“The psalm (may have) originated in victory celebrations of Israel’s king and people (cf. II Chron. 20:27). Later it was probably used in periodic commemoration of God’s past goodness to the Davidic dynasty” Laymen, 684. “The ‘I’ standing collectively for Israel, verses 5-14, 17-19, 21, and 28 seem to portray a great deliverance which has come to a king, possibly David himself. There are similar sentiments in Psalm 18” Miller, 381. “It is best to see this as a corporate thanksgiving, although an individual leads in expressing gratitude on behalf of himself and the whole congregation” Longman, 399. “The psalm uniquely combines corporate hymnic praise (vv. 1-4, 22-24, 29), individual thanksgiving (vv. 5-18, 21, 28); processional liturgy of entering the temple gates and processing to the altar (vv. 19-20, 26-27). It alternates between referring to Yahweh in the third person and addressing him in the second person” Broyles, 438. This was “perhaps as an entrance liturgy into the temple in Jerusalem, in much the same way that Psalms 15 and 24 may have been used” NICOT, 864.

118:1-4 Give thanks to the LORD for His lovingkindness is good

118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good- I Chron. 16:34; II Chron. 5:13; 7:3; 20:21; Ps. 106:1; 107:1; 136:1; Jer. 33:11; Ezra 3:11

These same three groups, Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the LORD, were mentioned in 115:9-13. See a similar list in 135:19-20

118:5-9 The Speaker’s (the King’s) testimony of being rescued by God

118:10 All nations surrounded me- Verses 10-12 all begin with the same thought. The nations surround God’s people. The word surround is used 4 times in these 3 verses. The image of all the nations gathering against God’s people appears in Psalms 2, 46, 48; Isaiah 29:1-8; Ezekiel 38-39; Zech 14:1-9. “We are reminded of the world’s furious hostility to the city of God” Kidner, 413-414.

In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off- “The Hb. verb here is elsewhere translated ‘I circumcised them’!” Broyles, 441.

118:15-18 The right hand of the LORD does valiantly

118:19-21 He enters God's gates with thanksgiving

118:22-29 God made the rejected stone the chief corner stone.

Psalm 118 and the Exodus
118:14, 21 Quote Exodus 15:2

118:15-16 right hand of the LORD- Exodus 15:6, 6, 12

118:23 marvelous- wonders in Exodus 15:11

118:24 The day- Exodus 14:13

118:28 I will extol You- Exodus 15:2

Psalm 118 and Jesus
118:26 Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13

118:22 Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; I Peter 2:7

118:17-18 were some of Jesus' last words ever and they anticipate HIs resurrection.

“It is not only the shortest psalm in the collection but also the shortest chapter in the Bible” Alter, 414; Longman, 398. It is 27 words in the NASB and 28 in the ESV. In Hebrew it is only 17 words. “Many Hebrew mss.attach it to Ps. 116….Other Hebrew mss. join the psalm to Ps. 118” Allen, 117.

The basic structure of a song of praise is simple. It begins with a call to praise (vs. 1). Then the word translated for or because introduces the reason for praise (lines 1 and 2 of vs. 2). Last, there is a final call to praise (line 3 of vs. 2).

“Underlying this invitation is the conviction that the God of Israel is the God who rules the world” McCann, 1150.

117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations- Other psalms, like Psalm 96:3, speak of praising God among the nations, but here all the nations and all peoples are called to praise God- Alter, 414.

Laud Him, all peoples!- “This verb appears to be an Aramaic word for ‘praise, laud’; and unless it was also Hebrew but not used much in the psalms, it may indicate that the Psalmist chose it to address the nations since Aramaic was spoken in the non-Israelite world and became the dominant language at the time of captivity” Ross, 435. The word is used 11 times in the OT: I Chron. 16:35; Pss. 63:3; 65:7; 89:9; 106:47; 117:1; 145:4; 147:12; Prov. 29:11; Ecc. 4:2; 8:15.

117:2 God’s lovingkindness is described as ‘great.’ The word ‘great’ can refer to victory on the battlefield. For example, it is used twice in Exodus 17:11 in the description of Israel’s battle with Amalek. Also see the word in military contexts in I Sam. 2:9; II Sam. 1:23; 11:23. The word is used for the flood waters prevailing- Gen. 7:18-20 – our iniquities prevailing- Ps. 65:3- God’s blessings- Gen. 49:26- His lovingkindness- Ps. 103:11. “The Hebrew root is often used to indicate the power of a military conquer. Here it also affirms that God conquers the world, but that God does so by the power of His faithful love” McCann, 1150. God’s lovingkindness has triumphed; it has prevailed.

