7/8/19
Tom Lowe
Psalm 118: The Journey Home
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Introduction:
The human author of this psalm is unknown but many have offered suggestions; some include David, Hezekiah, Isaiah, Nehemiah, Zechariah, and Haggai. Most Bible Scholars will tell you that the psalm is post-exilic and that it was written at the time when the remnant returned from Babylon with the intention of reanimating Hebrew national life in the Promised Land. If David is the writer, then it was very likely composed when the civil wars between the houses of Saul and David was ended, and David was recently settled in the kingdom of all Israel, and had recently brought the ark of God to his royal city.
We can connect Psalm 118 with the celebration of the feast of the Tabernacles (that annual feast of rejoicing and anticipating the millennium) recorded in Nehemiah 8. The walls of Jerusalem had been completed in spite of fierce opposition from Samaritans and others.
It is the last of the Hallel psalms{5] (113-118) and it was sung at the close of the Paschal Feast (Passover or Easter). It is a messianic psalm also. Certain verses are associated in our minds with the Lord Jesus Himself and with His earthly life and ministry.
This psalm is liturgical, it was sung at the Feast of Tabernacles{4] as the worshippers drew near to the gates of the Temple proclaiming the miracle of God's magnificent deliverance of His people.
It is also prophetic; looking beyond the Lord’s first coming to His coming again, to the time when He will deliver Israel from its foes at Armageddon and lead the world into the millennium age.
Commentary: Psalm 118:1-29 (KJV)
(v.1-4) The journey begins with praise for God for his wonderful goodness and grace.
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
What a blessing it is to find something that lasts forever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
(v. 2) Praising the Lord is not always the spontaneous expression of the heart that has received Jesus. But God is going to be praised for all eternity by every living creature―it has been predetermined by God, who will make it happen. Everyone will not accept Him as their Savior, but everyone will have Him as their sovereign (king) and they will give Him the honor and glory that is His by sovereign right. The Israelite laity is called here the House of Israel.
(v. 3)The house of Aaron were the priests and Levites who were greatly discouraged and oppressed in Saul’s time, and will receive great benefits under the new government.
(v. 4) The Gentile proselytes (those that fear the LORD) that existed in David’s time were likely to be in greater number than before.
(vs. 5-18) Jesus was a long way from home, and He was beset with difficulties and danger; the path He must follow was no stroll through fields filled with daisies, nor was it lined with happy people waving palm branches.
There were four major stopping places along that appalling agonizing road our Lord must travel. They all seem to be mirrored here in these verses―Gethsemane (vs. 5-7), Gabbatha (vs. 8-9), Golgotha (vs. 10-13), and glory (vs. 14-18).
First stop: At Gethsemane
5 I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
(v. 5) There is no way we can measure the distress that overtook the Lord in Gethsemane. Certainly the agony He experienced would have killed an ordinary man. When His suffering reached maximum intensity the great drops of sweat pouring off of Him seemed to turn to blood.
Yet Satan did not succeed in stopping the Lord Jesus from pursuing His ultimate goal. He was delivered―He “set me in a large place.” We shall never know how large that place is until we stand with Him to observe the breathtaking wonders of God’s new creation.
The theme of the whole psalm is given in verse 5. The spirit of Israel across the centuries is here concentrated into a single sentence: distress, cry to the Lord, and the Lord’s answer.
(v. 6) Judas led a mob―that had come to arrest Jesus―into the garden; they thought they could quickly try Him and then they would crucify Him and be rid of Him for good. Jesus met that mob and faced them with a peace that passes all understanding. He stood there calmly, His soul filled with quiet confidence. He had won the victory. He could say, “No man taketh it [My life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father” (John 10:18). When Pilate threatened Him with death on a cross, He replied, “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above . . .” (John 19:11). He had no fear of what man could do to Him. Man is a frail and impotent creature in himself, and even more so when he is opposed to the Almighty God.
