Psalm 118

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
Let Israel say:
    “His love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say:
    “His love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say:
    “His love endures forever.”
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
    he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
    I look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees,
    but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
    but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defense;
    he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
    The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
    you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us!
    Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
    up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

• Psalm 118:1-29

Type of Psalm

Prophetic psalms: Prophetic psalms are those psalms containing prophecy that is not specifically Messianic prophecy.

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s mercies to individuals:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“It is probable that David penned this psalm when he had, after many a story, weathered his point at last, and gained a full possession of the kingdom to which he had been anointed. He then invites and stirs up his friends to join with him, not only in a cheerful acknowledgment of God’s goodness and a cheerful dependence upon that goodness for the future, but in a believing expectation of the promised Messiah, of whose kingdom and his exaltation to it his were typical. To him, it is certain, the prophet here bears witness, in the latter part of the psalm. Christ himself applies it to himself (Matt. 21:42), and the former part of the psalm may fairly, and without forcing, be accommodated to him and his undertaking. Some think it was first calculated for the solemnity of the bringing of the ark to the city of David, and was afterwards sung at the feast of tabernacles. In it, I. David calls upon all about him to give to God the glory of his goodness, ver. 1-4. II. He encourages himself and others to trust in God, from the experience he had had of God’s power and pity in the great and kind things he had done for him, ver. 5-18. III. He gives thanks for his advancement to the throne, as it was a figure of the exaltation of Christ, ver. 19-23. IV. The people, the priests, and the psalmist himself, triumph in the prospect of the Redeemer’s kingdom, ver. 24-29. In singing this psalm we must glorify God for his goodness, his goodness to us, and especially his goodness to us in Jesus Christ.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 118:26 “Christ taught that the nation of Israel would not see Him again after His departure (ascension to heaven) until they could genuinely offer these words to Him at His second coming (cf. Matt. 23:39; Luke 13:35). In this historical text, it could have easily been sung by the Jews of Moses’ day, especially at the end of the 40 years but prior to Moses’ death (cf. Deut. 1–33). the house of the LORD. A phrase used in reference to the tabernacle of Moses (cf. Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Deut. 23:18) and later the temple (cf. 1 Kin. 6:1).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

I am nearing three-quarters through these psalms and the source for the “Type of Psalm” is still unknown and Rev. MacArthur, among others, would argue that this is a Messianic prophecy, not simply prophetic.  Rev. MacArthur mentions that Ps. 118 is the most quoted psalm in the New Testament.

A repeated response starts the psalm, “His love endures forever.”  I have heard contemporary worship song writers defend their repetition in that it embeds a phrase that can be a mantra to help you through the week.  These repeated phrases are the same kind of thing.

Then verses 8 and 9 are identical except for one word.  If you cannot trust humans, you surely cannot trust princes.  The next three verses are similar.  After driving home the point about God’s love enduring forever, we will be unable to trust anyone other than God.  And the name of the Lord will cut down our enemies.

Then God has chastened us but we are still alive.  God is the source of our salvation.

Then the often quoted line about the cornerstone that was rejected. With a properly laid cornerstone, we are confident that the rest of the house will stand, but the Jews first rejected God and were sent into exile. Then, with Jesus in their midst, the religious leaders again rejected God, yet Jesus became the cornerstone for those who believe in Him. And indeed, God is the source of our salvation.

And the psalm ends the way the psalm began with praises to God.

We can learn a lot by this structure in the praises that we sing to the Lord.

Psalm 119:1-8 א

א Aleph

Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Blessed are those who keep his statutes
    and seek him with all their heart—
they do no wrong
    but follow his ways.
You have laid down precepts
    that are to be fully obeyed.
Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!
Then I would not be put to shame
    when I consider all your commands.
I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.
I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.

