I called upon Jah in distress; Jah answered me [and set me] in a large place.
Verses 1–4 shout that His steadfast love endures forever, and verse 5 gives the occasion: a cry from a tight place, and an answer that gave room. Who is the "I," what lies behind the word "distress," and what freedom does the answer bring?
At verse 5 a single voice takes over, and commentators read that voice as the nation's own.
From verse 5 the Holy Spirit speaks as delivered Israel, and speaks of this faithfulness of Jehovah. Now that He is on their side, they need not fear man. Jehovah is better than man, and better than princes.
Why should one man's rescue be the whole nation's praise?
The occasion of the praise is the deliverance of Israel. The Holy Spirit uses the experience of one delivered man to represent how God steps in for the nation. This godly man called upon the Lord in his distress, and the Lord answered and brought him into a large place.
One writer traces the word behind "distress" to a specific and terrible situation.
The word translated "distress" in verse 5 is, we are told, close to the word "siege." Israel's distress will certainly reach its peak during the siege that Zechariah 14:2 speaks of. At that critical moment the Lord will step in for them, as the next verse shows.
The same writer explains why a still-future rescue is described in the past tense: prophecy often speaks this way, "since the accomplishment of what is declared is so certain that there is nothing incongruous in speaking of it as already done."
In some translations the name called on here is the short form, Jah. Where that name first appears shows what it carries.
We first meet Jah in Exodus 15:2, after God delivered the people from Pharaoh at the Red Sea... If we look at the context of most of the places where it occurs, I think we will be convinced that it is not just a short form of Jehovah. It has a meaning of its own. It reminds His people that He has stepped in with power for them, and will do so again.
The ESV ends the verse with "set me free." Older translations read "set me in a large place." The picture is a prisoner let out into open ground.
When the Lord answered him and set him in a broad place, He delivered him from the confinement that sin had caused — a confinement like that of prison. So his bondage gives way to liberty, and he realizes the Lord is on his side.
Elsewhere in the Psalms the same writer applies the phrase two ways: "For Israel the large place will be blessing in the millennium. But for the Church of God the large place is that of heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
The verse joins two things and nothing in between: a call from a needy man, and an answer from God.
They called on Him in a tight place; He answered in a large place. The way and the end are joined that simply, and the simplicity is the sweetness of it. What power the cry of a needy person has with Him! As a result the soul becomes bold in its confidence: with Jehovah on his side, what can man — all men — do?
One writer hears in these verses not only Israel's cry, but Christ entering into it with them.
Here we have the fellowship of Christ with Israel's special national sorrows in that day, and so bringing Jehovah to be with them. (Verses 4, 5, 7.) All the nations had gathered together against Jerusalem, but Christ was there with them in His heart in the trouble. Jehovah could be with Him, for He trusted in Him, and in His name He destroyed them.
- Narrow. The word behind "distress" is close to "siege" — for Israel, a final encirclement of Jerusalem with no way out.
- Cry. The verse links just two things: a needy person's call and God's answer. The sweetness lies in that directness.
- Jah. The name used is the one first heard after the Red Sea, marking God as the One who steps in with power for His people.
- Wide. The answer is not just relief but room. Prison gives way to liberty: for Israel a coming earthly blessing, for the church a place in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
- Bold. Once God answers, the soul grows bold: with the Lord on his side, what can man do?
Jehovah is for me, I will not fear; what can man do unto me?
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Jehovah is for me among them that help me; and I shall see [my desire] upon them that hate me.
Psalm 118:7 sits inside a short burst of testimony (verses 5–7). A man cried out under pressure. He says the Lord answered him and stood with him. Two questions shape it. What does it mean that the Lord is "on my side as my helper"? And how can a believer look at people who hate him and speak of triumph?
Commentators read this psalm as pointing ahead to a future rescue of Israel. It is told in the words of one man's experience. The word behind "distress" in verse 5 gives the scene its shape.
The word translated "distress" in verse 5 is, we are told, related to the word "siege." Without doubt Israel's distress will reach its peak during the siege that Zechariah 14:2 speaks of. At that critical moment the Lord will step in for them, as the next verse shows. His answer to their cry will bring them out into a large place and destroy their foes, as verse 7 of our Psalm shows.
Another writer marks the same movement in verses 5–7, and names what it stands against.
Verses 5–7 are a memorial of the Lord's past dealings with His people. From the low place of their last distress they cried to Him, and He heard them. Then verses 8 and 9 set their full and grateful confidence and joy in Him against their former empty and fruitless trust in created things.
The phrase is not a claim that God agrees with me. It is the discovery that God has stepped into the case on my behalf — and it was made in the hard place, not away from it.
In his distress he learned that the Lord was on his side and taking his part. If the Lord is for him, who can be against him? He asks, "What can man do to me?" He also learns that it is better to trust in the Lord than in man, or in the great ones of the earth.
