Thou hast thrust hard at me that I might fall; but Jehovah helped me.
The psalm retells one rescue after another. This verse names the sharpest moment: a push meant to bring the singer down, and the Lord's help.
The verse is the middle step in a sequence. It moves from a crowd of enemies, to one adversary, to God Himself.
Verse 13, the enemy had thrust hard at them so that they might fall; Jehovah helped them... So we have the full character of trial, as we have seen it even in Job. First the instruments: men, even all nations. Next, the enemy working through them, acting on the spirit, thrusting hard at the soul. But behind it, and before it too, is God chastening, but not giving over. This is full of instruction for us. We pass through many circumstances where we meet all these elements.
Another writer lines up three lines from this psalm. He uses an older wording of verse 13, which reads it as words spoken to someone.
Put these three sentences together: "All nations surrounded me" (v. 10); "You thrust hard at me that I might fall" (v. 13); "The Lord has disciplined me severely" (v. 18). The first of these deals with what will be public. All men will know when all nations are fighting over Jerusalem. The next deals with what may not be so public. There is an adversary of a very special sort. His one object is to overthrow the people of God, just because they are the people through whom God will establish His purpose for the earth.
Commentators differ over who that "you" is. One writer names Satan, then allows a second reading.
Satan is that adversary, though perhaps we may take the "You" to mean the antichristian power he would use to crush them. And he would crush them, if the Lord did not help them and become their salvation, just as He did when He brought their forefathers out of Egypt.
Another reading takes the line as speech directed at a foe already beaten — the singer turns and speaks to the defeated attacker from safe ground.
The psalmist here speaks to the beaten enemy. "You thrust at me hard, to make me fall; but Jehovah helped me. Jehovah is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." So singing and salvation are now heard in the tents of the righteous. As at the Red Sea, and even more wonderfully, Jehovah's right hand has done it all.
The chain of causes does not stop with the attacker. One writer follows it to the top.
The enemy had thrust hard at him to bring about his fall (v. 13). But the Lord has chastened him "severely" for his good. The enemy would oppose him to bring him into death; the LORD chastened him to save him from death... The devil is behind the outward enemies of God's people. But the Lord is behind the power of the devil, and there is no one behind the Lord.
The enemy's push had one aim: a fall. One writer shows what it actually produces.
The violence of the enemy in effect drives the godly into the refuge of the Lord's presence. Since this is so, the believer has reason to thank God for the oppression. So the help of the Lord is learned in real experience (v. 13). In fact, human weakness is in effect turned into strength, as Paul writes, "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). For the weakness that drives one into the Lord's presence becomes spiritual strength.
Read as prophecy, the verse belongs to Israel at a moment with no human way out.
The distress had been caused — or, if we take the psalm as prophecy, will be caused — by the nations that will gather against Jerusalem in the last days, as we read in Zechariah. To human eyes Israel's case will then be hopeless. It would be hopeless if Jehovah did not step in: "The Lord helped me." (v. 13.)
- Layer one — men. The nations surround, and everyone can see that trouble.
- Layer two — the adversary. Behind the crowd is one enemy, thrusting at the soul and aiming at a fall. This part of the trial stays hidden.
- Layer three — God. The same blows come as His chastening; the devil pushes toward death, the Lord chastens to save from it.
- The end of the chain. Satan stands behind the enemies, God stands behind Satan, and no one stands behind God.
- The outcome. The push that meant to topple you drives you into His presence. There weakness turns to strength, and helplessness turns into a song.
My strength and song is Jah, and he is become my salvation.
Verse 14 shouts praise right after a moment of near collapse: the enemy pushed hard, and the Lord held the psalmist up. Israel had sung these same words once before, at the Red Sea — so why does the line come back at every rescue?
One writer sees the same words fitting a new rescue of Israel, still ahead — one as complete as the first.
The point to observe is how beautifully these words fit Israel's new deliverance. That deliverance is as wonderful and complete as when their Redeemer God brought them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. This Psalm is the voice of the remnant of Israel, brought through their final trials into blessing, looking back on their past circumstances and celebrating their deliverance... To human eyes, Israel's case will then be hopeless. It would be hopeless if Jehovah did not step in: "the Lord helped me" (v. 13). So the praise bursts out, just as it did long ago when they stood on the banks of the Red Sea.
The ESV prints the name here as "the LORD." The Hebrew word behind it is "Jah," and one writer sets that name apart from "Jehovah."
"Jehovah" is used for the name of God in relation with His people, while "Jah" appears to express His intrinsic being. The name is fitting on its own where it stands alone, as in Exodus 15:2, Exodus 17:16 and Psalm 118:14. Jah, then, is God in His absolute being, the Self-existent. Jehovah is God in His relative and continuous character, the God of the ages, especially in connection with the sons of Israel. He at last fulfils the promises He made to the fathers as God Almighty. So in Exodus 15:2, "Jah is my strength and song."