7 The LORD taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
“The LORD taketh my part with them that help me” because He is one of my helpers, and He enables them that defend me.
Let us stand with Him a little longer in Gethsemane. “Whom seek ye?” we hear Him say to that mob. “Jesus of Nazareth,” they reply. “I AM” was His simple reply. They fell flat on their backs. It happened three times. At any time He could have simply walked off this earth and gone anywhere He wanted. But He chose to go to Calvary. The way of the cross led home. That was the path marked out in eternity before the worlds began, before He stooped down to fashion Adam’s clay, before the serpent raised his head in Eden, before by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin.
The Lord’s adversaries put their trust in their own numbers and in those they consider great men.
Second stop: At Gabbatha
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Take Simon Peter, for instance. Suppose the Lord had put confidence in Him. He was smoking flax, a broken reed. The Lord would not quench the smoking flax, nor break the bruised reed, but neither would He put confidence in it. He knew Peter better than Peter knew himself. “Though all men forsake Thee, yet will not I,” Peter said. Jesus knew he would.
Look at Herod and Pilate. Suppose the Lord had put confidence in them. No one could trust Herod Antipas, the treacherous son of Herod the Great who had massacred the male children of Bethlehem. Herod Antipas had stolen his own brother’s wife. He had murdered John the Baptist to pacify the same wicked woman. The Lord was certainly not going to put confidence neither in him nor in Pilate. Pilate undoubtedly wished him well and no doubt would have released Him had it been expedient. He was, however, more concerned about being Caesar’s friend than in doing what he knew to be right. The Lord was not going to put His trust in man.
Third stop: At Golgotha
There we see two foes massed against Him. There are:
THE HUMAN FOES
10 All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them.
11 They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
12 They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.
(v. 10) “All nations compassed me about,” that is, the neighboring and heathen nations, Philistines, Syrians, Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites. They were stirred up and itching for a fight, partly by David’s overthrow of their nation; partly by their jealousy of David’s growing greatness and influence in the area and fear for themselves; and partly, due to their hatred of the true religion.
(v. 11) The Lord is unimpressed by their nationalities, by their numbers, or by their nature. “All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them [cut them off]. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD, I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the LORD I will destroy them.” The repetition of the phrase, “They compassed me about,” implies the frequency and fervency of this action, and the confidence they had in being successful.
(v. 12) The fire of thorns suggests the fierce nature of His foe. But a fire of thorns, although it blazes up and burns fiercely, soon dies out. It has no lasting substance from which to produce new heat. One swift blaze and it is over. That is how the Lord’s foes appeared to Him; like bees{1]. Just as men drive bees from the honeycomb by fire and smoke, those enemies have been driven off by God’s help. Calvary was fierce and furious, but it was soon to be over and then Jesus’ foes would be powerless to ever harm Him again. He would overcome them in the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord was stronger than their swords and spears.
So much for human foes, but there is another one. There is:
THE HIDDEN FOE
13 Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD helped me.
Many commentators do not know what to make of this verse. Who is the “thou” it speaks of? He is not only unnamed, he is invisible. Undoubtedly, that unseen, hidden invisible foe can only be Satan.
We know that Satan and his hosts were at the cross because the Lord Jesus triumphed over them there. Paul says the Christ triumphed over “principalities and powers making a show of them openly in His cross.”
Satan was there having his final moment of what seemed to be triumph.” “Thou hast thrust sore at me.” The Hebrew version of the passage is even more graphic. It says, “Thrusting thou hast thrust me through.” That parting final thrust was as vicious as the hosts of hell could make it.
If the “thou” that the psalmist speaks of is NOT Satan, then it may refer to Saul, the great enemy of David, and the head of all his enemies, whom for the sake of his honor he withholds his name; or some other chief commander of his enemies. Or the singular word is here put collectively for all his enemies.
Fourth stop: In Glory
14 The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.
15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.
