Psalm 118:1-29
His Loving Devotion Endures
1Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
2Let Israel say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
3Let the house of Aaron say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
4Let those who fear the LORD say, “His loving devotion endures forever.”
5In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
6The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
7The LORD is on my side; He is my helper. Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
8It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.
10All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12They swarmed around me like bees, but they were extinguished like burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
13I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.
14The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
15Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!
16The right hand of the LORD is exalted! The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!”
17I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the LORD has done.
18The LORD disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
19Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
20This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
21I will give You thanks, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.
22The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
23This is from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25O LORD, save us, we pray. We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!
26Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
27The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28You are my God, and I will give You thanks. You are my God, and I will exalt You.
29Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
Berean Standard Bible
Give thanks to the LORD because He is good and His loving devotion endures forever. Israel, the house of Aaron, and those who fear the LORD are called to say the same. The singer was hard-pressed and called on the LORD; God answered by bringing him into a spacious place.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. Nations surrounded him like bees and were extinguished like thorns. The LORD was his strength and song, and He became his salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone—the LORD has done it, and it is marvelous.
The day the LORD has made is for rejoicing. The people ask for success, bless the one who comes in the LORD's name, and bring the sacrifice to the altar. The psalm closes where it began: give thanks because God's loving devotion endures forever.
The rejected stone becomes a central image for Jesus in the New Testament. Rejection is not treated as proof that a person has no worth; in Christ, the One rejected by the builders becomes the cornerstone of God's saving work. That gives the psalm's rejoicing a deeper center than personal vindication: the LORD establishes His purposes through the Son people refused.
How We Know
Jesus applies the rejected-stone image to Himself, and Acts calls Jesus the stone rejected by the builders who has become the cornerstone. Peter uses the same language for Christ. These passages make the psalm's image explicitly christological while leaving its original thanksgiving and worship intact.
Questions
1 Why should thanks be given?
AnswerThanks should be given because the LORD is good and His loving devotion endures forever.
2 What did God do in distress?
AnswerHe answered the singer and brought him into a spacious place.
3 What became the cornerstone?
AnswerThe stone rejected by the builders became the cornerstone through the LORD's work.
4 What kind of day is celebrated?
AnswerThe day the LORD has made is celebrated with rejoicing and gladness.
What This Means for Us
Rejection is not always the final verdict. God can establish what people dismiss, but we should not use that promise to demand that every disappointment proves future greatness.
Give thanks in both the narrow place and the spacious one. The rescue matters, but so does the God whose loving devotion made it possible.
Prayer
Good LORD, answer people hard-pressed by fear and rejection. Bring them into safe places, establish what is true, and teach us to rejoice in the day You have made without forgetting those still waiting. Amen.