Psalm 118

His Lovingkindness Is Everlasting

by Gary D. Penkala

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
     For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
² Oh let Israel say,
     "His lovingkindness is everlasting."
² Oh let the house of Aaron say,
     "His lovingkindness is everlasting."
⁴ Oh let those who fear the Lord say,
     "His lovingkindness is everlasting."

⁵ From my distress I called upon the Lord;
     The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.
⁶ The Lord is for me; I will not fear;
     What can man do to me?
⁷ The Lord is for me among those who help me;
     Therefore I shall look with satisfaction 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 surround me;
     In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
¹¹ They surround me, yes, they surround me;
     In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
¹² They surround me like bees;
     They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;
     In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.
¹³ You pushed me violently so that I was falling,
     But the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my song,
     And He has become my salvation.
¹⁵ The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;
     The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
     The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
¹⁷ I shall not die, but live,
     And tell the works of the Lord.
¹⁸ The Lord has disciplined me severly,
     But He has not given me over to death.

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of rigtheousness;
     I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord;
     The righteous will enter through it.
²¹ I shall give thanks to Thee, for Thou hast answered me;
     And Thou hast become my salvation.
²² The stone which the builders rejected
     Has become the corner stone.
²³ This is the Lord's doing;
     It is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day which the Lord has made;
     Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
²⁵ O Lord, do save, we beseech Thee;
     O Lord, we beseech Thee, do send prosperity!
²⁶ Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
     We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
²⁷ The Lord is God, and He has given us light;
     Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
²⁸ Thou art my God, and I give thanks to Thee.
     Thou art my God, I extol Thee;
²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
     For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Text is taken from the New American Standard Bible ® © Copyright 1973 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

I. The Text of Psalm 118

This is the last psalm of the first group of "Hallelujah" psalms in Book 5 of the psalter. It is a processional psalm, and recounts a litany of thanksgiving, often in the form of a dialogue. The first section (verse 1-4) is a invocation litany, calling on the groups of worshipers who have come to enter the temple in celebration of the Exodus to praise the Lord's mercy.

In the second section (verses 5-18) the psalmist, speaking for the people, tells of God's great acts of salvation, rescuing his people from their enemies. The middle verses (14-16) are quite similar to portions of the Song of Moses, sung after the miracle at the Red Sea:

The Lord is my strength and my song,
And He has become my salvation;
Thy right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,
Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  Exodus 15:2,6

The psalm closes (verses 19-29) with a liturgical dialogue between the priests of the temple and the people of the congregation. The processional aspect is even clearer in the Grail Bible translation of verse 27b:

Go forward in procession with branches even to the altar.

This verse, together with verse 25 ("O Lord, do save." which in Hebrew is Hosanna) and verse 26 ("Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.") shows the allusions to the Palm Sunday drama.

II. Liturgical Uses of Psalm 118

The very first liturgical use of Psalm 118 may have been eloquently recorded in Nehemiah 12:27-43. This passage recounts a dedication ceremony for the walls of Jerusalem, replete with cymbals, harps and lyres, along with two choirs providing music for the priests and princes of Judah who on that day "offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, even the women and children rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar off." The new hymn written for this liturgy was likely Psalm 118, which told of the earlier celebration of the salvation of the Israelites on the banks of the Red Sea.

In our modern liturgy, Psalm 118 is most often sung during the Easter season, with a backdrop of spring flowers, Alleluias, banners, trumpets, incense and holy water. Several verses are used at the Great Easter Vigil Mass, as the last Responsorial Psalm, with a triple Alleluia refrain and serves as the Gospel Acclamation that night. On Easter Sunday, the Responsorial Psalm at Mass comes from Psalm 118, and the whole of the psalm is sung during Daytime Prayer. During the Easter Octave the complete psalm is sung during Office of Readings on Thursday, and selected verses serve as Responsorial Psalms for Mass on Friday and Saturday. On the Second Sunday of Easter [Divine Mercy Sunday], Psalm 118 is used three times: at Morning Prayer, at Daytime Prayer, and as the Responsorial Psalm for Mass in Years A, B and C. Occuring again as the Responsorial Psalm for Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year B), Psalm 118 is also a common Responsorial Psalm for the Eastertide, and can thus be sung throughout the seaon. The Easter season closes on Pentecost Sunday, and this psalm is sung on that day during Daytime Prayer.

