Psalm 118

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

4 Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

The opening verse of the psalm is one that is repeated in two other psalms (107 and 136) and may be an aspect of the organization of the psalms of Book 5, marking the beginning of the Book and perhaps framing the great Torah Psalm (119) and the Songs of Ascents (120-134). It is a command and summary statement of the basis for the command. “Give thanks to YHWH for he is good, his steadfast covenant love goes on and on forever.” If we connect Psalm 117 to these verses, we have a continuous summons to all peoples to praise the LORD for his love and faithfulness. Here there are three groups of people stated, and this is a pattern that is seen elsewhere in the Psalms. Verse 2 summons Israel (the Jewish nation), verse 3 the house of Aaron (the priests), and verse 4 those who fear the LORD (the gentiles), bringing us full circle to the goyim and ummim of Psalm 117. Repetition is a notable feature of Psalm 118, and was likely a poetic device that emphasized the command given. We do the same thing in music today, repeating choruses and lines of songs for emphasis and effect, often building in dynamics and intensity. Perhaps that is what is happening here as we get to the third iteration of the command. The command of Psalm 117 is to praise, but here it is to “give thanks”, a different verb altogether. “Praise” is acknowledging who God is, while “thanks” is expressing gratitude for what He has done. God’s nature is expressed in his actions, and his actions are good and demonstrative of his faithful covenant love. This is his hesed, the Hebrew word variously translated, “mercy, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness”. It is the agape of the Hebrew language -- a loyal, unconditional attachment to another, a promise of faithfulness, that seeks the ultimate good of another, even at one’s own expense. The highest expression of this love is the cross of Jesus Christ, an event which will be foreshadowed in this psalm. 

5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.

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

7 The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

The psalmist begins his testimony, telling his story of God’s goodness and steadfast love. In his distress he called on the LORD, the LORD answered and set him free. The phrase, “set me free” is literally, “He answered me in a broad place”, using the abbreviated form of YHWH as simply YH. This is reminiscent of Psalms 16 and 18 which use the same metaphor of a spacious place. This is one of the paradoxes of freedom. Many think that freedom is the right to do anything we please, but this actually winds up being slavery to our desires, and we wind up destroying ourselves with addictions and damaging those around us who are negatively impacted by our freedom. Freedom is the responsibility to act within certain limits. The psalmist has been set in a spacious place, suggesting that he was previously trapped. He may have been quite literally trapped on the battlefield, but anyone who has been set free by God knows that there are many other things that can enslave us. Because the psalmist is in a broad place now, and has experienced rescue from the entrapment he was in, he no longer has any fear of man. There’s nothing that can ultimately harm him, so confident is he of his relationship with God. With the LORD at his side (literally “to him”), he cannot be harmed. With the LORD for him as a helper (lit. “to him among those who help me”) he will be triumphant over his haters. Give thanks for God’s rescue and embrace the confidence that is yours as you face trials and opposition in the future. 

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

These statements are very straightforward following the psalmist’s confidence in YHWH as his helper. The metaphor of taking refuge in the LORD is a common one in the psalms and it made a lot of sense in the ancient world when at the threat of storm or war, one sought shelter in a cave or crag of the rock, or in the case of war, a castle fortress. Protected in these spaces, one could rest and be refreshed. Alternatively, the psalmist says that one can place their trust in man (adam) or in the authorities (the nobility). However, there is no rest that can be found there, because men may betray or disappoint. There are limits to their power and their will. For that reason if you’ve got to choose between trusting in men and taking refuge in the LORD, choose the LORD every time. What “men” are you trusting in? What “authorities” are you trusting in? Know that you will ultimately be disappointed if you are relying on others to care for you and give you rest. Find your refuge in the LORD, your satisfaction in him and his presence. 

