Psalm 118

Introduction.—Ps. 118 is a national hymn of thanksgiving. It has been generally regarded as composed for some national festival. The psalm seems to fall into two main divisions: vs. 1–19, believed to have been sung by the procession of Israelites on their way to the Temple to offer sacrifices or to celebrate some festival; v. 19 being recited by the company as it reached the gate and requested permission to enter; vs. 20–28, the conversation between those at the Temple and those who have arrived; and finally, a mighty chorus by the entire group (v. 29).

1. O give thanks. The theme of the psalm is thanksgiving. All are invited to join in this great chorus of praise.

Mercy. Heb. chesed, “love” (see Additional Note on Ps. 36).

2. Let Israel now say. Israel had been the special recipient of God’s love. The Lord had delivered the people from Egypt and had led them through the wilderness to the Land of Promise.

3. House of Aaron. The sons of Aaron were set apart to their sacred office.

4. That fear. All who have accepted the worship of Jehovah, whether Jew or Gentile, priests or people, are earnestly exhorted to join in the song of praise.

5. Large place. Or, “roomy place.” That is, the Lord brings us out to a place where we are not distressed by circumstances, but where we are free to move about.

6. On my side. Literally, “for me.” The psalmist was calm and confident although in the midst of enemies who were continually plotting to take his life. He knew that if the Lord was for him, no one could stand against him (see Rom. 8:31).

7. Taketh my part. God joins with those who help the psalmist and leads him on to victory.

My desire. These words are not in the Hebrew text. The clause reads literally, “And I shall look at them that hate me.”

8. In the Lord. Confidence placed in man is often betrayed, but the Lord never fails those who place their confidence in Him.

9. In princes. Even those who are noble in rank and mighty in power cannot be wholly relied upon. Despite his best intentions man is liable to fail because of his human weaknesses.

12. Fire of thorns. Such a fire blazes up brilliantly and fiercely for a brief span and then rapidly dies down.

14. My strength and song. In the Hebrew this verse is identical with the first part of Ex. 15:2. The psalmist may have recalled Israel’s great deliverance at the Red Sea. The Deliverer who rescued the Israelites from Egypt still lives.

15. Tabernacles. Literally, “tents,” or “dwellings.”

17. I shall not die. The psalmist expresses his assurance that at this time he would not die and thus give cause for his enemies to rejoice. When gloom and darkness have encircled the saints of God and they have despaired of life, this text has brought comfort to their discouraged hearts. These words were spoken by the great English Reformer, John Wycliffe, who, from his bed of illness, announced that he would live to declare the evil deeds of the friars (see GC 88).

18. The Lord hath chastened me. From time to time the Lord permits affliction to come to His people in order to wean them away from the things of earth. The chastening rod seems hard, but it is administered by an all-wise and all-loving hand (see Job 5:17; Prov. 3:11; Heb. 12:5, 7, 11).

19. Gates of righteousness. Evidently a reference to the gates of the Temple, perhaps called “gates of righteousness” because of the standard of righteousness to which God was seeking to lead those who entered there.

21. Thou hast heard me. Literally, “thou hast answered me.”

22. The stone. A prophecy based on an actual historical incident that occurred during the building of Solomon’s Temple (see DA 597, 598).

The head stone. That is, the chief stone of the corner. Isaiah was shown that this stone was a symbol of Christ (Isa. 8:13–15; 28:16; cf. Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6). In His humiliation Christ was despised and rejected, but in His glorification He has become the head of all things both in heaven and in earth (Eph. 1:22).

23. Lord’s doing. The exaltation of Christ is not the work of man. God Himself “hath highly exalted him” (Phil. 2:9).

24. The day. This verse has been interpreted by Athanasius, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, and others as referring to Sunday as the day of worship for the NT church. One may well ask how this passage, without any contextual relationship to any weekly day of worship, could be applied to the first day of the week. These commentators make such an application by connecting v. 24 with vs. 22, 23. They claim that since Christ is the chief cornerstone of His church (see vs. 22, 23), and the whole structure of Christianity is built on Him, therefore the day of His resurrection is the day when He was made “head stone of the corner,” and that this resurrection day is the day spoken of in v. 24.

Other commentators reject this interpretation, asserting that they see no basis in the context for a reference to any day of weekly worship. Among this latter group are Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and many modern expositors. They believe that Ps. 118 was composed either in connection with the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles of Nehemiah’s time (see Neh. 8:14–18), and hence apply the expression “this is the day” to that event, or in connection with whatever other special day of rejoicing the psalm was intended to celebrate.

Ps. 118 is a congregational song of praise. Verse 19 seems to picture a group of worshipers standing before the gates of the Temple crying for admittance. Verse 20 gives the response of the priests within the Temple. “This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it” (RSV). As the procession enters the sacred precincts, they cry in ecstasy, “This is the day, etc.” Verses 20, 24 both begin with the Hebrew demonstrative pronoun zeh. In v. 20 the text points to the gate, a present reality. Verse 24 points to the day on which the gate was being entered, also a present reality. Patently, Sunday is not even hinted at in this text.

25. Save now. Heb. hoshiaФah nnaХ, which may also be translated “save, I pray thee.” The “Hosanna” sung on the occasion of the triumphal entry (see Matt. 21:9) apparently had its origin in these two Hebrew words.

26. Blessed be he. When Christ rode in triumph into Jerusalem the disciples exclaimed, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38).

27. Shewed us light. As God brought forth light at creation’s morn (see Gen. 1:15), so He will banish the darkness of the night of calamity and reveal the light of His favor.

Sacrifice. Heb. chag, “a festival.” Chag occurs 61 times and is translated “sacrifice” only here and in Ex. 23:18 and Isa. 29:1. The translation is open to question, and many translators prefer to be consistent by rendering chag as “festival” or “feast” in these three instances also. For “cords” (Heb. Фabothim) some of the ancient versions read, “boughs.” This combination of ideas suggests a highly decorative feast, with boughs decorating the procession or the route of the procession all the way to the “horns of the altar.” There seems to be no satisfactory explanation of the passage if the original translation is retained.

29. O give thanks. A fitting close to such a royal psalm.

Ellen G. White comments

8, 9 5T 427

17 1T 96

19 PP 539

22 DA 597

26 DA 592

27 1T 169, 398