• Psalm 119:1-8

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This is a psalm by itself, like none of the rest; it excels them all, and shines brightest in this constellation. It is much longer than any of them more than twice as long as any of them. It is not making long prayers that Christ censurers, but making them for a pretence, which intimates that they are in themselves good and commendable. It seems to me to be a collection of David’s pious and devout ejaculations, the short and sudden breathings and elevations of his soul to God, which he wrote down as they occurred, and, towards the latter end of his time, gathered out of his day-book where they lay scattered, added to them many like words, and digested them into this psalm, in which there is seldom any coherence between the verses, but, like Solomon’s proverbs, it is a chest of gold rings, not a chain of gold links. And we may not only learn, by the psalmist’s example, to accustom ourselves to such pious ejaculations, which are an excellent means of maintaining constant communion with God, and keeping the heart in frame for the more solemn exercises of religion, but we must make use of the psalmist’s words, both for the exciting and for the expressing of our devout affections; what some have said of this psalm is true, “He that shall read it considerately, it will either warm him or shame him.” The composition of it is singular and very exact. It is divided into twenty-two parts, according to the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and each part consists of eight verses, all the verses of the first part beginning with Aleph, all the verses of the second with Beth, and so on, without any flaw throughout the whole psalm. Archbishop Tillotson says, It seems to have more of poetical skill and number in it than we at this distance can easily understand. Some have called it the saints’ alphabet; and it were to be wished we had it as ready in our memories as the very letters of our alphabet, as ready as our A B C. Perhaps the penman found it of use to himself to observe this method, as it obliged him to seek for thoughts, and search for them, that he might fill up the quota of every part; and the letter he was to begin with might lead him to a word which might suggest a good sentence; and all little enough to raise any thing that is good in the barren soil of our hearts. However, it would be of use to the learners, a help to them both in committing it to memory and in calling it to mind upon occasion; by the letter the first word would be got, and that would bring in the whole verse; thus young people would the more easily learn it by heart and retain it the better even in old age. If any censure it as childish and trifling, because acrostics are now quite out of fashion, let them know that the royal psalmist despises their censure; he is a teacher of babes, and, if this method may be beneficial to them, he can easily stoop to it; if this to be vile, he will be yet more vile.

II. The general scope and design of it is to magnify the law, and make it honourable; to set forth the excellency and usefulness of divine revelation, and to recommend it to us, not only for the entertainment, but for the government, of ourselves, by the psalmist’s own example, who speaks by experience of the benefit of it, and of the good impressions made upon him by it, for which he praises God, and earnestly prays, from first to last, for the continuance of God’s grace with him, to direct and quicken him in the way of his duty. There are ten different words by which divine revelation is called in this psalm, and they are synonymous, each of them expressive of the whole compass of it (both that which tells us what God expects from us and that which tells us that we may expect from him) and of the system of religion which is founded upon it and guided by it. The things contained in the scripture, and drawn from it, are here called, 1. God’s law, because they are enacted by him as our Sovereign. 2. His way, because they are the rule both of his providence and of our obedience. 3. His testimonies, because they are solemnly declared to the world and attested beyond contradiction. 4. His commandments, because given with authority, and (as the word signifies) lodged with us as a trust. 5. His precepts, because prescribed to us and not left indifferent. 6. His word, or saying, because it is the declaration of his mind, and Christ, the essential eternal Word, is all in all in it. 7. His judgments, because framed in infinite wisdom, and because by them we must both judge and be judged. 8. His righteousness, because it is all holy, just, and good, and the rule and standard of righteousness. 9. His statutes, because they are fixed and determined, and of perpetual obligation. His truth, or faithfulness, because the principles upon which the divine law is built are eternal truths. And I think there is but one verse (it is ver. 122) in all this long psalm in which there is not one or other of these ten words; only in three or four they are used concerning God’s providence or David’s practice (as ver. 75, 84, 122), and ver. 132 they are called God’s name. The great esteem and affection David had for the word of God is the more admirable considering how little he had of it, in comparison with what we have, no more perhaps in writing than the first books of Moses, which were but the dawning of this day, which may shame us who enjoy the full discoveries of divine revelation and yet are so cold towards it. In singing this psalm there is work for all the devout affections of a sanctified soul, so copious, so various, is the matter of it. We here find that in which we must give glory to God both as our ruler and great benefactor, that in which we are to teach and admonish ourselves and one another (so many are the instructions which we here find about a religious life), and that in which we are to comfort and encourage ourselves and one another, so many are the sweet experiences of one that lived such a life. Here is something or other to suit the case of every Christian. Isa. any afflicted? Isa. any merry? Each will find that here which is proper for him. And it is so far from being a tedious repetition of the same thing, as may seem to those who look over it cursorily, that, if we duly meditate upon it, we shall find almost every verse has a new thought and something in it very lively. And this, as many other of David’s psalms, teaches us to be sententious in our devotions, both alone and when others join with us; for, ordinarily, the affections, especially of weaker Christians, are more likely to be raised and kept by short expressions, the sense of which lies in a little compass, than by long and laboured periods.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 119 ”’Blessed are those who keep His testimonies.’ We are to keep God’s testimonies as a watchman guards his master’s house, as a steward husbands his lord’s goods, as a shepherd keeps his employer’s flock. We shall have to give an account, for we are put in trust with the gospel, and woe to us if we are found unfaithful. We cannot fight a good fight or finish our course unless we keep the faith. To this end the Lord must keep us; only those who are kept by the power of God unto salvation will ever be able to keep His testimonies. What a blessedness is therefore evidenced and testified by a careful belief in God’s Word, and a continual obedience to it. God has blessed them, is blessing them, and will bless them forever. That blessedness the psalmist saw in others he realized for himself, for in verse 168 he says, ‘I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,’ and in verses 51-56 he traces his joyful songs and happy memories to this same keeping of the Law and confesses, ‘This has become mine, because I kept Your precepts.’ Doctrines that we teach to others we should experience for ourselves.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

