Embrace the Word for Friday, September 18, 2026

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Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving. The Psalmist responds to the Lord personally and publicly because the LORD rescued him. Psalm 118 does not explicitly declare “Praise the LORD!” However, it is often grouped together with the subunit containing Psalms 111-117, as they each note praise to the LORD. Psalm 118 draws from the imagery of Israel’s Exodus (particularly from Exodus 15), and the promise of a new Exodus (primarily Isaiah 12), as well as from the language of several Davidic Psalms (especially Psalm 56; 54; 62; 24; and 15). Psalm 118 also shares common links with Psalms 115-117. Psalm 118 begins and ends with praise for the LORD (118:1-4; 28-29), with the first and last lines being exactly the same (118:1,29). In between the start and conclusion, Psalm 118 describes the details of the LORD’s personal rescue of the Psalmist (118:5-18) before describing the determination to publicly express praise to the LORD at the place of gathered worship (118:19-27).

With lines almost identical to the opening of Psalms 106 and 107, Psalm 118 opens with the Psalmist calling upon the LORD’s people to offer thanks: “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (118:1). With the same categories of groups from Psalm 115, the Psalmist calls upon the nation of Israel (the covenant people of God), the house of Aaron (the priestly tribe of Israel), and all who fear the LORD (any who are true people of God) to offer something of a chant highlighting the enduring steadfast love of the LORD: “Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever” (118:2-4). The Psalmist, like he did in Psalm 107, invites others to join him in his celebration: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south” (See Psalm 107:2-3). The implication is that the LORD has in fact kept His promises to His people bringing His steadfast love to fulfillment. Thus, it is time to respond to the LORD in worship.

The Psalmist explains what the LORD has done to warrant the call to praise Him: “Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free” (118:5). When the Psalmist was trapped in a situation of great distress, the LORD intervened and librated him. The LORD heard and acted as the Psalmist cried out to the LORD. Such an experience of intervention and liberation prompts the Psalmist to step back for a moment and realize: “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me” (118:6-7). Men who hated the Psalmist were at the center of his distress. The particulars of the situation are not stated, but it caused much internal turmoil. And yet, the Psalmist now sees very clearly that the LORD was with him and for him. Such a realization reset both how he internally processed how he felt, “I will not fear,” but also how he interpreted the threat of his enemies: “I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.” David confessed these same realities: “in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?…in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (See Psalm 56:4,11). The Psalmist pauses the description of his own experience and offers counsel: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes” (118:8-9). The LORD is a better source of reliance than any human arrangements, even men of great rank. Once again, David offered similar counsel: “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (See Psalm 62:8).

The Psalmist resumes describing his experience: “All nations surrounded me; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! They surrounded me like bees; they went out like a fire among thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off! I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me” (118:10-13). The distress caused by men who hated him consisted of “nations” who “surrounded” him. In fact the notion of being surrounded is stated three times with each line building upon and intensifying the previous line. The Psalmist went from being surrounded to being surrounded, surrounded on every side, and finally to being surrounded by bees who were like a fire encircling thorns. But thrice the Psalmist declares he “cut them off,” in “the name of the LORD.” On his own, the Psalmist was “falling,” which suggests great danger; however, “the LORD helped me.” In the aftermath of being helped by the LORD, the Psalmist sang: “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (118:14). The Psalmist uses the exact words of Israel after they reached the other side of the Red Sea: “the LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (See Exodus 15:2a). The prophet Isaiah declared that when Israel returns from their captivity, they would also similarly say: “the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” (See Isaiah 12:2). The Psalmist seems to be suggesting that his song was not a solo, but with a congregation who joined in: “Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” (118:15-16). The thrice mention of “the right hand of the LORD” is also reminiscent of the song at the Red Sea (See Exodus 15:6). The Psalmist declares that the congregation sang that the LORD had enabled them to be lifted up and act with valiance, that is, strength. Finally, the Psalmist confesses not only the LORD’s deliverance but also His role in disciplining him throughout this ordeal: “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death” (118:17-18).

The Psalmist slightly transitions as he seeks to “recount the deeds” of the LORD in the Temple: “Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation” (118:19-21). The imagery is of the Psalmist returning to Jerusalem and reaching the gates of the Temple. The Temple’s gates are “righteous” in that the God who dwells in the Temple is righteous. The Psalmist calls upon the gates to be opened. David had asked, “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” (See Psalm 24:3; see also Psalm 15:1). The Psalmist answers David’s inquiry as he states, “only the righteous shall enter through it.” As the Psalmist approaches the gates of the Temple, he declares a prophetic word: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (118:22-23). It is in the context of the righteous who are qualified to enter the gates, that a discussion starts about a stone that the builders rejected ends up becoming—by God’s doing—the cornerstone for the whole building. The prophet Isaiah essentially prophecies the same truth (See Isaiah 28:16). The writers of the New Testament heavily use this verse in application to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus applies this verse to Himself: “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (See Matthew 21:42, quoting Psalm 118:22-23; See also Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17).

The Psalmist continues declaring that what he is speaking of concerns the very day that that the LORD will accomplish the salvation of His people: “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (118:24). Thus, this is to be a day of celebration. The Psalmist has been personally celebrating that the LORD had rescued him. However, he now uses his experience of rescue as a pattern for how the LORD will bring about an even greater and deeper salvation for all His people. The Psalmist adds to his prophetic word: “Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD” (118:25-26). The Gospel writers record that these verses were sung as Jesus entered Jerusalem on the week that He would go to the Cross. The prayer “Save us…O LORD” becomes “Hosanna” (See Matthew 21:9,15; Mark 11:9-10; John 12:13), which essentially requests the LORD’s saving work. As the Psalmist has gathered to worship the LORD for his own rescue, he comes with an awareness that the LORD will do even more to solicit His people’s worship: “The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” (118:27). The LORD’s saving work will unleash the very blessings echoed by Aaron: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (See Numbers 6:24-26). Thus, the LORD’s people will be drawn to worship around the sacrifice that the LORD places on the altar. And as the LORD’s people gather, they will declare: “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (118:28-29).

As we reflect on Psalm 118, we can consider the Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalmist, in the context of his own rescue, offers a preview of the saving work of Jesus on the Cross. As the Psalmist, who arguably was a Davidic representative in the historical context of his own return from the Exile, celebrates in Jerusalem, he is also pointing to someone and something greater. The Apostle Peter, both on the Day of Pentecost as well as through his first letter, draws from Psalm 118 to proclaim Christ’s saving work through His being rejected. On the Day of Pentecost Peter declared: “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (See Acts 4:10-12; quoting from Psalm 118:22). Peter would use Psalm 118 again as he wrote about the rejection of Christ: “So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”…They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do” (See 1 Peter 2:7-8; quoting from Psalm 118:22). As Jesus entered Jerusalem, the children sang: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (See Matthew 21:9). But the Jewish religious leaders were mad over the children singing (See Matthew 21:15), as they exemplified their rejection of Jesus. Many refused to believe that Jesus was the Son of David come to save His people. But Jesus is the One Psalm 118 expects. All who turn to the rejected stone have a sure foundation upon which they can stand and enter the gates into God’s presence.

That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, September 18, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, September 21, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 119:1-8.