“The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation, i.e. my Savior. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous.” “The Lord is my strength and song”; He is the author of my strength, and therefore the just object of my song and praise.”
“The voice of rejoicing and salvation,” of rejoicing and thanksgiving for the joy and salvation which the Lord has wrought for me, “is in the tabernacles of the righteous”; partly because they clearly saw God’s hand in the work, and therefore took pleasure in it; and partly because all good men suffered great inconveniences under Saul’s government, as David complains in some of the forgoing Psalms, and expected and received extraordinary benefits by David’s advancement, both in their civil and religious concerns. “The right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly.” These are the words of that song of joy and praise mentioned above.
The primary reference seems to be to the tents of the pilgrims pitched outside of the walls of Jerusalem at the joyous feast of Tabernacles. The ultimate reference is to a coming day when Jesus will return and set up His kingdom in Israel. The intermediate reference is to the Lord now, in Heaven, rejoicing with His redeemed people over the great salvation He has wrought.
The outcome of Israel’s numerous experiences of rescue and assistance down through the centuries has built up in the soul of Israel a confidence in God’s saving help. Consequently, Israel can praise the Lord as a God of effective power, who works on behalf of His people. In his mind, the psalmist hears the joyous shouts of deliverance in the tents of Israel wherever his people are. They feel confident that in spite of all they have suffered and yet will suffer as a people, they will not die. Instead, Israel interprets that suffering as having been sent by God Himself for His people. But this has been done, not in order to destroy them, but as a severe discipline for them, which has been designed to make their lives worth the living and to fill their mouth with praise.
The theme of the rejoicing is given: “the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly{2].”
Look at that right hand of His. It is a pierced hand, engaged now in a priestly work, raised at God’s right hand in answer to all the accusations of the evil one against the people of God. Satan cannot get anywhere near the throne with his venomous charges because that hand is raised to silence every word he utters.
17 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.
“I shall not die” as soon as my enemies want me too, nor will I die by their sword, as they hope and endeavor to make it happen. I will instead, “declare the works of the LORD”; one branch of which is the total destruction of my enemies. The Lord implies that He did not desire life and that He will not use His life as His enemies did theirs but rather for the service and glory of God.
“The LORD hath chastened me sore,” which is to say, that He punished me severely by the hands of my enemies, and He did it for my greater good and their own greater and surer ruin and confusion.
Calvary with its sorrows and suffering is left behind. He lives forever in the power of an endless life. The tree and the tomb are behind Him. He inhabits eternity, there to proclaim the merits of a finished work.
But although the Lord is now in heaven, seated at God’s right hand in the rest and enjoyment of a finished work, there remains one more step. We have arrived at the climax of the journey (vs. 19-29). The world is still in the grip of the evil one. The nation of Israel is still living in sin, living in unbelief. The closing verses of the psalm anticipate the coming climax of the age when those things, too, will be set right. The scene moves on to the close of Armageddon and to the commencement of the millennial reign.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD:
20 This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
These may be the words of either (1) the Levites, or (2) of the returning gatekeepers, or (3) of David himself, who stands as it were, pausing and contemplating before he makes his entrance. This is that holy and blessed gate which I thirsted for, for so long during my banishment, and which now is very beautiful in my sight. I will enter here and all other righteous persons will follow My example and encouragement. But just as David is a type of Christ, and the temple a type of heaven, this place has even greater prospects than David, for it relates to Christ’s ascending to heaven, and opening the gates of that blessed temple, both for Himself, and for all righteous men or believers.
The Lord Jesus is now at the threshold of the Temple where He gives a simple prayer. The Lord will bring the rescued earthly people of Israel to the temple gates. He will demand entrance knowing that He has the right to enter. “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the LORD” (v. 19). The Lord here uses figurative and poetical speech whereby He speaks to the gates themselves as if they had sense and understanding. Or by saying “open,” he implies that these gates had been shut to him for a long time in Saul’s day.
