Psalms 117-118

Psalm 117

The Lord’s Faithfulness Endures Forever

• Shortest Psalm!

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

• The psalm is only two verses 
• This anticipates the worldwide worship promised to Abraham (“all nations shall be blessed through you”).
• God’s steadfast love (חֶסֶד, hesed) is described as “great” 
• His faithfulness (אֱמֶת, emet) is eternal

Psalm 118

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

• Perhaps sung at second temple building (Ezra 3:10-11)

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

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”

• The refrain “His steadfast love endures forever” is intentionally repeated to make it the foundation of the entire psalm.
• Three groups are called to proclaim this truth:
  • Israel
  • the house of Aaron: the priests and spiritual leaders
  • those who fear the Lord 

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
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.

• The psalmist moves from  praise to personal testimony of deliverance.
• If God is on his side, human threats shrink

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.

• Contrast between unreliable human power and God’s  protection.

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.

• Repeated “surrounded me” shows overwhelming enemy entrapment 
• “Like a fire among thorns” burns up fast
• Victory comes solely from the Lord

The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
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!”

• Similar to Moses’ song in Exodus 15 
• The “right hand of the Lord” symbolizes power and victory

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.

• Discipline is acknowledged 
• The purpose of survival is testimony and to recount God’s deeds.

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.

• Likely imagery of entering the temple after deliverance.
• His rescue becomes worthy of public thanks.

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

• “Stone rejected” refers to one dismissed as insignificant but made foundational: applied to Jesus in the NT (Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11).
• Reversal is God’s work .

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.
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!

• “Save us” = Hosanna הוֹשִׁיעָה (hoshi‘ah)  cried later as Jesus entered Jerusalem.
• “He who comes in the name of the Lord” originally referred to the king or deliverer entering the temple but applied to Jesus in the Gospels.

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!

• The psalm begins and ends with the same truth: God’s steadfast love never ends.

Questions

Application

Psalm 117 is a very short psalm but sweeping. It calls all nations and all peoples to praise God because His steadfast love and faithfulness never end.  It pushes us to pray for the nations and love the outsider. Psalm 118 moves from community thanksgiving to personal testimony and back again, all tied together by one repeated truth: “His steadfast love endures forever.”