Older translations read the verse as "the Lord is for me among those who help me." So it does not deny that others help. It puts the Lord among them, and that changes the outcome for his enemies.
His bondage gives way to liberty, and he realises the Lord is on his side (v. 6). Certainly then he has no reason to fear, for man can do nothing to thwart the Lord's protection. If the Lord is for me (v. 7), along with others who give Him His place of honour, enemies will not only be helpless. They will be completely subdued.
One writer hears another voice in the psalm. He traces the confidence of verse 7 to Christ entering the nation's sorrow, and so bringing the Lord into it with them.
Here Christ shares the national, special sorrows of Israel in that day, and so brings the Lord to be with them (verses 4, 5, 7). All the nations had gathered together against Jerusalem, but Christ was there with them in His heart in the trouble. With Him the Lord could be, for He trusted in Him, and in His name He destroyed them.
The second half of the verse looks on those who hate him. That raises an honest problem for a Christian, who is told to pray for his enemies. Writers here draw a line. Some words of the Psalms a Christian can take as his own. Others belong to a different dealing of God.
We are allowed to take up the words of the Psalmist and say boldly, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:6; Ps. 118:7). But the Christian is told by example and by command to pray for his enemies and to return good for evil. How can he use language such as Psalm 55:15? That is not an isolated case at all. Passages run all through the Psalms that are quite unsuitable for the lips of a Christian, though they are right for the dealing of God they have in view.
One writer takes the same confession and turns its final clause into a question rather than a boast.
If the Lord speaks like this, we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid: what will man do to me?" The last sentence is really a question. If the Lord is my helper, what can man do?
- Distress — the cry of verses 5–7 comes from a besieged, cornered place. The confession of verse 7 is learned there, not before it.
- Takes my part — "on my side" means the Lord takes his part. With the Lord for him, no one can be against him.
- Among helpers — the Lord stands among those who help him. His enemies are not merely held off. They are completely subdued.
- Christ with them — one writer hears Christ sharing the nation's sorrow. His trust brings the Lord into the trouble with them.
- Boldly say — Hebrews 13:6 puts the first half of this confession on Christian lips. But not every line of the Psalms fits a people told to pray for their enemies.
It is better to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in man;
Psalm 118 gives thanks for a rescue, and its centre holds one comparison: the Lord against man. It reads like a settled conclusion, so what experience produced it, and why is it so hard to learn?
The words are not detached advice. They close a section that begins with a cry and an answer. (Older translations read "trust in the LORD" where the ESV has "take refuge.") One writer explains why one man's story stands for the whole nation.
(verses 5-9) The reason for the praise is the deliverance of Israel. The Holy Spirit uses the experiences of one delivered man to stand for God's way of stepping in for the nation. This godly man called on the Lord in his distress, and the Lord answered and brought him into a large place.
The lesson came while the distress was still on him.
So in his distress he learned that the Lord was on his side and taking his part. And if the Lord is for him, who can be against him? He asks, "What can man do to me?" He also learns that it is better to trust in the Lord than in man, or in the great ones of the earth.
Some have counted this verse as the middle verse of the whole Bible. One writer finds that position fitting.
Their confidence in man, even in princes, has broken down. They see that it is better to trust in the Lord. Some say verse 8 is the middle verse of the Bible. If so, it is very fitting. It states one of the greatest facts the Bible teaches: the central fact on which everything for us turns. How quickly we put confidence in man; how slowly we trust in the Lord! Yet Israel has to learn to give up man and trust in God. And we have to learn it too.
"Man" here is not only other people. One man tempts each of us more than the rest.
It is a fact beyond dispute that each of us knows one man we are strongly tempted to trust. We are more likely to trust him than all other men put together. The man you are likely to trust is yourself. The man I am likely to trust is myself. Yet, "Whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Prov. 28:26).
Israel once asked for a king because Samuel's sons had failed them. One writer turns the question on us.
Why did it not occur to the elders of Israel that as Samuel's sons had proved a disappointment to them, the King might be no better? Is a change of government, whether in times ancient or modern, a necessary cure for every ill? Why turn from flesh in one form to flesh in another? Are we not sometimes as foolish as they when difficulties arise?
One man in the same story took the other path. Jonathan went up against the Philistines with almost nobody behind him.
It really is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Jonathan proved it in the happiest way. He went up against the Philistines in the power of that word, "Nothing can stop the Lord from saving by many or by few." It was "the Lord" who filled his soul. Having Him, "many or few" made no difference. Faith does not count on circumstances, but on God.
Rulers fall short too, and not always because they are dishonest.
No matter how well meaning and honest they may be, they cannot untangle the world's problems. This is because God is not the start of their plans, and His glory is not the goal of their policies… but if the Christian trusts in the Lord, the Lord will keep him in peace. "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."