By “the gates of righteousness” is meant the gates of the Lord’s tabernacle, the proper and usual place of the solemn performance of priestly duties. But, why are they called the “gates of righteousness”: Partly in opposition to the gates of death of which he speaks implicitly (v. 18), and expressly (Ps. 9:13{7]; 107:18), which may be called the gates of sin or unrighteous, because death is the wages of sin; partly, because there the rule of righteousness was kept and taught, and the sacrifices of righteousness (as they are called, Ps. 4:5{8]) were offered, and various other exercises of righteousness or of God’s service were performed; and partly, because those gates were to be opened to all righteous persons and only to such, for the unclean and unrighteous were to be shut up and kept out by the gatekeepers (2 Chron. 23:19){9]; compare Isa. 26:2).
When Jesus lived on earth the first time He could enter the court of the Gentiles, the court of the Women, and the court of Israel, but He could not go one step further. He was born of the royal tribe of Judah, not the priestly tribe of Aaron. He could not go where the priests could go. Now He has gone all the way in, into the holy place where only the priests could minister. Into the holy of holies (barred in olden times, hidden by the veil) where only the high priest could go―and then only once a year after elaborate preparations.
Our Lord is a priest of a new order, a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The old Aaronic scheme of things has passed away. Access is His by sovereign right. The Temple is His.
We notice too, that acceptance is rightfully His: “This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter” (v. 20). Reference is now made to a special gate. The RSV rephrases this verse to read, “This is the gate that belongs to Jehovah; the righteous may enter into it.” We do not know what gate this is. Perhaps it is a gate that led directly into the Temple itself.
Notice also that acclaim is rightfully His: “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation” (v. 21). This is His ultimate triumph―to enter the holy of holies. The returning Christ is not only allowed in there, but shouts of praise accompany Him on His way. When King Uzziah tried to minister there he instantly became a leper and was thrown out by the terrified priests. But Jesus has access, acceptance, and acclaim, because of the salvation He fashioned at Calvary.
The commonwealth of Israel and the church of God are compared here and in other places in scripture to a building; the people being the stones and the mortar, the princes and rulers are the builders. It is their job to erect, support, and improve the building, and to use their wisdom and power in choosing the best material for the various parts and purposes of the building. But it was also their function to reject ”bad” material.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous. in our eyes.
The “stone” contemptuously despised by the Jewish leaders when they rejected Jesus is now the stone conspicuously displayed.
The cornerstone or headstone was the most important stone in the building. It was a strong stone meant to cap the building and to bond the walls together. One suggestion has been made that the cornerstone can be likened to the capstone of a pyramid which, itself a perfect pyramid, brings to an apex all the lines and planes of a pyramid.
The Lord Jesus is the perfect cornerstone. He who was cast aside by the builders of Rabbinic Judaism, and whom they have consistently rejected ever since is yet to be given His rightful place by Israel. The Holy Spirit through the pen of the psalmist declares, “This is the LORD'S doing,” for it is an effect of Christ’s omnipotent wisdom, done not only without the help of man, but against the deceit and forces of men.
24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
This is a wonderful statement, and you are probably familiar with it, especially verses 24 and 26.
“This is the day which the LORD hath made;” either created or exalted and glorified as this word is used in 1 Sam. 12:6, or sanctified by His glorious presence and work, and by His appointment, as a time or season never to be forgotten, but to be observed with great thankfulness and rejoicing.
“I beseech thee,” or we beseech thee; because the Hebrew words may be rendered either way. These seem to be the words of the Levites to whom he spoke in verse 19; but it could be the words of the people, who are using these joyful acclamations or prayers to God for the preservation of their king and kingdom. These words are said by some, either (1), to have been spoken by Christ or (2), to be applied to Christ, even by the Jews themselves (Mark 11:9{10]; John 12:13). Verse 25 is the New Year’s prayer of the congregation, a prayer for God’s help; and verse 26, a prayer for a successful new year.
