Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
2 Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures for ever!
With 19 we are to understand that the festal procession arrives at the Temple (or city) gates, and asks for admission. The picture is of a delivered people entering in to share fellowship and communion with their God. In 20 we have the answering call from within the gates. The Hebrew of this verse plainly reads 'This is the gate to the Lord', i.e. into the presence of God. The thanksgiving expressed in 21 gains in meaning when we think of its being expressed by the returned exiles, who see in the completion of the temple the answer to their prayers in exile. God's deliverance of them is reflected upon in 22ff, in the words about 'the stone'. This is what Israel's experiences mean. The application of these words to Christ, and by Christ to Himself, is striking. One recalls the jeer- ing mockery of the crowd at Calvary, 'He saved others: Himself he cannot save'. He was crucified in meekness but raised in power; rejected by men, but chosen of God and precious. What must this have meant to him, as He went out to Gethsemane and the cross - the assurance that out of the rejection, victory would come! And - by application - surely there is a message for us also. For He entered in for us. Is not this a source of encour- agement and assurance for any weak and despised minority, held of little account and dismissed by the builders of today's world. In this regard we may well say, with the Psalmist, 'This is the day the Lord hath made' even if it seems to be a day of small things. All days are His - even the most pressurised and darkened - if we are able to say 'Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee' (28).