Two prisoners make the comparison sharp. Joseph asked Pharaoh's cupbearer to remember him and was forgotten; a dying criminal asked Jesus to remember him and was answered at once.
Joseph put his confidence, for the moment, in man, and he was disappointed… The dying criminal also put his confidence in a Man. But that Man was the Messiah, David's Son and David's Lord, so he was not put to shame… It is useless to try, as Joseph was tempted to do, to bring the Lord's deliverance about by human means.
- Distress teaches it. The verse is the conclusion of a man who cried out in distress; the Lord answered him and brought him into a large place.
- Deliverance proves it. Once the Lord takes your part, one question is left: "What can man do to me?"
- Self is the last idol. The man we are most tempted to trust is ourselves — yet whoever trusts his own heart is a fool.
- Swapping men solves nothing. Israel traded Samuel's failed sons for a king. We repeat that mistake whenever trouble comes.
- One Man is safe. The dying criminal trusted a Man — the Messiah — and that Man did not fail him. This comparison may well stand at the very centre of the Bible.
It is better to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in nobles.
Psalm 118 is the song of a people brought out of deep trouble, and verses 8 and 9 record the conclusion they draw from it. Verse 8 has already set aside confidence in ordinary men. Verse 9 goes further. It names the people with real power to help, and still puts them below the Lord. The writers quoted below use an older translation, which reads "trust in Jehovah" where the ESV has "take refuge in the LORD."
These words are not abstract advice. A man cried out in trouble. God answered him. This is what he learned, and his experience stands for the whole nation's.
He learned in his distress that the Lord was on his side and taking his part. And if the Lord is for him, who can be against him? He asks, "What can man do to me?" He learns moreover that it is better to trust in the Lord than in man, or the great ones of the earth.
The "princes" of the verse are the great ones of the earth: rulers with rank and reach. Verses 8 and 9 mark a turn from one confidence to another.
Here they express full and grateful confidence and joy in Him (verses 8, 9). This stands in contrast with their old, empty and fruitless reliance on created things. All of it now brings praise to the glory of His grace, for He had shown them light.
The verse is not a complaint about corrupt leaders. Sincerity is not the issue.
To whom can we go but to Him? "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." No matter how well meaning and honest they may be, they cannot untangle the world's problems. And this is because God is not the start of their plans, and His glory is not the goal of their actions.
One writer tests the verse against Israel's demand for a king.
Why did it not occur to the leaders of Israel that, since Samuel's sons had disappointed them, the king might be no better? Is a change of government, whether in ancient or modern times, a necessary cure for every ill? Why turn from flesh in one form to flesh in another? Are we not sometimes as foolish as they when difficulties arise? "It is better to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in princes" (Psalm 118:8-9). Have both reader and writer learned this simple lesson?
Israel had the king they asked for and still trembled before their enemies.
Jonathan proved how much better it is to trust the Lord. He went up against the Philistines trusting the word, "Nothing can stop the Lord from saving by many or by few." It was "the Lord" who filled his soul. Having Him, "many or few" made no difference. Faith does not count on circumstances, but on God.
One writer notes where this verse sits in the Bible, and how much rests on it.
Their confidence in man, even in princes, is broken. They recognize it is better to trust in the Lord. Some have said that verse 8 is the middle verse of the Bible. If so, it is very fitting. It states one of the greatest facts the Bible teaches. Everything for us turns on it. How quickly do we put confidence in man; how slowly do we trust in the Lord! Yet Israel has to learn to stop leaning on man and to trust in God. And we have to learn it too.
There is a nearer prince than any ruler, and he is the hardest to give up.
Beyond dispute, each of us knows one man we are strongly tempted to trust. We are more likely to trust in him than in all other men put together. The man you are likely to trust is yourself. The man I am likely to trust is myself. Yet, "He that trusts in his own heart is a fool" (Prov. 28:26).
The verse says one thing is better, so what does the better choice secure? Ebed-melech pulled the prophet Jeremiah out of a pit, and God promised to spare him because he had trusted in the Lord.
Trust in the Lord is never wasted. Ebed-melech's trust was so small that only He could see it. It is better, then, to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in Jehovah than to put confidence in princes. He has all power and might against the enemy, and His grace toward us knows no limits.
- Better, learned — This is not a theory. In distress, a rescued man found the Lord on his side and stopped counting on the great ones of the earth.
- Better than the best — Honest, well meaning rulers still fail. God is not the start of their plans, and His glory is not the goal of their actions.
- Better than a change of rulers — Israel asked for a king and gained nothing. Turning from flesh in one form to flesh in another is no cure.
- Better than yourself — The man each of us is most tempted to trust is the one in the mirror. Scripture calls that trust foolish.
- Better, always — Trust in the Lord is never wasted, even when only He can see it. He has all power against the enemy, and His grace toward us knows no limits.