|
Click a verse to see commentary
|
Select a resource above
|
Psalm 118A Song of Victory1 O give thanks to the L ord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” 4 Let those who fear the L ord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the L ord; the L ord answered me and set me in a broad place. 6 With the L ord on my side I do not fear. What can mortals do to me? 7 The L ord is on my side to help me; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the L ord than to put confidence in mortals. 9 It is better to take refuge in the L ord than to put confidence in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me; in the name of the L ord I cut them off! 11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the L ord I cut them off! 12 They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like a fire of thorns; in the name of the L ord I cut them off! 13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the L ord helped me. 14 The L ord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.
15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the L ord does valiantly; 16 the right hand of the L ord is exalted; the right hand of the L ord does valiantly.” 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the L ord. 18 The L ord has punished me severely, but he did not give me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the L ord.
20 This is the gate of the L ord; the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the L ord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the L ord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we beseech you, O L ord! O L ord, we beseech you, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the L ord. We bless you from the house of the L ord. 27 The L ord is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
29 O give thanks to the L ord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
|
27. Jehovah is God Here the prophet establishes what he said formerly, that God, out of compassion to his Church, dissipated the darkness, and introduced the light of his grace, when David mounted the throne, for that was the harbinger of the redemption which was anticipated to be effected in due time by Christ. He also asserts that God was the author of that deliverance, so wonderful and unlooked for, and he declares that, by the result, he plainly showed himself to be truly God. These words, Jehovah himself is a strong God, because he has restored the light of life to us, are tacitly emphatical. For as the faithful, in consequence of the confused state of the Church, were reduced almost to the brink of despair; the ungodly imagined that all this had happened regarding the children of Abraham, by reason of God himself having, as it were, forsaken them. Wherefore he returns to offer up anew his thankful acknowledgments for the divine grace. He commands the faithful to bind the victim to the horns of the altar, because, according to the legal institute, they could not render solemn thanks unto God without sacrifices. As David was a strict observer of the Law, he would not omit the ceremonial observances which God had enjoined. He would, however, always keep his attention steadily fixed on their grand design, and would have recourse to them only as helps to assist him in presenting a spiritual service unto God. Now that the shadowy dispensation has passed away, it remains that we offer unto God our thanksgivings through Christ, who sanctifies them by his own immaculate offering, lest we should be debarred from this exercise of godliness, by the corruptions of our flesh. And that David turned his attention to the praises of God, is abundantly manifest from the following verse, in which he promises that he would celebrate the name of God, because he was his God, and he knew it; that is, he felt from experience that from his hand he might calculate on receiving sure and immediate assistance. |