Strength, song and salvation are not three ways of saying one thing. Each has its own result in the verses that follow.
The devil, who drove the nations on, had thrust hard at him. But the Lord had stepped in to help him, and had become his "strength," his "song" and his "salvation" (vv. 13-14). The result follows: the "song" sounds in the dwelling of the righteous, the "strength" shows in the right hand of the Lord, and the "salvation" in deliverance from death (vv. 15-17).
The verb changes halfway through the line. The Lord is strength and song; He has become salvation. It points to something already done and now known in the soul. One writer says God teaches that knowledge by first showing His people their own weakness.
In delivering His people, the Lord proved His strength to them in a special way. All the wonders they had seen in Egypt had not taught them to sing, "The Lord is my strength." To sing this song, "the salvation of the Lord" must be known in the soul. But before showing Israel His strength, the Lord made their own weakness plain to them. No one really knows the power of God's salvation until he knows himself to be "without strength." God has His own way of teaching believers this necessary lesson.
The pressure of the enemy in verse 13, then, is not an interruption to the song but the road into it.
The violence of the enemy in effect drives the godly into the refuge of the Lord's presence. Since this is so, the believer has reason to thank God for the oppression... For the weakness that drives one into the Lord's presence becomes spiritual strength. "And He has become my salvation" (v. 14). The soul is lifted out of its bondage into the liberty of deliverance.
One writer traces what the Red Sea crossing pictures, and what it did to a nation of slaves.
The passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea is a figure of the death and resurrection of Christ for His people. The result is that the moment Israel got through the Red Sea they began to sing. While they were in Egypt there was no song. What were they doing? Sighing, crying, weeping, groaning — they were miserable slaves... But the moment they had gone through the Red Sea, by the path God had opened for them, what do I find? They begin to sing... And what is the burden of the song? "The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." It is what the Lord is, and what the Lord has done... They are saved, and they know they are saved.
- Pressure. Verse 13 sets up verse 14. The enemy's hard thrust drives the soul into the Lord's presence, and there weakness turns into strength.
- Person. "Jah" is God in His own absolute being, the Self-existent One. The strength named here is not a gift sent, but God Himself.
- Proof. "Has become my salvation" is past tense and personal. It belongs not to people hoping for rescue, but to people on the far shore who know they are saved.
- Praise. Song follows salvation, never comes first. Slaves sighed and groaned in Egypt; the singing began only once God had brought them out.
- Pattern. The Red Sea crossing pictures the death and resurrection of Christ. The same words fit every rescue God works for His people, from Israel's first deliverance to the one still ahead.
The voice of triumph and salvation is in the tents of the righteous the right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly;
The song in this verse does not rise in a temple or a palace but in tents — the dwellings of people who have just come through danger. Commentators read it as the shout of a people just rescued. Two questions follow. Who is singing? And whose arm won the battle?
This joy comes after trouble, not instead of it. One writer walks through the layers of pressure the singers had survived.
Verses 10-18 unfold what Israel has passed through. All nations had surrounded them; in Jehovah's name he would destroy them. They are put out like a fire. In verse 13, the enemy had thrust hard at them so that they might fall; Jehovah helped them. Verses 14-17 sing the joy and rejoicing that followed. Verse 18 gives another side of their trial. It was also Jehovah's chastening. He had chastened them hard, but had not given them over to death, which was the enemy's power against them. So we have the full character of trial... first the instruments, men, even all nations; next, the enemy working through them, pressing on the spirit and thrusting hard at the soul; but behind it, and before it too, is God chastening, yet not giving them up. This is full of instruction for us in many circumstances we pass through.
This is not the first time God's people have sung like this. One writer hears the Red Sea behind these words, and says this rescue is even more wonderful.
So singing and salvation now speak out in the tents of the righteous. As at the Red Sea, and even more wonderfully, it is Jehovah's right hand that has done it all. Jehovah is the "man of war"; "the right hand of the LORD does valiantly."
A tent is not a settled home. One commentator notes that this joy does not wait for better housing. (Where the ESV has "glad songs of salvation," older translations read "the voice of rejoicing and salvation.")
This liberty issues in "the voice of rejoicing and salvation," even when still in tents, temporary dwellings (v. 15), for it is in effect the celebration of the valiant activity of the right hand of the Lord.
This Psalm also had a fixed place in Israel's year. One writer traces when it was sung, and who sang it.
