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118. Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

    ² Let Israel say:
   “His love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say:
   “His love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say:
   “His love endures forever.”

    ⁵ When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
   he brought me into a spacious place.
⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
   What can mere mortals do to me?
⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
   I look in triumph on my enemies.

    ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to trust in humans.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
   than to trust in princes.
¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
   but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹¹ They surrounded me on every side,
   but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees,
   but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
   in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
   but the LORD helped me.
¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my defense Or song;
   he has become my salvation.

    ¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
   resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
    ¹⁶ The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;
   the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
   and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
¹⁸ The LORD has chastened me severely,
   but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
   I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD
   through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
   you have become my salvation.

    ²² The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
²³ the LORD has done this,
   and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The LORD has done it this very day;
   let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ LORD, save us!
LORD, grant us success!

    ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
   From the house of the LORD we bless you. The Hebrew is plural.
²⁷ The LORD is God,
   and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
   up Or Bind the festal sacrifice with ropes / and take it to the horns of the altar.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

6 Jehovah is with me among those who help me Confiding solely in God’s help, he sets at defiance not a few enemies merely, but the whole world. “Defended by God’s hand, I may boldly and safely set at nought all the machinations of men.” When all the power of the universe is deemed as nothing, in comparison of God, then, indeed, is due honor attributed to him. Thus he tacitly reproves the unbelief of almost all men, who spontaneously alarm themselves with groundless fears. All, indeed, desire peace of mind; but, in consequence of robbing God of the praise due to his power, their own ingratitude does not permit them to realize this blessing. Were they, as is fitting, to submit in all things to the good pleasure and power of God, they would be always ready boldly to surmount all those difficulties, the dread of which from time to time annoys them. But paying more regard to the mischievous attempts of men, than to the help which God can give them, they deserve to tremble at the rustling of the falling leaf. It is the wish of David, by his own example, to correct such perversity; and, with this view, he affirms that, in the enjoyment of God’s favor, he would fear no man, being fully persuaded that he could rescue him from all the nefarious plots which were laid for him. Or if he composed this psalm after his deliverance, we see how much he had profited by the experience of the grace of God. Therefore, as frequently as God shall succor us, let our confidence in him for the future be increased, and let us not be unmindful of his goodness and power, which we experienced in our extremity. Possibly, he relates the meditations which occurred to him in the midst of his distresses; the former conjecture appears more probable, that, after he obtained deliverance, he gloried, for the future, in God’s continued assistance. Some refer the clause, those who are helpers with me, to the small troop which David had drawn to him; but this, in my opinion, is too refined; for it would tend little to the honor of God to class him among the six hundred whom David commanded, as if he were one of the troop. My interpretation is more simple, that he calls God his helper. “It is enough for me that God is on my side.” Were he deprived of all human aid, still he would have no hesitation in opposing God against all his enemies.