10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

12 They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off!

The psalmist was likely a leader, perhaps a king, who is describing a battle in which he was surrounded by foreign nations. This could have been during the days of David or Jehoshaphat (when the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites united against Judah - 2 Chronicles 20). They surrounded him on every side. It was like being in the middle of a swarm of bees, panicked, slapping wildly but unable to escape because the swarm moved with you. This situation is dire, but just like that, the LORD empowered the psalmist to cut them off and to stamp them out life a brush fire. The verb for “cut them off” is translated as “circumcise” everywhere else in the Bible. That has special meaning given that the attacking nations (goyim) were “uncircumcised”. The psalmist “circumcised” them in the name of the LORD. This doesn’t mean that he converted them to Judaism. They were not willingly circumcised. They surrounded him and like a foreskin being circumcised, he cut them off, a small thing, easily done with a knife. Circumcision was a genital mark that identified a man as belonging to God. The verses might literally be translated, “The uncircumcised surrounded me and in the name of the LORD, I circumcised them”. The second metaphor is that of fire among thorns, a fire that is easily tamped down (as opposed to a raging fire that requires massive amounts of water). I think that is the force of these two metaphors -- an army surrounding you like bees, a fire blazing at your feet -- these are as easily overcome as a foreskin is removed with a knife or as a brush fire is tamped down under your feet. 

13 I was pushed hard, [Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard] so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

The hard push of the enemy is in the form of a Hebrew idiom where the verb “push” is essentially repeated for emphasis. It is literally, “Push, you push me”. This resulted in the psalmist beginning to fall down. But it seems that this process was interrupted when the LORD helped him, catching him before he went down. As a result, the psalmist quotes a line from one of the oldest songs in the Bible, the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), in what may be considered the theme chorus of that song. Quoting this verse in the context of the Passover meal, the psalmist makes the connection between his experience and that of his ancestors. About to “fall down” as they were pressed between pharaoh's army and the Red Sea, the LORD stepped in and helped them by making a way where there was no way. As a result of this rescue, the LORD has become his salvation (literally, “YHWH became to me for salvation”). What does it mean to say that the LORD is my strength but that He gives me strength to do all that needs to be done. There are times I have an endless list of things that need to be done, both urgent and important and I question whether it can be done. There are times I face the challenge of simply going forward in life after having been knocked down. In either case, the LORD is my strength, enabling me to continue moving forward. The LORD is also my song. I set his deeds and his character to music. I sing them to musical accompaniment. I tell our stories in song, for my own pleasure, for the encouragement of others, but mostly for the delight of the one of whom I am singing. Ours is a singing faith, placing truth and beauty together in the uniquely human practice of making music. 

15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,

16 the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”

The psalmist invokes the language of the battlefield to communicate the exuberance that the godly feel about God’s salvation. “Glad songs of salvation” is literally, “a voice, a ringing cry and salvation”. The sound is coming from the tents of the righteous as if they were camped near a battlefield. The word translated “valiantly” is usually translated as “army” (and occasionally “strength, efficiency, wealth, power”). This contributes to the overall metaphor of a victorious army, all of this fitting with the overall context of the psalmist celebrating victory over foreign enemies. No one loves peace more than a soldier, and if you survive war, there is great joy in simply being alive. This is the kind of celebration that we can have in our salvation today. We’ve been saved not from an invading army but from the two pronged attack of our mortal enemy -- sin and death. God stepped in and defeated them both one weekend, and we, in our tents, should lift up a ringing cry, a loud voice, “salvation!”. It was his “right hand” that did this, a metaphor that refers to strength (as the right hand was the favored hand). It is also reminiscent of Psalm 110 where the LORD’s anointed told to sit at the LORD’s right hand until his enemies were a footstool for his feet. Jesus is the right hand of the LORD. Isaiah 52-53 speak of the arm of the LORD being revealed and working salvation for him, laid bare in the sight of the nations. The strength of God is on full display in the weakness of the cross. It’s a beautiful mystery -- God overcomes the strong through weakness. As we gather to worship, acknowledging this mystery and celebrating our victory should be the central aspect of our being together. We celebrate victory (think VE Day or VJ Day marking the end of WWII). Life can begin again! And we contemplate the marvelous terrible means by which victory was achieved, the sacrifice of one for all. 

