Salmos 118

Salmos 118

NOTE: This Verse by Verse Commentary page is part of an ongoing project to add notes to each verse of the Bible. Therefore many verses do not yet have notes, but if the Lord tarries and gives me breath, additions will follow in the future. The goal is to edify and equip you for the work of service (Eph 4:12-13-note) that the Lord God might be glorified in your life and in His Church. Amen (Isa 61:3b, Mt 5:16-note) C H Spurgeon's Division of Psalm 118 - Treasury of David - Psalm 118 Psalm 118:1-4 the faithful are called upon to magnify the everlasting mercy of the Lord; Psalm 118:5-18 the Psalmist gives forth a narrative of his experience, and an expression of his faith; Psalm 118:19-21 he asks admittance into the house of the Lord, and begins the acknowledgment of the divine salvation. Psalm 118:22-27 the priests and people recognize their ruler, magnify the Lord for him, declare him blessed, and bid him approach the altar with his sacrifice. Psalm 118:28-29 In the two closing verses the grateful hero himself exalts God the ever merciful. Psalm 118:21 I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; And Thou hast become my salvation (NAS 77) The stone (KJV): Mt 21:42 Mk 12:10,11 Lu 20:17 Ac 4:11 Eph 2:20-22 1Pe 2:4-8 the head (KJV): Zec 4:7 LXE I will give thanks to thee; because thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. CSB I will give thanks to You because You have answered me and have become my salvation. ESV I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. GWN I give thanks to you, because you have answered me. You are my savior. KJV I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. NET I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. NAB I thank you for you answered me; you have been my savior. NIV Psalm 118:21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. NLT I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory! NJB I thank you for hearing me, and making yourself my Saviour. YLT I thank Thee, for Thou hast answered me, And art to me for salvation. NAS I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me; And Thou hast become my salvation. NIRV LORD, I will give thanks to you, because you answered me. You have saved me. I shall give thanks - The Septuagint is in the middle voice which is the reflexive sense and might be rendered "I myself give thanks." The point is that this giving of thanks is not something forced by God on an unwilling participant. This exclamation reflects the words of a willing worshiper, one who makes a conscious decision of their will, makes the choice to given thanks and praise. In fact a persistent attitude of gratitude is a clear mark of a believer, and specifically, a believer who is continually filled with the Spirit. Why so? In the NT Paul commands all believers to have a continual attitude of gratitude declaring "In everything give thanks (present imperative = command to do this continually!) for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thes 5:18-note). Really Paul, this is not humanly possible! To which Paul would probably reply "You're right. It's not. It's only superhumanly possible!" Okay I see it now - It's impossible! But it is... Him-possible! There is only one way to obey Paul's charge to continually be thankful and that is by jettisoning self-reliance and relying wholly on the Holy Spirit. And note that we don't just need a little help (like we are moving in the right direction in our natural strength and we just need a little spiritual push), for our natural man does not seek to give gratitude (but goes for "grabbing!"). In short, we don't need a "little help" from our Friend, the Spirit. We need Him to enable (see English definition) us, to give us the "want to," or the desire to give thanks and praise, and then the spiritual energy to follow through. This vitally important spiritual principle is summarized by Paul his exhortation to the saints at Philippi to "Work out (present imperative) your salvation in fear and trembling (this is our responsibility to make this choice continually), for (term of explanation) it is God who is in you both to will and to work to His good pleasure." (Php 2:12-note, Php 2:13-note). The New Living Translation says it even more clearly (and although a paraphrase, this is an excellent rendering) - "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power (God's part) to do (our part) what pleases Him. (Phi 2:13NLT) Who is "God...working in you?" Clearly, this is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Ro 8:9), the One the Son asked of the Father (Jn 14:16) and the Father (and Son Lk 24:49) sent to indwell us forever and provide the supernatural power necessary to live the Christ life, the so-called "Victorious Christian Life," the life which Jesus described as "Abundant