Lovingkindness and truth are accompanied by each other in Ex. 34:6; Ps. 25:10; 36:5; 40:10; 57:10; 85:10; 86:15; 89:14; 92:2; 98:3; 100:5; 108:4; 115:1; 138:2

And the truth of the LORD is everlasting- The emphasis of the second line can be summed up by saying that God’s plans and promises are as fresh and intact now as on the day that they were made; and they will remain so” Kidner, 412. His love and truth know ‘neither measure nor end” Allen, 118.

God’s lovingkindness and truth were dramatically demonstrated in the exodus and the events surrounding it. God revealed Himself to Moses as “abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). “Their history was a monument to the greatness of His loyal love, for it was full of instances of loving, protecting, delivering, pardoning grace” Allen, 118. As Israel sang Psalm 117 at Passover, they remembered God’s lovingkindness and truth in the exodus. God’s dealing with Israel are a cause for universal praise among all nations and an attraction to all nations to worship such a God.

Psalm 117 and Jesus
The crucifixion/resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate display of the LORD’s lovinkindness and truth. In the cross, God’s lovingkindness and truth have triumphed, prevailed, and conquered the ruthless enemies of sin and death. The cross serves as a call for all nations to worship Him (John 12:32; Phil. 2:5-11; Rev. 5:8-14).

Interestingly, as brief as Psalm 117 is, it is quoted in the New Testament. In Romans 15:8-12 Paul quotes from several OT passages (Rom. 15:9/ Psalm 18:49; Rom. 15:10/ Deut. 32:43; Rom. 15:11/Psalm 117:1; Rom. 15:12/Isaiah 11:10) to show God’s desire has always

A few notes

“The Septuagint and Vulgate treat this as two psalms, the second of them beginning at verse 10 (but some Heb. MSS make a similar break after verse 11).” Kidner, 407.

“He has come now to the temple to tell the whole assembly what has happened, and to offer God what he had vowed to Him in his extremity” Kidner, 407.

“The situation was one of deadly threat (3, 8, 15), brought about by human deceitfulness (11) and personal lack of discernment (6)” Motyer, 563. “Either the psalmist has been delivered from what appeared to be a fatal illness (vss. 2, 8) or from false accusers (vss. 10-11) who plotted his death. Out of gratitude for his deliverance, he thanks God publicly so that others may share in his joy and faith” Miller, 378. The Psalm is “far from wallowing in personal details, (and) focus(es) attention on what God has done” Laymen, 683.

“Such psalms as this, once written down, would help many another person to find words for his own public thanksgiving” Kidner, 407.

116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD- “Precious could mean either ‘highly valued’ or, in a less happy sense, ‘costly’” Kidner, 410. “Precious here means costly (cf. Ps. 72:14; I Kings 5:17; 7:9-11)” Miller, 380. II Kings 1:13-14; Prov. 20:15.

Is the death of His godly ones- “The death of the devout costs Yahweh dear” (cf. Mt. 10:29-31; and in ultimate terms, Jn. 10:28f.)” Kidner, 411. “The death of a saint is not something the LORD considers as cheap” BK, 877.

“Verse 15 has puzzled commentators for millennia. Most versions follow closely the translation of the 1611 Authorized Version: ‘Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.’” NICOT, 861. What does this verse mean? “The death of his saints, ‘his beloved,’ is like a precious jewel which he bestows- precious to him and them because at death he receives them home. In this sense, death is the final and greatest earthy blessing of God on His people” Motyer, 564. Phil. 1:20-23; Rev. 14:13.

On the other hand, this passage can be understood another way. The NET translation has “The LORD values the lives of his faithful followers.” “The word usually translated as ‘precious’ is from the Hebrew root yaqar, which means ‘be dignified, honorable, heavy, valuable.’ It occurs nine times in the book of Psalms (36:7; 37:20; 45:9; 49:8, 12, 20; 72:14; 116:15; 139:17)” NICOT, 861. “He has learned by experience that the premature death of God’s people ‘costs Yahweh dear’ (JB; cf. 72:14) and that He is quick to avert such a tragedy” Laymen, 684. “As translated by the NIV, verse 15 seems strange and out of context, appearing to say that God delights in the death of His faithful servants....The psalmist is one of God’s faithful servants, and God had just saved him from death” Longman, 397. “The NIV and the NRSV make v. 15 sound as if God welcomes the death of the faithful, but the whole point of the psalm is that God will life and works to make life a reality” McCann, 1149. God “does not lightly permit adversity (‘death’’ vs. 3, 8) or an early death (cf. 79:11; 102:20). They are ‘precious’ (cf. 72:14) to Him” VanGemeren, 728. On the same page, VanGemeren, 728, refers to a study by John A. Emerton “The death of His beloved creates sadness to our Lord.” “The psalmist has learned by experience how reluctant Yahweh is to allow the premature death of those united to Him in a covenant relationship, and how quickly He rushes to avert such a tragedy (cf. Ps. 72:14)” Allen, 115.