From ancient times the Jews have used this Psalm as the last one in their Passover celebration at home... They call it the "Hallel," which means the Praise. Our Lord sang this Hallel with His disciples (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26)... It seems clear that they also sang it on other feast days, apart from Passover; perhaps at the feast of tabernacles.
The singers name the winner of the battle, and it is not themselves. Earlier in the Psalm the singer says he cut off the nations — but he adds four words: in the name of the LORD.
It is remarkable that the Psalmist should say, "I cut them off." But note that he does it "in the Name of the Lord." That means the power that does it is the Lord's, and not his own. Verses 13-17 fully acknowledge this. It is the right hand of the Lord that has achieved the victory, and the right hand of Jehovah is Christ. The Son of Man, made strong for Jehovah, is "the Man of Your right hand" (Ps. 80:17). So instead of going down to death, the godly live and declare the works of the Lord.
Verse 14 names what the Lord became to the sufferer. One writer follows each of those words into the verses that come next.
The Lord had intervened for his help and had become his "strength," his "song" and his "salvation" (vv. 13-14). The result: the "song" sounds in the dwelling of the righteous; the "strength" shows in the right hand of the Lord; and the "salvation" shows in deliverance from death (vv. 15-17).
- Trial first. Nations, an enemy thrusting at the soul, and God's own chastening stand behind this song. Yet He never gave the sufferer over to death.
- Strength given. What God became to them in verse 14 — strength, song, salvation — is what verses 15-17 then display in action.
- Song placed. The rejoicing sounds in tents, temporary dwellings, before any settled comfort arrives.
- Hand named. The singers credit the victory to the right hand of the LORD, not to themselves. One writer identifies that right hand with Christ.
- Life resulting. Because that hand acted, the delivered do not go down to death but live to tell what God has done.
The right hand of Jehovah is exalted, the right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly.
This line is the shout of a people who have just survived an attack that should have destroyed them. The same claim about the Lord's right hand comes twice in one verse. That repetition shows where they place the credit. Three questions follow: whose hand is this, what victory are they celebrating, and when do they sing?
Across Scripture this phrase carries a settled set of ideas.
The "right hand" speaks of authority, power, and eminence. According to Exodus 15:6, delivering and subduing power belong to the right hand. In Genesis 48:14 the right hand is the dispenser of sovereign and irrevocable blessing.
Earlier in this psalm the speaker says he cuts off his enemies. Verse 16 shows who really did it, and one writer names whose hand it is.
That the Psalmist should say, "I cut them off," is remarkable. But note that he does it "in the Name of the Lord." That means the power in which the thing is done is the Lord's, not his own. This is fully acknowledged in verses 13-17. It is the right hand of the Lord that has achieved the victory, and the right hand of Jehovah is Christ. The Son of Man, made strong for Jehovah, is "the Man of Your right hand" (Ps. 80:17). So instead of the godly being brought down to death, they live and declare the works of the Lord.
Older translations read the first half of the verse as "the right hand of the Lord is exalted." That is the wording the next writer follows.
Scripture speaks of the right hand of the Lord as referring to Christ Himself, the One who carries out God's counsels. He is exalted, and He certainly does valiantly (v. 16).
The psalm borrows older words. One writer hears the Red Sea song behind this verse.
The psalmist speaks here to the defeated enemy. "You thrust at me hard, to make me fall; but Jehovah helped me. Jehovah is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." So singing and salvation are now sounding out in the tents of the righteous. And as at the Red Sea, only more marvellously, it is Jehovah's right hand that has accomplished it all. Jehovah is the "man of war"; "Jehovah's right hand does valiantly."
Verse 14 names three things the Lord became: strength, song and salvation. Each one shows up in the verses that follow, and the strength shows up here.
Second, the enemy of his soul — the devil who energised the nations (Rev. 12:15-17) — had thrust hard at him. But the Lord had stepped in to help him. He had become his "strength," his "song" and his "salvation" (vv. 13-14). The result is that the "song" is heard in the dwelling of the righteous. The "strength" shows in the right hand of the Lord, and the "salvation" in deliverance from death (vv. 15-17).
One writer reads the psalm as the voice of a rescued nation looking back. He finds three layers in the trial, not one.
Verses 10-18 unfold the circumstances and dealings Israel has passed through. All nations had surrounded them; in Jehovah's name he would destroy them. … Verse 18 gives another side of their trial. It was also Jehovah's chastening. He had chastened them severely, but had not given them over to death, which was the enemy's power against them. So we have the full character of trial, as we saw it even in Job: instruments, men, even all nations; next, the enemy through them, acting on the spirit, thrusting hard at the soul. But behind it, and before it too, is God chastening, but not giving over. This is full of instruction for us in many circumstances we pass through.
Another writer dates the trouble to a crisis still ahead.
