egyptian hallel

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -118

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God’s Love Never Fails

Dear friend,

Come, let’s grab a mug of cocoa or a cup of coffee and open our hearts together to one of the most joyful and Christ-centered psalms in the Bible—Psalm 118. This beloved song was sung by God’s people at Passover and other great festivals. It pulses with thanksgiving, confidence in the Lord, and the kind of triumphant praise that still stirs our souls today. As we walk through it together, we will see how every line ultimately leads us to Jesus, our rejected-yet-exalted Savior.

The Framework of the Psalm

Psalm 118 belongs to the “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113–118), traditionally sung during the Passover meal. Imagine Jesus singing these very words with His disciples on the night He was betrayed (Matthew 26:30). That alone makes the psalm incredibly personal for us as Christians.The psalm is structured like a grand procession of praise:

  • Verses 1–4: A call to the whole community to give thanks.
  • Verses 5–18: Personal testimony of deliverance.
  • Verses 19–21: Entering the gates of righteousness.
  • Verses 22–29: The cornerstone and the day of salvation.

“His Love Endures Forever” (vv. 1–4)

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (v. 1)

The Hebrew word for “love” here is hesed—covenant love, loyal, unfailing, merciful, and kind. This phrase is repeated twenty-six times throughout the psalm like a heartbeat. Israel, the house of Aaron, and all who fear the Lord are invited to echo it. For us, hesed finds its fullest expression at the cross. “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When life feels shaky, we can still declare with warm confidence: His love endures forever. It outlasts our failures, our fears, and even death itself.

From Distress to Deliverance (vv. 5–18)

The psalmist cried out from a tight place (metzar), surrounded by enemies. Yet the Lord answered and set him in a broad place. He declares with bold faith:

“The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (v. 6)

This is the same confidence the early church carried into persecution and the same confidence you and I can carry today. Notice how personal the language becomes: “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (v. 14). Salvation is not abstract—it is a Person. Jesus is our strength, our song, and our salvation.The psalmist even says the Lord chastened him severely but did not give him over to death (v. 18). How tenderly this points to the cross, where Jesus took our chastisement so we would never be abandoned to death.The Stone and the Cornerstone (vv. 19–27)

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (vv. 22–23)

This is one of the clearest Messianic prophecies in the Psalms. Jesus quoted it about Himself (Matthew 21:42). The religious leaders rejected Him, but God made Him the cornerstone of the new temple—the Church—and the foundation of our lives.Then comes the beloved verse we often sing:

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (v. 24)

While we can rejoice in every new sunrise, the ultimate “day” the psalm celebrates is the day of salvation—the day of resurrection victory. Every Sunday when we gather, we are proclaiming: This is the day the Lord has made! Christ is risen!

The psalm ends with the blessing of the one who comes in the name of the Lord (v. 26)—words the crowds shouted as Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:9). The sacrifice is bound to the horns of the altar (v. 27), a beautiful picture of Jesus, our Passover Lamb, willingly bound for us.

Living Psalm 118 Today

My friends, Psalm 118 invites us into a lifestyle of grateful dependence. When you feel surrounded by troubles, remember the Lord is your strength. When you feel rejected or overlooked, remember the Stone that was rejected became the Cornerstone. When tomorrow feels uncertain, declare, “This is the day the Lord has made!”

A Prayer for You

Gracious Father, thank You that Your steadfast love never fails. Thank You for sending Jesus, the rejected Stone who became our sure foundation. When we are afraid, remind us that You are with us. When we are weary, be our strength and song. May we enter each day with rejoicing because this is the day You have made, and because Your Son has risen. Bind our hearts to Your altar of love, and let our lives be a continual offering of praise. In the precious name of Jesus, our Cornerstone, Amen.

Go forth today singing, “His love endures forever!” You are deeply loved, and the same God who delivered the psalmist delivers you—through His Son, with His Spirit, and for His glory.

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -113

/ taethne

Praise the Lord!

