I. (118:1–4) Let Everyone Give Thanks to the Lord. The opening section calls on the congregation to “give thanks to the Lord” (cf. 106:1; 107:1), “for he is good” (cf. comment on 100:1–5 [at v. 5]). Each group among the people (“Israel,” “the house of Aaron,” and “those who fear the Lord”; cf. comment on 115:9–11) should recite this marvelous truth: God’s “steadfast love endures forever” (cf. Psalm 136 for a similar repetition of this phrase).

II. (118:5–7) I Called and He Answered. The “personal testimony” part of the psalm (cf. Section Overview and Outline) begins by recounting an instance in which the singer “called on the Lord” and “the Lord answered [him] and set [him] free.” God’s answer shows that he is “on [the singer’s] side” and ensures that he “shall look in triumph on those who hate [him]” (that is, on those who brought about distress).

The matter of identifying “I” here is particularly prominent. We may suppose that “I” either represents or personifies all Israel and that the worshipers should see themselves as members of this body that God has delivered. The images of danger and deliverance are largely military, and the psalm makes no mention of a king or general who might be the featured person. On the other hand, “I” may be a particular faithful member of the people, whose experiences parallel the history of the whole people. Support for this comes from the way in which Psalm 116, also in the Hallel, stresses individual themes. In either case, a conscientious priest would make sure that worshipers did not abuse the notion of the Lord’s being on their side with presumption or carelessness; rather, the notion should lead the faithful to conform themselves more and more to being on the Lord’s side.

Hebrews 13:6 urges its Jewish Christian readers to apply Psalm 118:6 to themselves, especially as they are tempted to fear what man can do to them (which is why they considered returning to “ordinary” Judaism; cf. comment on 110:2–4 [at v. 4]).

III. (118:8–9) The Lord Is a Sure Refuge. These experiences of God’s help show that “it is better to take refuge in the Lord” (cf. 31:1–2 and comment; 62:8) than to “trust in man,” particularly in “princes,” the latter probably used as an exemplar of merely human power, which seems to be that in which the enemies of 118:7 trust (cf. 146:3).

IV. (118:10–13) The Gentiles Surrounded Me, and the Lord Delivered Me. This section recounts a particular distress, apparently amid a battle: “All nations surrounded” the singer (when they should have joined him in worship; 117:1) and would have killed him, but “the Lord helped” him, and “in the name of the Lord” (i.e., acting as his representative) he “cut them off” (he defeated them). Not every worshiper would have had this kind of experience, and therefore this description probably invites them to use the battle as an image for analogous situations. (Cf. discussion about “I” in comment on 118:5–7.)

V. (118:14–16) We Sing Glad Songs of Salvation. The deliverance of verses 10–13 leads the worshipers to picture the celebration in the camp of God’s people. Verse 14 uses the words of Moses’ victory song (Ex. 15:2; cf. Isa. 12:2), and then Psalm 118:15–16 describes what one can hear in the camp after the battle: the “glad songs of salvation,” which would be the glad songs rejoicing in God’s victory (cf. Ex. 15:1–18). “The right hand of the Lord” is another echo of Moses’ song (Ex. 15:6). The deliverance is therefore connected to the Israelites’ crossing of the Red Sea—perhaps as something like it in some way (another one of the Lord’s great deeds for his people) or perhaps as one of those personal experiences that membership in the exodus community affords.

VI. (118:17–18) Though the Lord Disciplines Me, I Will Not Die. The experience of deliverance, and the security the faithful people have in God, lead to the reflection “I shall not die, but I shall live.” The next line then clarifies for each member of the congregation why God would extend life: that one might “recount the deeds of the Lord” (cf. comment on 116:8–11). The situations of danger (118:5, 10–13) were not God’s rejection of “me” (cf. discussion about “I” in comment on 118:6–7) but his severe discipline, aiming to bring the singer to see more clearly that in God he is secure.

VII. (118:19–27) Let Me Enter the Gate of the Lord’s House. The next section seems to picture the singers in a liturgical procession, approaching the “gates” (v. 19) that lead into the temple courts—note the mention of “the house of the Lord” (v. 26), “the festal sacrifice” (v. 27), and “the altar” (v. 27).

The “gates of righteousness” (v. 19) are most readily understood as the gates of the temple, through which the worshipers “enter” (vv. 19, 20) in order to “give thanks to the Lord” in worship (vv. 21, 28–29); they are also called the “gate of the Lord” (v. 20). The “righteous” (v. 20) are God’s own people (because they have God’s righteous laws; Deut. 4:8), especially the faithful (who keep those laws). The phrase “become my salvation” echoes Psalm 118:14.

Verses 22–23 use an image from ancient building practices (perhaps suggested by the newly built temple itself): the “cornerstone” is probably the large stone at the corner of the building’s foundation, though some think it is the keystone or capstone of an arch (but the very similar expression in Isa. 28:16 makes the foundation interpretation more likely). The “builders” are the wise and knowledgeable ones who have designed the building and supervised its construction, and they have “rejected” some particular “stone” as unsuited for this purpose. But they were wrong in their judgment. The psalm is likening Israel (or the person who has suffered) to such a stone; the imperial powers thought little of Israel, but God chose his people to be the cornerstone of his great plan for the world. “This is the Lord’s doing”; it is not a merely human accomplishment. The NT writers use this text (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7) to indicate that the powerful figures who reject Jesus (esp. the Jewish leaders) are no wiser than the world powers that thought so little of Israel. Just as the Lord’s plan prevailed in preserving and elevating Israel, so it will prevail in preserving and elevating Jesus.700

“This is the day” (Ps. 118:24) probably refers to the festival day that occasioned the psalm and the day the psalm commemorates.

Verse 25 urges the Lord, “Save us, we pray!” For “save” and “salvation” cf. verses 14–15, 21 (and comment on 3:1–2). This expression (Hb. hoshiʻah-na), when transliterated into Greek, becomes hosanna (Matt. 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9, 10; John 12:13).

Psalm 118:25–27 have initiated a focus on “we” and “us” in the psalm, the people of Israel viewed as a company of worshipers. In verse 26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” requires explanation. There is no indication of some special person in view, so likely it refers to anyone who comes in the name of the Lord (cf. v. 11). Since the “you” in the following line (“we bless you”) is plural, it may be that “he who comes” is also corporate (namely, all Israel; cf. v. 11). The logic, then, is “He is to be blessed, and therefore we obediently bless such ones.”701 The crowds use these words in their shouts at Jesus’ triumphal entry (Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13), indicating they think it to be a special occasion. Jesus uses these words in speaking to Jerusalem; because of her resistance to God, her “house” (probably the temple) is desolate, and she will have to greet Jesus with these words if she is to “see” him properly (Matt. 23:39; Luke 13:35).

“The Lord is God” (Ps. 118:27) is more than a truism. The Lord, who has pledged himself to Israel, is the one true and supreme God; the Gentiles might know about him, but in general they do not know him.702 “He has made his light to shine upon us” uses the words of the Aaronic benediction (Num. 6:24–26), as do other psalms (cf. Pss. 31:16; 67:1; 80:3, 7, 19). The covenant people are those whom the Lord blesses, and they enjoy the privilege of the “festal sacrifice” and “altar.”

VIII. (118:28–29) I Will Give You Thanks and Praise. With its closing words the psalm has the individual members of the congregation pledge themselves (“I will give thanks . . . I will extol”) to the song in which they invited each other to join (v. 1).