17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.

18 The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.

The psalmist declares that he will survive this current crisis. He isn’t saying that he will never die, but that he will live beyond this moment of trial. In the Bible there are only a couple of people who never died (Enoch and Elijah), so the psalmist must be referring to the battle that he is a part of right now and the imminent threat to his life. His celebration from the previous verses is continuing as he shouts his triumph. Furthermore he’ll write about this experience and it will be a testimony to others. The root of the word “book” is the word translated “recount” here. The psalmist’s story is this, “the LORD has disciplined me severely, but not to the point of death.” The phrase “disciplined me severely” is actually the same Hebrew word effectively doubled, a way of showing intensity. This really is a struggle to the brink of death. The psalmist’s near death experience was on the battlefield so it’s not too hard to imagine -- arrows flying, swords clashing, slings propelling lethal stones through the air -- any one of which could do you in. But it’s over and you can go home. These verses take on even more significance when we realize that Jesus prayed them following his Passover meal with the disciples, what is commonly called his Last Supper. His battle was ahead of him, in the garden and on the cross. His victory was not yet complete, the severe discipline lay before him. And yet he could confidently declare the future as if it had already happened. “I shall not die, but I shall live!” The same is true for those who trust in Him to this day. When we face trials and even death itself, we can say with Jesus, “I shall not die, but I shall live”. This is a psalm I’d like to have read at my funeral because it testifies to the enduring truth that salvation from sin and death has been accomplished by the right hand of the LORD. The man at God’s right hand has stepped to the frontline and endured all that the enemy could throw at him. And although there were a few days of darkness when everyone wondered if it was over, a ringing cry was heard on a Sunday morning and those who trust in Jesus now join the song. 

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.

Having just declared his salvation over death, the psalmist asks YHWH now to open the gates of righteousness on his behalf so that he may enter and worship. To further clarify, this gate of righteousness is the gate of the LORD, the one that the righteous enter. The psalmist may be referring to a couple of things here. First, he may be making something of a vow in response to God’s salvation, promising to do what is right going forward, to follow the law of the LORD in doing what is right and executing justice as king. The king was responsible to be a representative of the LORD before the people, a model of personal holiness and the agent of justice in the kingdom, particularly as it related to caring for the poor and punishing the evildoer so that all could live in security. The LORD is a righteous and just king, and the psalmist is promising to act on His behalf for the sake of the nation. A second possibility is that the psalmist is speaking of the gates of the city as he speaks of a procession a few verses later. This psalm could very well be a victory song following battle, and in that context, the psalmist is leading his victorious army back to his capital city and thus he speaks of entering the righteous gates of the city. The army has been an agent of the justice of God in punishing his enemies, and the gates of the city are open to receiving them. There are parallels to Psalm 24 where the gates of the city are opened to welcome the King of Glory to enter in and take his place on the throne. Finally, since this psalm clearly speaks of Jesus (verse 22), perhaps if Jesus is speaking as the psalmist this is a reference to his life, a life of perfect righteousness (moral perfection, justice for the poor, and punishment for the wicked). As such, he is worthy to enter the gate of righteousness. He and He alone is the perfect messianic king, and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem may be the ultimate fulfillment of this psalm. 

