Reflections on Psalm 118

 

Psalms 118 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Tell the LORD how thankful you are, because he is kind and always merciful.
   
2. Let Israel shout, "God is always merciful!"
   
3. Let the family of Aaron the priest shout, "God is always merciful!"
   
4. Let every true worshiper of the LORD shout, "God is always merciful!"
   
5. When I was really hurting, I prayed to the LORD. He answered my prayer, and took my worries away.
   
6. The LORD is on my side, and I am not afraid of what others can do to me.
   
7. With the LORD on my side, I will defeat all of my hateful enemies.
   
8. It is better to trust the LORD for protection than to trust anyone else,
   
9. including strong leaders.
   
10. Nations surrounded me, but I got rid of them by the power of the LORD.
    
11. They attacked from all sides, but I got rid of them by the power of the LORD.
    
12. They swarmed around like bees, but by the power of the LORD, I got rid of them and their fiery sting.
    
13. Their attacks were so fierce that I nearly fell, but the LORD helped me.
    
14. My power and my strength come from the LORD, and he has saved me.
    
15. From the tents of God's people come shouts of victory: "The LORD is powerful!
    
16. With his mighty arm the LORD wins victories! The LORD is powerful!"
    
17. And so my life is safe, and I will live to tell what the LORD has done.
    
18. He punished me terribly, but he did not let death lay its hands on me.
    
19. Open the gates of justice! I will enter and tell the LORD how thankful I am.
    
20. Here is the gate of the LORD! Everyone who does right may enter this gate.
    
21. I praise the LORD for answering my prayers and saving me.
    
22. The stone that the builders tossed aside has now become the most important stone.
    
23. The LORD has done this, and it is amazing to us.
    
24. This day belongs to the LORD! Let's celebrate and be glad today.
    
25. We'll ask the LORD to save us! We'll sincerely ask the LORD to let us win.
    
26. God bless the one who comes in the name of the LORD! We praise you from here in the house of the LORD.
    
27. The LORD is our God, and he has given us light! Start the celebration! March with palm branches all the way to the altar.
    
28. The LORD is my God! I will praise him and tell him how thankful I am.
    
29. Tell the LORD how thankful you are, because he is kind and always merciful.

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God's enduring and faithful love is the theme of the first four verses of this 118th psalm, and could, in fact, be said to be the theme of the entire psalm. From this beginning theme the psalmist gives reason for his praise of God's enduring and faithful love (verses 5-9).  He called on the Lord when in distress and the Lord answered him, taking away his worries. That is sufficient for him to trust the Lord and not be afraid, recognizing that with God for him, "What can mad do to me?" He has learned that it is better to take refuge in the Lord than in man or nobles. This is not the end of his testimonial, however. In the next verses (10-13), he tells of how he was surrounded by all the nations and the Lord enabled him to destroy them. His description gives the impression he was against overwhelming odds and it was only with God's help he was victorious. Not only did they surround him but they surrounded him like swarming bees.

This psalm might be considered antiphonal in nature. That is, it goes between two or more groups in a responsive manner. In this case there is the psalmist and then the priests along with the people. Through verse 13 the psalmist has been speaking. Beginning with verse 14 the people and priests rejoice in the Lord, stating that the Lord is their strength. It was He who has made them victorious in battle, and because of this, "I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done." There is acknowledgment that the Lord had disciplined the people. The discipline was severe but not to the point of death. But the Lord became their salvation and they now give thanks and praise to Him.

Verse 12 brings us to familiar territory. Whether those first using this psalm recognized the significance of what they spoke/sang, we cannot know, but Christ references verse 22 to Himself. He was the stone rejected by the builders that became the cornerstone. Verse 24 is often used in a general sense, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." In this context, however, new significance is given to it. Certainly the Lord has made every day and we should rejoice in that fact, but in this context it seems to be a reference to the day the Lord made Christ the cornerstone. Verse 23 ties verses 22 and 24 together. The day the Lord made Christ the cornerstone is certainly a day in which to rejoice and be glad.

The concluding verses proclaim what we should proclaim daily. As my wife and I speak each day of our love for one another, we should each day proclaim God as our God in whom we give thanks and place our trust. Not only is this proclamation music to God's ears, it is a reinforcement of our personal commitment to God that we need to make daily for our own sake.