THRU THE BIBLE
EXPOSITION
Psalms: God's Nurture
Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith
CXVIII: Thanking
God For The Great Deliverances Of His Eternal Grace
(Psalm 118:1-29)
I.
Introduction
A. Psalm 118, the great, final psalm of the Hallel praise psalms, extols and thanks God for the eternality of His loyal love that has proven itself to provide for all the deliverances His people have needed to date in history.
B. We view this great psalm of thanksgiving for its invaluable encouragement for those who face foes today:
II.
Thanking God
For The Great Deliverances Of His Eternal Grace, Psalm 118:1-29.
A. The verse numbering system in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1078), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for this lesson.
B. We thus translate Psalm 118:1-29 (as follows):
1. "Give thanks to Jahweh, because He is good, because His loyal love endures forever," Psalm 118:1.
2. "Let Israel say: 'because His loyal love endures forever,'" Psalm 118:2.
3. "Let the house of Aaron say: 'because His loyal love endures forever,'" Psalm 118:3.
4. "Let those who fear Jahweh say: 'because His loyal love endures forever,'" Psalm 118:4.
5. "From the narrow straits of distress I cried to Jahweh, and Jahweh answered me by setting me free," v. 5.
6. "Jahweh is on my side; I will not be afraid what man shall do unto me," Psalm 118:6.
7. "Jahweh is on my side; He is my Help and I myself (emph. pr.) will look in triumph on my enemies," v. 7.
8. "It is better to take refuge in Jahweh than it is to rely upon man," Psalm 118:8.
9. "It is better to take refuge in Jahweh than to rely upon princes," Psalm 118:9.
10. "All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of Jahweh I cut them off," Psalm 118:10.
11. "They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of Jahweh I cut them off," Psalm 118:11.
12. "They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns because I cut them off in the name of Jahweh," Psalm 118:12.
13. "I was pushed back and about to fall, but Jahweh helped me," Psalm 118:13.
14. "Jahweh is my Strength and my Song, and He has become by Salvation," Psalm 118:14.
15. "Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: 'Jahweh's right hand has done mighty things!'" (Psalm 118:15)
16. "Jahweh's right hand is lifted high; Jahweh's hand has done mighty things!" (Psalm 118:16)
17. "I will not die but live, and will proclaim what Jahweh has done," Psalm 118:17.
18. "Jahweh has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death," Psalm 118:18.
19. "Open unto me the gates of righteousness; I will enter them and give thanks to Jahweh," Psalm 118:19.
20. "This is the gate of Jahweh through which the righteous may enter," Psalm 118:20.
21. "I will give You thanks, for You answered me; You have become my Salvation," Psalm 118:21.
22. "The stone which the builders rejected has become the capstone;" (Psalm 118:22)
23. "Jahweh has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes," Psalm 118:23.
24. "This is the day which Jahweh has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it," Psalm 118:24.
25. "O Jahweh, now save us,O Jahweh, now grant us success," Psalm 118:25.
26. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of Jahweh. From the house of Jahweh we bless you all," v. 26.
27. "Jahweh is Elohim, and He has made His light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar," Psalm 118:27.
28. "You (em. pr.) are my Elohim, and I will give You thanks; my Elohim; I will exalt You," Psalm 118:28.
29. "Give thanks to Jahweh because He is good, because His loyal love endures forever," Psalm 118:29.
C. We consider significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows): the comprehensive nature of the deliverances of this psalm made it a favorite of Martin Luther: he testified, "'(I)t has done me great service on many an occasion and has stood by me in many a difficulty when the emperor, kings, wise men and clever, and even the saints were of no avail . . .'" (H. C. Leupold, Expos. of the Psalms, 1969, p. 811-812) If Luther found it helpful in his enormous trials, we do well to apply it in dealing with the trials we face in our lives!
Lesson: The psalmist thanked God for His
comprehensive deliverances wrought by His eternal, loyal love.
Application: May we thank God for his many,
great deliverances of us from trouble due to his eternal grace!