Chapter 118
1st stanza, Intro. Give thanks.
2nd, 3 verses, like the 4th stanza of 115. It urges Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord to each say "His steadfast love endures forever". Like a chorus again.
3rd, The Lord is with me, what can man do to me.
4th, 2 verses, Take refuge in the Lord, not man.
5th, The writer tells of being encompassed by enemies, and repeats the phrase "...in the name of the Lord I cut them off." A responsive reading maybe? The second stanza could be also.
6th, The Lord is my strength.
7th, 2 verses - 17,18. God's mercy. Really, can't summarize this one. It is already succinct.
2021 - Well, it seems the psalmist believed his troubles were brought about by his own misdeeds. The surrounding armies were God's discipline - His severe discipline. I don't think these two are Messianic, because Jesus did die. It was necessary, and it was not about discipline at all. So through 18 I would deny messianic connotation.
8th, This stanza is about the Messiah. The writer asks that the gates of righteousness be opened. Then it says:
20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. [Psa 118:20 ESV]
Surely this is a reference to the narrow gate, that so few find. Gate implies entrance, an entrance to a place set off for those who come in through the gate. A place not everyone can go. Only the righteous can enter here. This is where "I am the way, the truth, and the life" comes from. It all ties back to Psalm 118.
Then verse 22:
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [Psa 118:22 ESV]
This verse confirms that the Messiah is being referred to. See how the gate and the stone are the same? Jesus is the gate through which the righteous have access to God, and is the cornerstone of the gospel, of the new, and at the time of this writing, covenant. It was still far in the future, but look how these verses foretell and predict it.
And finally, the last verse of the stanza says this:
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [Psa 118:24 ESV]
This "day" is the day of Messiah. Maybe even more than that it is the coming of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, a covenant of belief without the requirement of sacrifices and festivals. It referred to a future time when He would come. It is not about Sunday church...I don't think. In context it is about the coming of the Messiah and the New Covenant in Him. When Jesus says David wrote of him, surely this must be extremely high on the list of obvious references to Jesus.
I never knew that all this went together like this. What an awesome stanza. It really should be memorized.
9th, One verse, a prayer for success.
10th, 2 verses, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. This too seems to be about Messiah, the one who is to come. And then the second verse says bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. Messiah, the future sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice. How have I missed all this?!?!
11th, The closing two verses. The very last verse is a repeat of the first verse of the Psalm.
2021 - So let's see...Beginning and ending with the same verse - bookend verses - implies that everything in between is related somehow. The obvious tie would seem to be the prophecy of Messiah's coming.
Vss 2-4 talk about three groups. Israel, the Aaronic priesthood, and the Gentiles - the chosen nation, the chosen priesthood, and the chosen masses. We are in that third group, anticipated even this far back. All three groups - which encompass all the elect for all time, are to recognize God's plan through all history to include them.
Vss 5-7, another triad. Starts with the plan of salvation: call upon the name and be saved. Walk with God in the world. Fear him and not man. As we saw in David's look toward eternity rather than earthly circumstances, the saved will be in heaven - the win - and the unsaved, the enemies will be in hell.
Vss 8,9, Trusting in God is the best way, the right way, the true way. Man, even princes, will ultimately fail us. Trusting in God is better.
Vss 10-13, Four verses, All three of the first ones start with "surrounded" and all three end with "in the name of the Lord I cut them off", the last ends with "the Lord helped me". How does this one fit? The psalmist is surrounded and oppressed to the point of falling, and then God stepped in. MSB just says it is obvious that the psalmist is the leader of a nation. That doesn't seem to go far enough. Three groups, united in salvation, surrounded by sinners - enemies from all over - who want them gone. Surely those who would rather live in sin oppose those who love God. This innate animosity is mentioned many times in scripture. Jesus himself talks about how those who love darkness hate him because he is light, and they will hate his followers for the same reasons. They will pursue and persecute the saved. This constant attack will be common to all three groups. It ends with God's help through these trials.