This psalm is not attributed to any author.

I will write more about acrostics this afternoon.  I am dividing the longest chapter of the Bible by Hebrew letter, eight verses at a time, all starting with the same letter.  Of course, the acrostic gets lost in translation to another language.

These verses start with Aleph, א.

The psalm starts with praising the person who is blameless, who keeps God’s commandments.

And then in the fifth verse, it shifts completely.  Yes, let’s praise the blameless person.  God’s law should be kept to the letter, but that is not me.  I screw up a lot!

But, Lord, have patience with me.  I will obey your commandments.

God has patience.  I am probably like most people.  I try to be good, but then I mess up again.  Do I continue to repeat the first eight verses of Psalm 119?

It might not be a bad idea, but we must move on.

Psalm 119:9-16 ב

ב Beth

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
    as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on your precepts
    and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees;
    I will not neglect your word.

• Psalm 119:9-16

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

• See Psalm 119:1-8 א above.

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 119:9 “Within a young man are strong passions. Around him are fierce temptations. There are plenty who would defile him. The youth is surrounded by the temptations of having fun and the allurements of folly. ‘How can a young man keep his way pure?’ Here is the answer: by heeding God’s Word. There is no keeping a clean way if we walk with our eyes shut. We must pick our path down a foul road by heeding God’s Word. Yes, the greatest heed we can take will not keep us out of the mire unless God’s Word is a continual lamp to our feet and a constant light on our path.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon and the Psalms

My Thoughts

Let’s take the idea from Aleph and move to the next letter, Beth ב.

If I am a wash, rinse, repeat Christian…  If I constantly get off the path that God wants me on, how can I stop the roller coaster?  Sorry, two metaphors here.  I wash away my sins, I rinse the soap away, and then I repeat the problem that caused me to need to wash, so how do I stop that cycle?

I keep my eyes on Jesus and I obey His commands.

We should not just obey His commands, we should love them.

And how does Jesus boil down all the Old Testament laws?  We love God and we love one another.

I think we have a few songs that fit that idea of loving God and loving each other.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 118

“1. Have you ever felt like a ‘stone the builders rejected’? How did you handle it? Why do you suppose Martin Luther called this his favorite psalm?
“2. Do you feel part of a spiritual community that has gone through ‘chastening’? Or must you ‘go it alone’ spiritually? Who is the ‘us’ in your ‘Lord, save us’?
“3. Where do you need help right now? Joy? Victory? Success? What promise do you hold on to?
“4. ‘Succoth’ is Hebrew for ‘booths’, the common name today for the Feast of Tabernacles. What do you imagine it would be like to build a small booth this fall where you live? (e.g., you could put leaves or branches over a patio or balcony to simulate a booth.) What meal would you then serve to enjoy an evening under the stars? Which of you favorite OT stories would you read to better appreciate the desert wanderings of the Hebrews?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 119:1-8 א

“1. What or whom do you love so much that no language adequately expresses your devotion?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

Psalm 119:9-16 ב

“1. In each 8-verse stanza of this psalm, the verses all begin with the Hebrew letter shown at the top of the stanza. Here what 8 “B-words” describe your group’s opinion of Bible study?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each of these psalms.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.