Life." (John 10:10b). I shall give thanks (praise, give thanks) (03034)(yadah) primarily means to acknowledge or confess sin (Lev 5:5, Lev 16:21 on the Day of Atonement, Lev 26:40-note, Nu 5:7, 1Ki 8:33, 35), God's character and works, or man's character. Yadah is also frequently rendered "praise" (1 Chr 16:4) or "give thanks." (2 Sa 22:50 - partially quoted in Ro 15:9; 1 Chr 16:7, 8, 34, 35, 41, 23:30, 25:3, 29:13, Ps 7:17) At first glance, the meanings may appear unrelated. But upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that each sense profoundly illumines and interprets the other. Yadah overlaps in meaning with a number of other Hebrew words implying "praise," such as halal (whence halleluyah). In Ge 29:35 (cp Ge 49:8) we see the name Judah (Yehudah) which is derived from yadah (Judah means "Praise Yahweh"). How wonderful that Jesus will return as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, for He alone is the grounds and reason for any and all true praise! (Rev 5:5) (Wikipedia article on Judah) The Septuagint (Lxx) translates yadah in Psalm 118:21 with the verb exomologeo (see root verb = homologeo) which in active voice means to agree, promise, fully consent (Lu 22.6), in the middle voice it can describe either sins openly confessed or acknowledged (Mt 3.6) or speak of grateful acknowledgment to God (e.g., extol, praise, thank) (Mt 11.25) and finally in some contexts speaks of an open expression of allegiance or acknowledgement (Php 2.11). Vine - Yadah overlaps in meaning with a number of other Hebrew words implying “praise,” such as halal (whence halleluyah). Man is occasionally the object of yadah; but far more commonly, God is the object. The usual context seems to be public worship, where the worshipers affirm and renew their relationship with God. The subject is not primarily the isolated individual, but the congregation. Especially in the hymns and thanksgivings of the Psalter, it is evident that yadah is a recital of, and thanksgiving for, Yahweh’s mighty acts of salvation… The vista of yadah expands both vertically and horizontally—vertically to include all creation, and horizontally stretching forward to that day when praise and thanksgiving shall be eternal (e.g., Ps. 29; 95:10; 96:7-9; 103:19-22). (Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words) Thou hast become my salvation - The Hebrew word here is yeshua (or as we might say "my Jesus!") Could the psalmist have been clearer! My salvation - Personalizes his salvation. Every human being must receive their own personal salvation by a definitive exercise of their faith in the Gospel, their salvation effectively shown to be be genuine by their "change in direction" so to speak. In other words all men are born in Adam and in sin (doomed to die eternally - Ro 5:12, Ro 3:23, Ro 6:23) and all are in desperate need of "my salvation," a personal salvation with personal relationship with the Savior, Christ Jesus. In Adam our eyes are focused horizontally (earthly) and our final direction is downward (hell, Hades, gehenna, eternal death in Adam). When we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9), while our eyes may still often be focused horizontally (because we still have the sin principle, the fallen flesh within our mortal bodies), the Spirit and the Word lift our gaze vertically (so that we are more and more anticipating the return of the Lover of our souls) and our final direction is upward (heaven, eternal life in Christ). Salvation (translated "salvation" 61/77x)(03444) (yeshua see note on related word "Yehosua" in next paragraph) is from a root in Arabic = "make wide" or "make sufficient' sarar = "narrow," = "be restricted" or "cause distress." The idea of wide connotes freedom from distress and ability to pursue one's objectives. It means to move from distress (enemies, natural catastrophies, plague or famine, sickness) to safety which requires deliverance. Generally deliverance comes from some an outside source. The one who brings deliverance is known as the "savior." Yeshua may be used in everyday life free of theological overtones at a well Moses saved daughters of Reuel (Ex 2:17) but generally has strong religious meaning. And so we read Yahweh wrought deliverance - God of our salvation Ps 68:19-20. Yeshua can also describe salvation through human agents empowered by God. While the NT idea of salvation is primarily forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin's power and defeat of Satan, the OT only begins to point in this direction. And so in the OT the majority of references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophies. Note that there is a similar Hebrew word Yehoshua/Jehoshua (03091) which is the English Name Joshua (as translated in the OT), and which is the equivalent of the Name Jesus (Iesous) in the