Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 118. This joyful song of thanksgiving closes the Egyptian Hallel (see note on Psalm 113). The psalm calls on all of God's people to praise the Lord for his steadfast love (118:1-4), and then moves to what seems to be a personal testimony of God's rescue from distress (vv. 5-18), and then to a liturgical occasion at the Lord's house, which involves the whole people again (vv. 19-29). The psalm describes a festive procession into Jerusalem after some great deliverance. The original occasion is hard to identify. It could be the rebuilding of the temple or the walls of Jerusalem. In later times it was sung at the Feast of Tabernacles as well as Passover. It was evidently recited by the crowds when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38). And Jesus may imply that it will be sung again at his second coming (Matt. 23:39). It was the last psalm Jesus sang at the Last Supper with his disciples before they left for Gethsemane (Matt. 26:30), and vv. 25-26 of Psalm 118 are often still recalled in prayers at the Lord's Supper. The liturgical section inclines most scholars to think that the psalm was originally composed for some special ceremony, such as laying the foundation of the new temple (cf. v. 1 with Ezra 3:11), or the dedication of the new temple (Ezra 6:16-22). In any case, that connection would make the "I" giving the personal testimony of each member of the congregation, identifying himself with the trials of the whole people. God's many acts of deliverance show that his "steadfast love endures forever" and is not limited to one generation.

118:1-4 Let Everyone Give Thanks to the Lord. The opening section calls on the congregation to give thanks to the Lord (see note on 106:1), for he is good (see note on 100:5). Each group among the people (Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord; see note on 115:9-11) should recite this marvelous truth: God's steadfast love endures forever. (See Psalm 136 for a similar repetition of this phrase.)