“Blessed (Happy) be (is) he” is a phrase found many times in Scripture and it is usually followed by a brief description of that which made him happy. We earnestly pray that God would bless this person, his family, home, business etc.
“In the name of the LORD” describes how one will come and how he may do it. We have come from the Lord by command and commission from Him, and for His service and glory.
“We have blessed you out of the house of the LORD”; we who are the Lord’s ministers, serve Him in His house, and are appointed to bless in His name (Num. 6:23; Deut. 10:8{11]). We do pray for and in God’s name pronounce His blessing upon you.
27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
At the feast of Tabernacles, a solemn procession of the people compassed the great altar of burnt offering in the outer court. Once each day, for six days, they marched around it crying out, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” On the seventh day, they marched around the altar seven times, still shouting Hosannas.
The practice looked forward in time, as did the entire feast of Tabernacles. Everything is prophetic of the coming millennial reign of Christ. The Lord will rescue Israel from her foes at Megiddo. He will cleanse the world of everything that offends, and He will restore Jerusalem, making Israel the head of the nations, the headstone of His kingdom, He will rebuild the Temple according to Ezekiel’s plan and then will lead the redeemed peoples in a great celebration of the feast of Tabernacles. Festal{3] sacrifices will be offered, not for their mediatorial value, but their memorial value. They will be a solemn reminder of Calvary.
“God is the Lord”; God has proven Himself to be the Lord Jehovah by accomplishing His promises. Or, the Lord or Jehovah is God, as it was said on another solemn occasion and appearance of God (1 Kings 18:29{12]). God is the Lord “which hath shewed us light,” for He caused the light to shine out of darkness. He has scattered our thick dark clouds, and put us into a state of peace, and comfort, and safety, and happiness.
“Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” These words as well as those that follow and those that come before them (v.28), may be the words of David unto the priests, who had now blessed him in God’s name (v .26). “Bind to the horns of the altar” which are supposed by various learned men to be made for this very use; and this may seem probable from EX. 29:11-12{13], where we read that the animals were to be killed by the doors of the tabernacle, which was very near the altar of burnt-offerings, and then immediately part of their blood was to be put on the horns of the altar and the rest poured out at the bottom of it. So these may be David’s words to his servants to go and bring one of his animals to be offered to God in his name.
28 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee.
29 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
What a day it will be when Israel shouts out this song of worship and of witness―hosannas for the Lord Jesus Christ. Once they said, “We have no king but Caesar. Once they said, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” One day the redeemed nation will look to Jesus singing, “God save the king!”
Special Notes and Scripture
[1} His foes were like bees in that they struck quickly and with ferocity, and when the battle ended the victors quietly returned to their homes. They were also like bees because they attacked without warning and delivered pain and death to their enemies. Bees swarm frantically and deliver a painful sting that leaves the stinger in the victim, but giving up their stinger meant nearly instantaneous death for bees.
[2} The right hand of the Lord has appeared and evidently it has done great things.
[3} Festal: of or relating to a feast or festival: FESTIVE
[4} During the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, the Jewish people were to gather together in Jerusalem not only to remember God's provision in the Wilderness but also to look forward to that promised Messianic age when all nations will flow to this city to worship the Lord.
[5} Hallel consists of six Psalms (113–118), which are recited as a unit, on joyous occasions including the three pilgrim festivals mentioned in the Torah, Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Sukkot (the "bigger" Jewish holy days), as well as at Hanukkah and Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the new month).
[6} “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression” (Ps. 19:13).
[7} “Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:” (Ps. 9:13).
[8} “Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD” (Ps. 4:5)
[9} “And he set the porters (gatekeepers) at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.” (2 Chron. 23:19).
[10} “And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:” (Mark 11:9).
[11} “At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day” (Deut. 10:8)
[12} “And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.”(1 Ki. 18.29).
[13} “You shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the doorway of the tent of meeting. You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar.” (Ex. 29:11-12)