Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 are part of a pre-exilic psalm of individual thanksgiving. It is a powerful testimony to the direct help of God and joyful surrender to God who is able to overcome all afflictions. The Talmud says worship leaders read it antiphonally in the liturgy. Proselytes are part of the service. Jewish tradition relates it to the feast of tabernacles, while many moderns relate it to the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, Ezra 6:15-16, Nehemiah 8, nor I Maccabees 4:54ff refer to it. Dahood sees a king giving thanks for deliverance from death and military victory. He also sees associations with the ancient hymn of Exodus 15, thus being pre-exilic. This concludes the Hallel portion of the psalter that began with Psalm 113. Leaders recited these psalms at the great Jewish feasts, including the Passover. This may have been the psalm used in Nehemiah 8:13-18, which refers to the post-exilic celebration of the festival of booths, where the people were to gather branches and construct booths on their roofs and courtyards. See Ezra 3:4, Zechariah 14:16 and Exodus 23:14 for the observances of festivals. Death is a formidable power, which wants to take control; but God will not let it happen. The day of rescue is a day for joy.
Psalm 118:1-2 are part of the introduction that extends to verse 4. 1 O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good (tov); the steadfast love (hesed, lovingkindness, mercy, faithful or loyal love) of the Lord endures forever! The abiding goodness of the Lord is the theme of the psalm. He holds the Lord in highest esteem, as one whose qualities worshippers ought to desire. Jewish piety had the thought of the goodness of the Lord underlying the summons to praise and offer thanks in prayer, as here.[1] One can understand hesed as covenant loyalty, graciousness, and kindness. The Lord honors covenants made with us human beings, sometimes even when we breach them. 2 Let Israel say, “The steadfast love (hesed) of the Lord endures forever.” The repetition of participants provides intensification via the various groups' repetition of this phrase. We see a similar pattern in Psalms 107:1, 117:1-2, and especially 136 (all); I Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5:13, Ezra 3:11.
Continuing with the individual thanksgiving begun in verse 5, the poet affirms that 14 The LORD is my strength and my might; the Lord has become my salvation. We see no pride here. We see only submission to the victory of the Lord. 15 There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous: "The right hand of the LORD does valiantly; 16 the right hand of the LORD is exalted; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly." The Lord is the mighty hero. 17 I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. The king views his future life and the time of suffering in light of the Lord with whom he has had such a powerful experience. 18 The LORD has punished me severely, but the Lord did not give me over to death. 19 Open to me (the king) the gates of righteousness, referring to those in the temple, where only the godly righteous may enter. For the gatekeepers, one can also see Psalm 15, 24:3-10, and Matthew 25:31. Righteousness is living by the right, moral and ethical standards of the Lord in relationship to others, which includes mercy for the needy and helpless, along with equal justice for all in legal matters. Righteousness can also mean the saving vindication of the Lord. Hence, we see varied translations of 118:19: "Gates of righteousness" (NRSV, NIV, NASB), "Gates of victory" (Tanakh, NAB), and “Gates of saving justice" (NJB).[2] He wants the gates to open that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
Psalm 118: 22-24, part of a segment that extends to verse 29, become the testimony of the congregation. It becomes a confession of faith in the Lord. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. It may refer to the building of the temple. The saying implies that someone rejected has become prominent, and indeed irreplaceable. Some scholars consider this a proverbial expression that this passage applies to the king. "He had been near defeat and death, but now Yahweh has granted him victory and success.... Others take the stone to represent Israel, rejected as unimportant by the great empires.... In later times Judaism applied this verse not only to the king but also the expected Messiah, an interpretation adopted by the Christian church."[3] Given that Judaism applied it to Messiah, it is no surprise that Christians did so as well, for which see Matthew 21:42, Acts 4:11, and I Peter 2:7. From NT times, Christians have seen connections between Psalm 18:22-23 and the initial rejection and suffering of Jesus, followed by his subsequent vindication when God raised him from the dead. Ephesians 2:19-22 calls Jesus Christ ἀκρογωνιαίου (v. 20: the corner, cornerstone, capstone or keystone). A popular hymn from the 600s and translated from the Latin by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) begins with the notion that God has made Christ the sure foundation, head, and cornerstone, the chosen one, and precious, binding all the church in one. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
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