Psalm 118

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.

Psalm 118, explained

What Psalm 118 is saying

Psalm 118, the climax of the Egyptian Hallel, is a royal thanksgiving psalm featuring a processional entry into the temple with the famous declaration: 'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.' The psalm moves from personal deliverance through corporate celebration to liturgical entrance through the 'gates of righteousness.' Jesus applies the cornerstone verse to Himself (Matt 21:42).

The background behind it

The psalm was sung at the conclusion of the Passover Seder and during the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Hosanna procession (v. 25, 'Save us, we pray') circled the altar. The crowd's use of verse 26 ('Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD') during Jesus's triumphal entry gives the psalm profound christological weight.

Themes running underneath

The rejected-stone metaphor encapsulates reversal theology: what humans discard, God makes foundational. The refrain 'His loving devotion endures forever' frames the entire psalm in covenant faithfulness. The interplay of individual testimony and communal response models how personal deliverance enriches corporate worship.

Why it still matters

This psalm challenges the human tendency to define significance by conventional standards. God's cornerstone is always the rejected stone—a principle that redefines success, leadership, and value in God's economy.

Psalm 118, explained

What Psalm 118 is saying

The background behind it

Themes running underneath

Why it still matters

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