Psalm 118 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 118 Short Summary:

Psalm 118 is a celebration of God’s faithful love. God’s love was a source of security for the psalm’s author. The psalm speaks of a cornerstone which was rejected by men but approved of by God. It goes on to talk about a person who “comes in the name of the Lord” to offer a sacrifice and save the people. Prophetically, the Psalm speaks about Jesus, who sacrificed His own life to save all men.

Psalm 118 Summary

AUTHOR:

• David is the likely author, but no name is given in the text.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• Heb 13:6, Mat 21:9; 21:42, Luk 13:35; 19:38, and others.

THEMES:

• God’s love endures forever and gives His people security.

• God will send a deliverer, one who will come in His name to save His people.

DEFINITIONS:

• House of Aaron (118:3) – Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel. The priests who served Israel in religious matters were all descendants of Aaron.

• Cornerstone (118:22) – A cornerstone is the first stone laid in the foundation of a building. It is the most important stone because all the other stones are aligned to it.

OUTLINE:

• HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER (118:1-29):

  • Psalm 118 begins and ends with the statement, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!”

  • The psalmist encouraged 3 groups of people to repeat after him in making the same expression. The 3 groups were (1) the people of Israel, (2) the house of Aaron, and (3) all who feared the Lord (118:2-4).

  • The writer then recalled how God had helped him in the past, how God had saved him in days of trouble, and how God’s help was superior to that of any man.

  • He wrote, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes” (118:9).

  • He described the nations of the earth rising up against him to destroy him and how the Lord had kept them from succeeding.

  • “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation” (118:14).

  • Sense the Lord had permitted him to survive, he felt it his duty to recount God’s great deeds so that others would worship.

  • The author of Psalm 118 felt like a stone that had been rejected by a builder as being unfit to be part of a building. Indeed, many of his countrymen rejected him, but God gave him a significant place and made him the cornerstone, the most important stone, of the nation (118:22-23).

  • The psalmist saw God’s marvelous work in his own life and declared, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (118:24).

  • He called out to the Lord, saying, “Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (118:25-26).

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE:

• In verses 25-26, the psalmist blessed an individual who would “come in the name of the Lord” to offer a sacrifice and deliverer the people.

• This phrase appears several times in the gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

• Notably, it was shouted by the Jews as they celebrated Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem for Passover week just before His death (often called Jesus’ Triumphal Entry).

• Matthew 21:9 - And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 

• The Jews near Jerusalem recognized Jesus as the deliverer spoken of in the psalms. They used the words of Psalm 118 to welcome Him into the city.