to offer to us.
This is how our spirits are refreshed each year as our bodies are physically refreshed with water.
It is the Spirit of God who causes us to imitate Jesus in his death and resurrection.
The Spirit of God is as refreshing as rising from the grave to a new and restored life in The Kingdom of God. This is the Spirit that causes us to grow in grace and it is the Spirit of God that allows us to experience Emmanuel;
God with us.