Dear friends in Christ,

What a tender and majestic invitation the Lord extends to us in Psalm 113! As we open this beloved portion of Scripture together, let us come with hearts warmed by the same grace that first called us to Himself. We cherish how the Psalms lift our eyes to the sovereign God who rules all things for His glory and our good. Psalm 113, part of the Egyptian Hallel sung by our Lord Jesus at the Passover meal, calls us not to mere ritual but to joyful, unending worship. Here we see the high and holy One stooping low in mercy—exalting the humble not because of their merit, but by His free and sovereign grace alone. Let us linger exegetically over this psalm, verse by verse, and let it kindle fresh devotion in our souls.

“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” (vv. 1–3)

The psalm opens with a triple call to praise—three times the servants of the Lord are summoned to bless His name. In the original Hebrew, this is no casual suggestion; it is a command rooted in covenant relationship. Who are these “servants”? In the Old Testament context, they are the redeemed people of Israel, delivered from Egypt. Yet from a Christian vantage, we see ourselves here too: those whom God has sovereignly called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). Our praise is not optional; it flows from hearts regenerated by the Spirit. And notice the scope—universal and perpetual! From dawn to dusk, across every nation and every age, the name of Yahweh is worthy. This is no tribal deity confined to one people or one hour; He is the covenant-keeping Lord whose glory fills the earth. Beloved, in your daily labors, in your quiet mornings and weary evenings, does your heart rise in this ceaseless praise? What comfort to know that even when we falter, the church throughout the world joins the chorus!

“The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?” (vv. 4–6)

Here the psalmist pauses in awe at God’s transcendence. He is enthroned above the nations—far above every earthly power, every proud empire, every fleeting human scheme. His glory towers even beyond the heavens themselves. Yet immediately the question comes: “Who is like the Lord our God?” The answer, of course, is no one. He is incomparable. And what breathtaking condescension follows! This exalted King “looks far down” upon the heavens and the earth. The Hebrew verb here carries the sense of stooping or bending low, like a loving father leaning over a cradle. In Reformed theology, we glory in this truth: our God is both infinitely sovereign and intimately near. He is not a distant watchmaker who winds the universe and walks away; He is the covenant God who draws near in grace. This is the same God who, in Christ, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself” (Phil. 2:6–7). How our hearts should melt at such love!

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord!” (vv. 7–9)

Now the psalm reaches its sweetest crescendo. The same God who reigns on high stoops to the dust—the very place of death and despair. The poor and needy, the barren and hopeless: these are not overlooked. He raises them up, not by their striving, but by His mighty hand. In the ancient world, sitting “with princes” meant honor, security, inheritance. The barren woman—echoing Sarah, Hannah, and Rachel—receives fruitfulness and joy. Exegetically, this recalls Israel’s own deliverance from slavery, lifted from the ash heap of Egypt to the promised land. But how much richer is the gospel fulfillment! Through redeemed eyes, this is pure sovereign grace. We were all poor sinners, lying in the dust of rebellion; we were spiritually barren, unable to produce one good fruit for God. Yet in Christ, God has “raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6). The barren church—once fruitless among the Gentiles—now overflows with children of God from every tribe. This is not reward for effort; it is the free gift of the King who delights to exalt the lowly. Soli Deo gloria!

As the early church father Irenaeus so beautifully captured this wonder of God’s condescending grace, “The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.” In beholding this high-and-humble Lord of Psalm 113—in seeing Him lift us from dust to dignity—we truly live. Our praise becomes the very breath of eternal life.

Beloved brothers and sisters, let Psalm 113 shape your week. When pride whispers that you must climb to God by your own strength, remember: He stoops first. When despair whispers that your barren places will never bloom, remember: He delights to make the desolate fruitful. Rise each morning and let the name of the Lord be praised—from the rising of the sun until its setting. And when evening falls, rest in the arms of the same sovereign Savior who has already seated you with princes in the heavenly realms.

Praise the Lord! May His warm, fatherly grace fill your hearts anew today. Amen.