NT. Yehosua is from Jehovah (Yahweh) + yasha' (03467) and means "the LORD delivers." Yehosua is translated in the Greek (Lxx) as Iesous which is Name "Jesus" in the NT. Iesous means Yahweh saves. The root yasha' (see word study)' means "to save, to help, to deliver, to defend. The underlying idea of this verb is bringing to a place of safety or broad pasture as opposed to a narrow strait, symbolic of distress and danger." (Baker, W. The Complete Word Study Dictionary : Old Testament) The Lxx translates Yeshua in Ps 42:5 with the Greek noun soteria (4991) which means salvation, deliverance as when one physically rescues another from danger and impending death (Acts 27:34 "preservation") but most often in the NT soteria refers to the salvation effected for sinners by their Savior Jesus Christ (Lk 1:69, 77-note). Soteria is used of the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage (Acts 7:25, compare use of soteria in Ex 14:13 to translate "the salvation [yeshua; soteria] of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today" = Red Sea opening.). Soteria is used to translate Jacob last discourse in Ge 49:18 "For Thy salvation (yeshua; soteria) I wait, O LORD." Herbert Lockyer - Jesus (Iesous) means, "Jehovah Salvation." Salvation is not something, but Someone. "He Himself (autos, not merely like Joshua, He is God's instrument to save) saves His people from their sins. He was born a Saviour (Luke 2:11-note - soter). In his profitable study YESHUA IN THE ΤENACΗ (the name Jesus in the Old Testament), Arthur E. Glass draws attention to the fact that the name Jesus is actually hidden in the Old Testament, being found about one hundred times from Genesis to Habakkuk. The author affirms that Every time the Old Testament uses the word salvation (especially with the Hebrew suffix meaning "my," [Ed: As here in Ps 118:21] "thy," or "his," with very few exceptions (when the word is used in an impersonal sense) it is identically the same word as YESHUA (Jesus). This is actually what the angel said to Joseph—Thou shalt call His name YESHUA (salvation) (Mt 1:21, cp Luke 2:21-note). Glass then goes on to show how this works out in some of the Old Testament passages. What David actually said was, "I will rejoice in thy YESHUA" (Jesus) (Ps. 9:14). That Jesus was the fulfillment, embodiment, and personification of the oft-repeated term "salvation" is borne out in the great passage from the prophet Isaiah: "Behold, God is my YESHUA [a reference to Jesus in His pre-incarnate, eternal existence (John 1:1)]; I will trust, and not be afraid; for JAH-JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my YESHUA [Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14-note)]. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of YESHUA" [Jesus crucified, waters of salvation flowing from Calvary (John 7:37-39-note)] (Isa. 12:2, 3-note). No other name has endeared the Saviour to our hearts, or has been enshrined in so many Christ-honoring hymns as JESUS. It will ever remain "sweet... in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows... and drives away his fears." (All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible) Many names are dear, but His is dearer; How it grows more as life goes on! Many friends are near, but He is nearer, Always what we want, and all our own. Spurgeon's exposition of Psalm 118:21 - Having entered, the champion exclaims, “I will praise thee,” not “I will praise the Lord,” for now he vividly realizes the divine presence, and addresses himself directly to Jehovah, whom his faith sensibly discerns. How well it is in all our songs of praise to let the heart have direct and distinct communion with God himself! The Psalmist’s song was personal praise too:—“I will praise thee”; resolute praise, for he firmly resolved to offer it; spontaneous praise, for he voluntarily and cheerfully rendered it, and continuous praise, for he did not intend soon to have done with it. It was a life-long vow to which there would never come a close, “I will praise thee.” “For thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.” He praises God by mentioning his favors, weaving his song out of the divine goodness which he had experienced. In these words he gives the reason for his praise,—his answered prayer, and the deliverance which he had received in consequence. How fondly he dwells upon the personal interposition of God! “Thou hast heard me.” How heartily be ascribes the whole of his victory over his enemies to God; nay, he sees God himself to be the whole of it: “Thou art become my salvation.” It is well to go directly to God himself, and not to stay even in his mercy, or in the acts of his grace. Answered prayers bring God very near to us; realized salvation enables us to realize the immediate presence of God. Considering the extreme