Have you ever experienced talking with a person and they repeat themselves? If their mind is functioning correctly, it could be that they are emphasizing something. They may be trying to make a point.
Psalm 118 begins and ends with the same statement. Verse one says: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Then clear at the end of this song, it repeats the statement: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
Throughout this psalm, the author explains the many times that he was in distress. And he called on the Lord, and the Lord heard him and gave him deliverance. An example of this is Psalm 118:5: “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free.”
Some commentators have advised that this psalm was possibly read at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival remembers how God was with His people during their wilderness wanderings; after the exodus in the land of Egypt and before they took possession of the land of Canaan.
Certainly God delivers His people. He is to be trusted for refuge; His praise comes as a result of His goodness in Christ.
Jesus is highlighted in this psalm as well. Psalm 118:22 states: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Jesus would quote this verse throughout the synoptic gospels in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17. Peter also uses it in Acts 4:11. And there are other times that Jesus is referred to as the “cornerstone” (i.e. Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:7). What does this mean?
Although rejected by many, Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. Allegiance to Him is what defines a Christian. Jesus put Himself in this position of both authority and allegiance, as He said in Matthew 16:24: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.”
Have you taken that step? Are you willing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, even though it may be the unpopular thing to do? Isn’t it more important for you to be in a relationship with God, rather than receive the wholesale approval of your peers?
May God grant you grace to trust and follow Him. Amen.
