Psalm 118 — A Messianic Psalm

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

2 Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”

5 When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
12 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.
13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my defense[a];
he has become my salvation.

15 Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

25 LORD, save us!
Lord, grant us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[b]
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up[c] to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Overview

Psalm 118 is the final psalm in the Egyptian Hallel (Psalm 113-Psalm 118). The Egyptian Hallel psalms were recited in the Passover liturgy and the Feasts of Tabernacles. Psalm 118 gathers up the themes of the first five psalms in the Egyptian Hallel: lifting up the poor, the exodus as a manifestation of the Lord’s rule, “threefold invitation to the people named as Israel, the house of Aaron, and fearers of the Lord, thanksgiving for the deliverance from death, and steadfast love of the Lord and calling all the nations to praise the Lord” (Tremper, 831).

Psalm 118 is a liturgy of communal thanksgiving in a liturgical procession which celebrates the deliverance from surrounding enemies and death (Roger, 430). Common conceptions of its historical setting are an old Psalm originally used in “a liturgical setting when a Davidic king led the procession of a pilgrim in a thanksgiving service (vv. 5–21)” (Tremper, 851). It is called a Messianic psalm because it reflects not only a postexilic setting but also interprets the first and second coming of Christ (Phillips, 351).

Structure and Poetic devices

The Psalm is framed by the call of communal thanksgiving (vv. 1–4, 28–29) which envelopes the description of divine rescue (vv. 5–21) as the framework of hymnic praise (Van Harn, 305). The structure and passage are complex because the verbs of the psalm change from singular to plural; the parts of the work are also antiphonal (Ross, 443). Psalm 118 is arranged in an antiphonal call and response, that is sung by several interplays: between the priests blessing and the worshipers’ affirmation of faith, between the people and the individual singer, and between the LORD and the singer (Phillips,251).

Parallel Constructions in Pairs of Verses

• (6) The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
• (7)The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies.
• (8) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.
• (9) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes (VanHarn 304).
• (23) the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
• (24) The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.

Large-scale Parallelism

The description of divine rescue is presented twice, with a different metaphorical system.

The first version in vv. 5–9 elicits a grateful response.

The second version in vv. 10–18 elicits grateful praise (Clifford, 205).

Metaphor

• (22, 23) the stone and the capstone: the suffering and glory of Jesus
• (12) bees, burning thorns: a great victory over the enemies.
• (10–12) hyperbole describing great adversity which is a poetic borrowing from the royal psalms (Tremper, 854).

Repetition

• “Lord,” YHWH, 22 times (Clifford, 204)
• “Yah” is repeated six times, which is a shortened form of Yahweh. vv. 5a, 5b, 14, 17,18, 19
• “Song” 3 times in the bound phrase “my strength and my song”

Theological Analysis

The expository statement of Psalm 118 is prophetic, looking beyond the Lord’s first deliverance from Egypt to Christ’s first and second coming. It corresponds to both Exodus and the New Testament.

First, the psalm contains the Song of the Sea in Exodus (Exod. 15:18). “Yah is my strength… might… deliverance,” Psalm 118 v. 14 and v. 21 presents the theme of this song (Exod.15:2), which is the central event of Israel’s departure from Egypt to Canaan. Several fragments of this song such as, the right hand of the Lord (vv. 15–16 and Exod. 15:6, 12), exaltation of the Lord as “ you are my God” (v. 28 and Exod.15:2b) and steadfast love as the specific motivation of the Lord (vv. 1–4, 29 and Exod. / 15:13) (Gerald, 380), implies that Yahweh’s amazing power and faithfulness to deliver the king stems from the covenant relationship with Israel that the Lord established by his introductory act of salvation in the exodus (VanHarn, 304).

Second, Psalm 118 vv. 22–23 and 25- 26 often appeal to in the New Testaments as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ as the Messianic king: Jesus’s triumphal entry (vv. 25–26), His rejection (v. 27), His death and resurrection (v. 17), and His exaltation as God’s chosen Stone (vv. 22–23). A chorus of worshipers (vv. 22–24) links the king to a stone that was rejected by the builders, has now become the cornerstone. The stone points Messiah. (Matt. 21:42–44; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17–18; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:32–33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Peter 2:6–8) In Acts 4:11, Peter stated that Israel rejected their Messiah, the Cornerstone (Tremper, 365). Jesus became the key capstone of the church in His first coming and will return to deliver his people and judge the world.

Finally, at the altar, the psalm closes with the king acclamation that Yahweh is Israel’s God whom they praise and exalt forever v. 28 and with repetition of an exhortation to communal thanksgiving for God’s unfailing covenant love (v. 29) (Ross, 456). The beginning and final song of the communal thanksgiving bond between the singer and God as the people join their voice in the repeating the chorus. It is not a founding event, but the pattern of God’s faithful future deliverance of His people according to His covenant and the exaltation of Him by His people forever.

Use in Corporate Worship

A Messianic Psalm offers us praise and thanksgiving with the inspiration of our great deliverance from the bondage of sin and the burden of our lives. Both the context and structure of Psalm 118 have great value for the corporate worship since the core of worship is the glory of God, edification of the people, and witnesses of His deed. Even Jesus himself sang this psalm with his disciples in the upper room after the Last Supper (Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26). The structure of antiphonal call and response singing by several interplays also brings great benefits for the congregational singing for participation rather than an audience of the worship. It is a wonderful hymn for the Easter season. However, a Christian can celebrate God’s amazing deliverance connected to the life and death of Jesus, and his second coming at any period of time.

Sources

Clifford, Richard J. Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 73–150 Abingdon press, 2003.

Goldingay, John. Psalms: Volume 3 Psalms 90–150. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008

Gerald, Henry Wilson. Psalm Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.

Longman III, Tremper and David E. Garland. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Phillips, John. Exploring Psalms, Volume Two: An Expository Commentary. Kregel Publication, 1988.

Ross, Allen A. Commentary on the Psalms, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2011.

Van Harn, Roger E. and Brent A. Strawn. Psalms for Preaching and Worship: A lectionary Commentary. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co,2009.