Psalm 118

This is the last in this series of Hallelpsalms (Pss. 113-118). Psalm 136 is also a Hallelpsalm. Psalm 118 describes a festal procession to the temple to praise and sacrifice to the Lord. The subject is God's loyal love for His people. The situation behind it seems to be God's restoring the psalmist after a period of dishonor. This would have been a very appropriate psalm to sing during the Feast of Tabernacles as well as at Passover and Pentecost. The Lord Jesus and His disciples probably sang it together in the Upper Room at the end of the Lord's Supper (cf. Matt. 26:30).

"As the final psalm of the Egyptian Hallel', sung to celebrate the Passover . . ., this psalm my have pictured to those who first sang it the rescue of Israel at the Exodus, and the eventual journey's end at Mount Zion. But it was destined to be fulfilled more perfectly, as the echoes of it on Palm Sunday and in the Passion Week make clear to every reader of the Gospels."¹⁹³

 1. Praise for Yahweh's loyal love 118:1-4

The first verse is a call to acknowledge God's lovingkindness. Then the psalmist appealed to all Israel, the priests, and all those who fear God to acknowledge the limitless quality of His loyal love (cf. 115:9-13). Perhaps this call and response structure found expression in antiphonal worship in which a leader or leaders issued the call and the people responded.

 2. Praise for Yahweh's deliverance 118:5-21

118:5-9 The writer gave personal testimony to God's delivering him in answer to prayer. Setting him in "a large place"(v. 5, NASB) pictures freedom to move about without constraint. Since God was with him he did not need to fear what other people might do to him (cf. Heb. 13:6). Furthermore the Lord would be his helper so he could expect to prevail over his adversaries. Therefore it is better to trust in Yahweh than to place one's confidence in men, even the most powerful of men.

118:10-13 Note how the Lord gave the psalmist confidence even when his enemies surrounded him. The Lord had cut off his enemies in the past, and he believed He would do so again. The repetition of the phrase in verses 10b, 11b, and 12c expresses his trust in the Lord.

The Hebrew word for "cut them off"(vv. 10, 11, 12) literally means "circumcized them."This may be a prophetic reference to Messiah circumcizing the hearts of the Gentiles. Circumcision was a physical procedure, but it came to symbolize a spiritual change, namely trust in God (Deut. 30:6; cf. Rom. 2:29).¹⁹⁴

118:14-21 The psalmist had relied on the Lord as his strength and his source of joy, and He had saved him. Verse 14 repeats the first line of the Song of the Sea (Exod. 15:2), the song the Israelites sang just after they crossed the Red Sea successfully. The psalmist rejoiced in God's saving strength. Temporary discipline had led to recent deliverance and this provided hope for future salvation. The gates in view probably refer to the temple gates through which worshippers such as the writer entered to praise God.

What a comfort verses 15-18 would have been to the Lord Jesus as He sang them at His last Passover in the Upper Room. They assured Him that He would live again even though He would die.

 3. Praise for Yahweh's triumph 118:22-29

118:22-24 The psalmist seems to have been comparing himself to the stone that the builders (his adversaries) had rejected in view of the preceding context (cf. v. 18). The imagery is common. Whenever builders construct a stone building they discard many stones because they do not fit. The writer had felt discarded like one of these stones, but God had restored him to usefulness and given him a position of prominence in God's work. The "corner stone"(NASB) is more accurately the "capstone"(NIV). Only God could have done this (v. 23). The day of his restoration was obviously one God had brought to pass. Consequently the writer called on everyone to rejoice with him in it.

There are many New Testament references to the stone of verse 22. The Lord Jesus applied it to Himself (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17). Peter and Paul also applied it to Jesus (Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:7). God's amazing resurrection of His rejected Son to the place of supreme universal authority is marvelous to say the least. The day of His resurrection is the greatest day the Lord ever made. It is indeed the basis for the Christian's joy and rejoicing.¹⁹⁵

118:25-29 The psalmist proceeded to pray for the salvation and prosperity of his people (vv. 25-26). The one who comes in the Lord's name refers to anyone who came to worship Yahweh at the temple. The psalmist and the people blessed such an one from the temple. The writer further glorified Yahweh as the giver of light to His people. The NIV of verse 27b gives a better rendering of the Hebrew text than the NASB. It reads, "With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar."This probably refers to a custom at the Feast of Tabernacles. The people waved branches to honor the Lord. Verse 29 repeats verse 1.

The crowds who welcomed Jesus at His Triumphal Entry during Passover season repeated verses 25 and 26 (Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13; cf. Matt. 23:39; Luke 13:35). "Hosanna"translates the Hebrew word for "save."The people believed He was the promised Messiah. They regarded this psalm as predicting the Messiah as is clear from their use of it at the Triumphal Entry. Evidently verse 27b, "with boughs in hand,"led the people to lay their boughs at the feet of Jesus' donkey (Matt. 21:8). It was most appropriate for the people to do what they did since Jesus was entering Jerusalem to provide salvation. Jesus' application of the stone reference to Himself after he entered Jerusalem at His Triumphal Entry was a clear claim to being the Messiah.

This psalm teaches us much about Messiah, but its primary significance as the Israelites used it originally was glorifying God for providing deliverance. This deliverance came after a period of apparent defeat. God had reversed an apparent disaster and brought great joy and victory out of it. We should praise Him, as the writer called on His hearers to do, whenever He does that for us.