Taken in its prophetic form, the distress will come from the nations gathered against Jerusalem in the last days, as we read in Zechariah.
- Hand. The right hand means authority, power and eminence. It delivers, it subdues, and it gives blessing no one can take back.
- Person. Writers name that hand as Christ Himself — "the Man of Your right hand," who carries out God's purposes.
- Pattern. The song uses Red Sea words: Jehovah the man of war, doing it all Himself, only more marvellously this time.
- Praise. Strength shows in the right hand, salvation in escape from death, and the song in the tents of the righteous.
- Purpose. Behind the nations stands the enemy. Behind the enemy stands God, chastening but never giving over. That is why the song ends in victory.
I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of Jah.
Psalm 118 is a thanksgiving song from people who have just come through danger on every side, and verse 17 is where their confidence turns from survival to speech. Two questions sit under it: who kept them alive, and what is the life for?
The verse does not come from a place of safety. These people can still count their enemies, and they steady themselves on what God has promised, not on what they can see.
Verse seventeen expresses, with much power and sweetness, how unshaken their faith stays. Hemmed in by fear on every side, His people think of the covenanted faithfulness and power of God, and look forward with joy to retelling His mighty acts.
Earlier in the psalm the speaker says he cuts off the nations. Older versions read "I will destroy them" there. Notice the phrase he attaches to that claim.
Three times we get the words, "In the Name of the Lord will I destroy them," or more literally, as the margin shows, "I cut them off"… That the Psalmist should say, "I cut them off," is remarkable. But note that he does it "in the Name of the Lord." That means the power behind the act is the Lord's, and not his own. It is the right hand of the Lord that has won the victory… So instead of going down into death, the godly live and declare the works of the Lord.
The next verse admits the Lord Himself had disciplined the speaker severely. So the pressure came in three layers, not one.
Third, behind the opposition of the nations and the power of Satan there was, in these trials, the chastening of the Lord. The enemy had thrust hard at him to bring about his fall (v. 13); but the Lord has chastened him "severely" for his good. The enemy would oppose him to bring him into death; the Lord chastened him to save him from death. If the Lord chastens, it is only to remove all that is contrary to Himself in His people. He does it to open a righteous way into His presence, so that they may stand there for His praise (vv. 18-21). The devil is behind the outward enemies of God's people, but the Lord is behind the power of the devil, and there is no one behind the Lord.
The second half of the verse explains the first. One writer reads the plea as the words of Jesus Himself.
Jesus here pleads (see also Ps. 6:5, Ps. 30:9, Ps. 115:17) to be delivered from death, on the ground that the dead could not praise God, nor the grave declare Him. For God is not the God of the dead but of the living. "The living, the living, he shall praise you," says Hezekiah, taught by the Spirit to speak as a man who knows he stands in resurrection. And so Jesus cries for deliverance on this most blessed plea, that God is known not in death but in life.
The hope in this verse points to earth, not to heaven. Commentators mark it out as different from the Christian's expectation.
Here we have a very different future for saints from the one that forms the Christian's hope. The Christian looks to be taken out of this scene, while the wicked remain for judgment (2 Thess. 1:7-9). The saint in the Psalms (Ps. 17:15 excepted) looks to stay alive on earth, having an earthly calling. So his proper expectation is to be kept from death (Ps. 68:20; 116:8-9, 15; 118:17).
Another writer names the moment when the verse will be fulfilled.
Verse 17 is particularly applicable to the godly remnant of Israel when entering the millennium. Many will have died during the great tribulation — in fact two-thirds of Israel — but one third will be brought through the fire, refined as silver, and will live on earth throughout the thousand years. They will indeed "live, and recount the deeds of the LORD."
Believers facing death have taken these words on their own lips. John Wycliffe lay ill, with monks crowding his bedside to make their speeches:
Wycliffe lay quite silent until they had finished their speeches. Then he asked his servant to raise him on his pillow, fixed his keen eyes on them and said sternly, "I shall not die, but live, and declare the evil deeds of the friars." In dismay and astonishment the monks rushed from the room. Soon his words came true. His sickness left him, and he rose from his bed to begin his most glorious work — giving the English people the Bible in their own language.
- Pressed — the trouble came in three layers: the nations, the enemy, and God's chastening hand behind both.
- Spared — the enemy pushed him toward death. The Lord chastened him to save him from it.
- Powered — the victory belongs to the Lord's right hand, not to the speaker's own strength, even where he says "I cut them off."
- Purposed — God keeps him alive so he can tell what God has done. The dead cannot praise Him; God is known in life, not in the grave.
- Proved — the confidence holds while the danger is still in sight. It reaches a people who will yet come through fire, and it has steadied believers on their sickbeds.