distress through which the worshiper had passed, it is not at all wonderful that he should feel his heart full of gratitude at the great salvation which God had wrought for him, and should at his first entrance into the temple lift up his voice in thankful praise for personal favours so great, so needful, so perfect. Psalm 118:22 The Stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief Corner stone. The stone (KJV): Mt 21:42 Mk 12:10,11 Lu 20:17 Ac 4:11 Eph 2:20-22 1Pe 2:4-8 the head (KJV): Zec 4:7 Septuagint (Lxx) - lithon on apedokimasan (apodokimazo: aorist tense - throw out as result of a test; reject, declare useless Mt 21.42 or think of as unworthy Heb 12.17) oi oikodomountes (oikodomeo: present tense: the builders Mt 21.42) houtos egenethe (3SAPI) eis kephalen gonias (gonia: lit. street corner Mt6.5; of a building =cornerstone, keystone, capstone Mt 21.42) Peter clearly links this OT prophecy with the Messiah (Note that in the NAS words that are quoted directly from the OT are easy to identify for they are in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS as you see in all 3 of the passages below). 6 For this is contained in Scripture: "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," 8 and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE"; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed. (1 Peter 2:6-8) Henry Morris on 1 Peter 2:6 (chief corner stone) - Note that Peter here recognizes that Christ, not himself, is the foundation stone of the church (as some have misinterpreted the teaching of Matthew 16:18). He is quoting from Isaiah 28:16, showing that this Messianic prophecy was fulfilled in Christ. The Lord Jesus also called His words the true foundation (Matthew 7:24-27), and Paul confirmed that there is no other foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11). Isaiah had also stressed that "in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength," or "the Rock of ages" (Isaiah 26:4). Henry Morris on 1 Peter 2:7 - The reference here (1 Peter 2:7) is to Psalm 118:22, which, in turn, was referring to the tradition that, when Solomon's temple was being built, the odd-shaped stone which seemed not to fit anywhere turned out to be the chief cornerstone, designed for the very apex of the temple. The stones had all been precisely cut deep in the quarry, so that no noise of construction could be heard while the temple was growing (1 Kings 5:17; 6:7). In analogous fashion, each believer is being laid quietly as a living stone in the great spiritual temple. But the unique stone of the pinnacle corner is Christ Himself, who is also the temple's foundation. He is both underneath all, upholding us, and above all, crowning us as our glorious Head. Henry Morris on 1 Peter 2:8 (rock of offence) - In the meantime, until He is made the head stone (Zechariah 4:7), Christ is just a stumbling stone on the ground, as it were, getting in the way of everyone who would pass by. Peter here quotes Isaiah 8:14, to which Jesus also referred in the same vein (Matthew 21:42-44). But note also Daniel 2:34 and Jeremiah 13:16. THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED: the Jewish leaders said they would not have Him rule over them. They thought Him unworthy! Notice that the Psalmist mentions "salvation" (Ps 118:21) which is the Hebrew Word "Yeshu'ah" (Jesus is called Yeshua today by many Messanic Jews). HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNER: This phrase is quoted in Mt 21:42, Acts 4:11, Ep 2:20 & 1 Pe 2:7 In Mt 21:42-43 the experts in BUILDING GOD'S TEMPLE, had rejected the CORNER-STONE that God Himself had selected for His Own house!!! Their very rejection was the FULFILLMENT of this prophecy in Ps 118:22-23! But God is sovereign...and so He sets aside the JEWS for a time and makes Christ the CORNERSTONE and gives the gospel to a ''NATION'' that will be fruitful. Today a CORNERSTONE is placed at the foundation of a building, in ancient Israel the CAPSTONE was placed at the very top---a true ''HEAD'' STONE. Jesus is the STONE that serves as the alignment and completion of our lives. See Christ (as Stone or Rock), Ge 49:24; Ex 17:6, 1 Pe 2:8, Ps 118 Looks beyond the rejection of the Stone (Christ) to His final exaltation in the kingdom (v22). <Christ> (Stone): v22; Isa 8:14. (Ge 49:24; 1 Pet 2:8) See related artices: The Rock of Ages Christ the Smitten Rock Christ the Stone According to Mark 12:10–11 (cf. Mark 8:31; Matt 23:29; Luke 13:35), Jesus applied Ps 118:22–23 to his coming passion and resurrection, and they ring out again on Peter’s lips in Acts 4:11. V 22 of the psalm became an important element in the theological stone imagery of Eph 2:20–21; 1 Pet 2:4–8. Underlying the citation of verse 6 in Heb 3:6 is doubtless a sense of the Christian community’s oneness with the glorified Christ.