21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [Hebrew the head of the corner]

The psalmist uses the metaphor of a rejected foundation stone as the descriptor of how the LORD has dealt with him. The cornerstone (literally, “head of the corner” in Hebrew in Greek) referred to the first foundation stone of a building. In the period of the psalmist, this foundation stone would have been larger than the others and was hand carved to a smooth surface. This would allow for an inscription, and the stone itself would bear the weight and align the walls of the building. The building here is likely one of great significance, a temple to YHWH. Some commentators suggest this psalm is post-exilic and represents the rebuilding of the temple on the foundations of the old. This is significant even today as the highest point on the temple mount in Jerusalem has bedrock that may have served as this foundation. The temple was razed by the Romans in 70 AD and the place is now covered with the Islamic Dome of the Rock, a place which is forbidden for Jews to visit ironically. In the psalmist’s world, he is speaking of himself as the stone the builders rejected. As king and leader he was not expected to be chosen (David was the youngest of 8, and even his own father didn’t think him worthy). He was expected to lose the battle from which he had just emerged victorious. In the eyes of the world, Israel was a tiny country that could never dream of being an empire. It is part of a pattern throughout scripture where the LORD uses the weak, the small, and the despised to overcome and shame the strong. Of course this cornerstone metaphor ultimately is a picture of Jesus, this from the mouth of Jesus himself (Matthew 21:42). Jesus accomplished salvation by becoming weak, subjecting himself to the brutality of the cross, only to overcome in every way possible in his resurrection, and sharing that victory with those of us who have built our lives on his foundation. Jesus is the foundation of the church, every generation of believer resting their lives on his foundation, building on those who have gone before and passed on the faith, aligning themselves with the reality that is revealed in his words. The psalmist is surprised that the LORD chose to rescue him and make something of him. We who have trusted in Jesus as our cornerstone feel the same. Weak, poor, unworthy -- we are rejected by the world but chosen and precious to Him, and it is on the sure foundation of Jesus that we build, not the shifting sands of this current cultural moment. 

23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

The Hebrew word order is reversed from the English translation, thus it is, “The doing of the YHWH is this, it is extraordinary in our eyes.” The “this” here is the previous verse, the laying of the cornerstone, the one rejected by men but chosen and precious to God (Isaiah 28:16). It is the shocking surprise that God delivers the weak through weakness. And there is no doubt that this is pointing to the cross. That is certainly the way the authors of the New Testament saw it. Jesus quoted this verse about himself and Peter was apparently paying attention because he makes much of it in the second chapter of 1 Peter. May we never cease to marvel at the surprise victory achieved on the cross and at the resurrection. Verse 24 continues to speak of this day as made by the LORD and a cause for celebration. This is an example of how the Hebrew, “yom” [day] can refer to both a single day and an era. The “day” on which salvation was accomplished was a single day, a Friday, although it wouldn’t be completed until the following Sunday morning (three days). But there is also the fact that we are living in this “day of salvation”, a phrase that is used in the New Testament to refer to the era of the gospel (2 Corinthians 6:2). Countless calendars and posters feature Psalm 118:24 as a call to be happy today, this day, the date on the calendar. And while rejoicing is always a good thing (Philippians 4:4), that’s not exactly what the verse is about. Every day we should be grateful and thrilled for the marvelous way that God has so thoroughly saved us. Even though He was dropping hints for thousands of years, it’s safe to say that no one figured out how he did it until after the fact, and even then it took a while to sink in. YHWH saves us by sending his son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2), the Passover lamb (I Corinthians 5:7). He saves us by suffering with us, bearing our sorrows, sickness and grief (Isaiah 53). And he saves us by giving us an anchor for our souls when it comes to facing death (Hebrews 6:19-20), the confidence that Jesus has led the way through death that we can attach ourselves to him and follow without fear. This is the day the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.