Vss 14-16, Victory verses. Remaining faithful to God through the trials of this world results in His lifting us up to eternal glory in heaven. Again, we are evaluation our success in terms of eternity, not of this life in the world. He, and He alone, will save us from hell. When the story of earth is over, we will be in heaven forever.
Vss 17, 18, Ultimately, the saved have eternal life. The saved do not die, but are saved from death and hell. We have to live through some very difficult times on earth. Discipline or sanctification? The interlinear shows that this phrase about severe discipline is the word "yasar" repeated. It would read "yasar, yasar, ya". Look at that! Disciplined, disciplined, God, but in Hebrew look at the alliteration! This word can indeed mean discipline, and the repeated word means maybe severe, but it maybe also repeated and continuous discipline. As in sanctification. The word s never translated "disciplined" in the KJV. Chastise, instruct, and correct are the three most common translations there. Severely goes well with chastise and correct, but not with instruct. Maybe that is why it is translated as it is. Here is the KJV: 18 The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death. [Psa 118:18 KJV]. In almost all translations, the emphasizing adverb is some form of severe. If you use severe instead of intense, than chastisement and discipline are in view. If you use intense, then instruction and teaching might be in view. In light of the universal agreement among translations that the right word is "severe", that's what we should go with. But then, what do we make of this? That life as a Christian, as a believer, and a living praiser of God results in "severe discipline" from Him? I just cannot buy that. I can buy that these verses are about the constant struggle to be what God wants us to be. And I can buy that God helps us down that path with His constant attention, constant correction, and developing insight and understanding of His word. But I do not like severe here, I don't think that's what is in view. I like intense or intensely . Intensely instructed us seems to go far better in context than severely disciplined.
Vss 19-23, These seem to be obviously about the Messiah.
We have seen that God has an eternal plan that includes all people. It tells that calling on Him is the way to be saved. It says choosing this course, as opposed to earthly pursuits, is the best way. It warns that we will be opposed by the world for choosing God's way. It says that if we keep eternity as our goal, that God's way leads to victory. Then it says that God will sanctify us - make us over in his image - while we are in the world.
And how will he do this? Jesus is the gate, the narrow way. It ties directly to this verse I think: 1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [Jhn 10:1-2 ESV] . Maybe, but this might be better: 6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [Jhn 14:6 ESV]. He is the gate to righteousness before God. This ties with vs 20: 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. [Psa 118:20 ESV]. This is telling us how God will accomplish all of the above. Wow! This is why the "cornerstone" verse is here. This says Jesus is the key element in God's plan of reconciliation. It ALL hinges on Jesus. There is no other way to read this! This is amazing!
Vss, 24, 25Then we get two single verses, 24, and 25. The first says rejoice in the Sabbath. Second says Save us we pray. Is this about how we proclaim Jesus? Are these a prophecy of the church that is to come? The global, all inclusive church where you don't have to be a Jew to be saved? Is this about that future vehicle that will replace the law as the one way to salvation, the vehicle through which the name of Jesus will be primarily proclaimed? This is unbelievable!
Vss 26, 27, 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. [Psa 118:26 ESV] Preachers, evangelists! Again, this is the key way that the gospel will be spread in the world, a prophecy in Psalms, a reality today. And vs 27 is their message. God has sent a light into the darkness, and his name is Jesus Christ! He was bound and sacrificed to pay for our sins. The gospel is right here! In Psalms we have the complete gospel, the complete process!
Vss 28,29, They go together in praising this whole and complete plan that God has always had for the world. A plan for which we should give exceeding thanks.
This whole 2021 Version needs to go on the website as "The Complete Gospel in the Old Testament"
Have I missed even more? Is the whole chapter Messianic, or just that one stanza? Who wrote this Psalm? Its writer is not credited as in other Psalms.
2021 - As in 116, this is about - or at least includes - answered prayer. As in 116, the psalmist was in a bad way, in desperate straights, apparently attacked and surrounded by enemies. He prayed, and God heard and delivered, and this is the prayer of praise and thanksgiving for God's answer.