Throughout the year, Psalm 118 is sung every Sunday, alternately at Daytime Prayer or Morning Prayer, emphasizing the Resurrectional character of every Sunday. It is also excerpted as the Responsorial Psalm for the Votive Mass of the Triumph of the Holy Cross and the Mass for Christian Unity. The Mass of Thursday of the First Week of Advent also uses Psalm 118 as the Responsorial Psalm, highlighting the verse, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," as the refrain.

III. Musical Settings of Psalm 118

There are many worthy settings of Psalm 118, either as a Responsorial Psalm, in its entirety, or as excerpts (particularly its famous passages: Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus and Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini). Here is a partial list:

• Alleluia, This Is the Day the Lord Has Made (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [By Flowing Waters, p. 95]
• Aperite mihi portas justitiæ (Dieterich Buxtehude) SAB, continuo, strings [Concordia]
• Be Joyful in the Lord (François Couperin) SS, organ [Concordia]
• Benedictus -- as a separate Mass movement by many composers (Palestrina, Lotti, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, etc)
• Communion Psalms for the Liturgical Seasons (Gary D. Penkala) cantor/choir, congregation [CNP Catalog #3020] -- See Easter Sunday
• Confitemini Domino (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [Liber usualis, p. 225, 759]
• Dextera Domini (Cesar Geoffray) SATB [Oxford]
• Dextera Domini (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [Liber usualis, p. 656, 1457]
• Dies ist der Tag, den der Herr macht (G.P. Telemann) SSB, continuo, strings [Hanssler]
• Easter Psalm (Gary D. Penkala) cantor/choir, congregation [CNP Catalog #1000-E]
• Give Thanks to the Lord (William Ferris) cantor & congregation [The Collegeville Hymnal]
• Give Thanks to the Lord (Robert Kreutz) cantor & congregation [The Collegeville Hymnal]
• Give Thanks to the Lord (Theodore Marier) cantor/choir & congregation [Hymns, Psalms and Spiritual Canticles]
• Give Thanks to the Lord (Chrysogonus Waddell) cantor & congregation [Worship -Third Edition Hymnal]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (Jacob Arcadelt) SATB [Chester]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (William Byrd) SSATTB [Oxford, Novello]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [Liber usualis, p. 778, 783, 786, 790, 793, 797, 801, 805]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (Jacobus Gallus) SATB/SATB, continuo [C.F. Peters]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (Marc Ingegneri) SATB [Arista]
• Hæc dies quam fecit Dominus (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina) SSATTB [Arista, Broude, H.W. Gray, Oxford]
• How Blessed Are They (Johannes Erbst) SATB, organ [Carl Fischer]
• I Saw Water Flowing (Alex Hill) cantor/choir, congregation [CNP Catalog #3025]
• O Give Thanks to the Lord (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [By Flowing Waters, p. 90]
• Open to Me the Gates of Justice (Dieterich Buxtehude) ATB, continuo, strings [C.F. Peters]
• Open to Me the Gates of Righteousness (Daniel Pinkham) SATB [C.F. Peters]
• Processional Psalm (Richard Proulx) 2-part choir, handbells [GIA]
• Psalm 118 (Christopher L. Bord) cantor, flute, congregation [CNP Catalog #1118-1]
• Springs of Water (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [By Flowing Waters, p. 380]
• The Lord's Right Hand (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [By Flowing Waters, p. 93]
• This Is the Day (Paul Christiansen) SATB [Augsburg]
• This Is the Day (R. Evan Copley) SATB [Abingdon]
• This Is the Day (Rev. Lucien Deiss) cantor/choir & congregation [People's Mass Book]
• This Is the Day (Harold Freidell) SATB [H.W. Gray]
• This Is the Day (Jacobus Gallus) SATB/SATB, continuo [Concordia]
• This Is the Day (Christian Gregor) SATB, organ [Boosey & Hawkes]
• This Is the Day Flor Peeters) SATB [Augsburg]
• This Is the Day (Daniel Pinkham) SATB [C.F. Peters]
• This Is the Day (Thomas F. Savoy) cantor & congregation [People's Mass Book]
• Today Is the Day the Lord Has Made (Gregorian chant) choir or schola [By Flowing Waters, p. 97]