The translation suggests a chiasm, but that is not the case in Hebrew. It is literally, “I pray, YHWH, save now, I pray, YHWH send prosperity now.” The two word phrase “save now”  is the Hebrew Hosanna. Given the context of the psalm as a processional song, it’s likely that this is something the congregation shouted as the priests prepared to offer the festival sacrifice (verse 27). It’s hard to say with certainty but there may be a litany (call and response) happening here in this moment of the procession. In verse 23 the voice changes from 1st person singular to 1st person plural, suggesting a congregational prayer, the people speaking to God and to the king (leader) who had previously shared his story of God’s deliverance. This takes on even greater significance when Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem on the Sunday before his crucifixion in what is known as his triumphal entry. He rides into the city on a humble donkey, suggesting his own lack of pretension. The people wave branches (signs of gratitude for a bountiful harvest) and they call out these prayers, “Hosanna! Give us success! Blessed be he who comes in the name of the LORD”. Jesus receives their blessing and later when the religious leaders urge him to stifle his worshipers, he refuses, quoting Psalm 8:2, “from the mouths of infants and children you have ordained praise.” When Jesus arrived in triumph that Sunday, most expected him to setup a kingdom that would supplant the Romans. With his ability to command the weather, multiply food, and raise the dead, he would be undefeatable. Surely God had come to earth to rescue his people! This was the mood of the day, and even though the next verse would speak of the Friday sacrifice, the people did not understand how completely God would save. He would not save them politically from the power of the Romans, but we would save them wholly -- spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. They couldn’t be expected to know that because that’s not what they were looking for. What are we looking for from Jesus? Is it possible that we are looking for the wrong things even as we worship him exuberantly? Is it possible that we see him as a different type of messiah than he actually is? We wouldn’t be the first to make that mistake, and we won’t be the last. “Save us, Jesus. Give us success, Jesus. Be exalted (blessed), Jesus”. 

27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

The prayer continues in the 1st person plural with a two-fold declaration. First, YHWH is God. This is an exclusive claim. There is no other God. Second, He has enlightened us. There are two senses of the word “light” here. First, He has revealed himself to mankind through creation and through his word. His word lamps our feet and lights our path. As C.S. Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Second, his light has shone upon us. This is a phrase that typically means favor. God’s face shining on us is a way of describing God’s blessing, God’s look of kindness and mercy upon us. This statement is followed by a command, “bind the festal sacrifice with cords and tie it to the altar.” The climax of the Feast of Passover was the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, reminding the Jewish people of the blood of the lamb that was smeared on their doorposts to protect them from the angel of death, the last of the ten plagues in Egypt. This verse very literally describes how a lamb was tied to the altar before slaughter. Innocent, pure, weak, completely at the mercy of its handlers -- the lamb’s death was inevitable. This of course was prophetic of Jesus, “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The difference of course is that unlike the lamb, Jesus had all power and authority and could have resisted. His was a willing sacrifice. Yes he was held to the cross by nails, but only because he allowed it. This is the mystery, the extraordinarily marvelous way that God saves. He gave up in order to win. He surrendered to gain the victory. He was arrested, bound, beaten, mocked, and crucified, the innocent passover lamb slain for our sins. The crowd seemed eager to usher the lamb to the altar, just as they were on that Good Friday, the mob yelling “crucify him” until Pilate relented. I’d like to think if I had been there I wouldn’t have been among the crowd, but I most certainly have crucified Jesus over and over again by my willful disobedience. Only by his grace, the blood of the lamb, can I plead innocence. 

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.

29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

The psalm returns to the first person singular voice as the king/leader responds to God’s salvation, typified in the festal sacrifice. He recalls both God’s mighty acts of salvation for the nation of Israel as well as his own experience of salvation, and he simply vows to give thanks to God and to make him ultimate. The final verse is an inclusio, a repetition of the first verse, tying the entire psalm together thematically. This is a psalm of thanks for God’s salvation. We who see God’s salvation on this side of the cross have even more reason to be grateful and to marvel at the beauty of God’s rescue plan. Our salvation is complete in Christ. There is nothing that we can add to it. That’s good news because it takes the pressure off of us to save ourselves or contribute in some way to our salvation, and it allows us to simply be grateful for that which has been done for us, to serve God out of love and gratitude rather than fear and obligation. Let my gratitude be expressed in word and deed, publicly and privately, in the highest way possible, that is, in the imitation of Christ.