Of the authorship of this psalm, and the occasion on which it was composed, nothing can now be ascertained with certainty. The common opinion has been that it is a psalm of David, and that it was composed when his troubles with Saul ceased, and when he was recognized as king. Some, however, have referred it to Hezekiah on the occasion of his restoration from sickness; others to the time of the return from the Babylonian exile; and others to the time of the Maccabees. It would be useless to examine these opinions, as they are all of them mere conjecture, and as no certainty can now be arrived at.
What is apparent on the face of the psalm is, that it was a psalm of thanksgiving, to be employed in the temple when an offering or sacrifice was led up to the altar Psalm 118:27 to be presented as an acknowledgment of mercy from God, on some occasion of deliverance from danger, by someone whose claim to rule had been rejected, but who was now victorious over his enemies, and recognized as the rightful leader and ruler of the people. The psalm is in a measure dramatic. The author is the speaker in the first twenty-one verses; in the remainder of the psalm the priests and the people speak, and at the close, the psalmist again utters praise.
The psalm consists of the following parts:
I. The author of the psalm speaks, Ps. 118:1-21.
(1) he calls on all to praise the Lord, and to unite with him in the expression of thanks, because what had occurred was a matter of interest to all the people; to Israel, to the house of Aaron, to the priesthood to all that feared God, Psalm 118:14.
(2) a description of his peril and deliverance, Psalm 118:5-18. He had been in distress; he had called on the Lord; he had seen the benefit of trusting in the Lord rather than in man. All nations had compassed him about as bees; they had thrust sore at him; they had sought his life; but he had not been dismayed; he had felt, even in the midst of his dangers, that he would live to declare the works of the Lord, Psalm 118:17-18
(3) The speaker approaches the temple. He asks that the doors may be opened that he may enter and praise the Lord. He addresses those who have charge of the temple - the ministers of religion - and desires leave to come and present his offering, Psalm 118:19-21.
II. The priests and people speak, Psalm 118:22-27.
(1) they recognize him now as the Ruler - the cornerstone - the foundation of the nation's prosperity, and its hope. He had been rejected by those who were professedly laying the foundation of empire, but he had now established his claims to being regarded as the very cornerstone on which the whole edifice must rest, Psalm 118:22.
(2) they recognize this as a marvelous work of God, and as suited to excite the deepest admiration, Psalm 118:23.
(3) they recognize this as a joyful day, as if God had created a day for the very purpose of celebrating an event so joyous, Psalm 118:24.
(4) they pronounce him blessed who thus came in the name of the Lord; they bless him out of the house of the Lord, Psalm 118:25-26.
(5) they direct him to bring his offering, and to bind it to the horns of the altar preparatory to sacrifice. He is permitted freely to come. His offering is recognized as proper, so that he can approach with an assurance of acceptance, Psalm 118:27.
III. The author of the psalm again speaks, Psalm 118:28-29. He acknowledges God as his God, and calls on all to praise him.
Portions of the psalm are, in the New Testament, applied to Christ; and it has been made a question whether it had, or had not, an original reference to him. Thus in Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:11; Luke 20:17, it is quoted by the Saviour as illustrating a truth in regard to himself In Acts 4:11, the twenty-second verse of the psalm is applied by Peter to the Saviour, as having been fulfilled in him - or, as meaning that the language of the psalm would properly describe the fact which had occurred in the treatment of Jesus of Nazareth. Many of the Jewish rabbins regarded the psalm as referring to the Messiah, and not a few Christian interpreters have supposed that it had such an original reference.
It seems clear, however, from the psalm itself that it could not have been composed primarily with reference to him. There are portions of it which cannot, without a very forced use of language, be applied to him, as for example, the allusion to the attack made by "all nations" on the person referred to in the psalm Psalm 118:10, and in the allusion to the danger of death Psalm 118:17-18. The person referred to in the psalm was in danger of death, but he was not given over to death. He had the assurance in the very midst of the danger that he would not die, but would continue to live Psalm 118:17. The Redeemer, however, did die. His enemies accomplished their purpose in this respect. They put him to death, though he rose again from the dead.
It is clear, therefore, I think, that the psalm had not an original reference to the Messiah. Still, there is much in it which is applicable to him, and which might be used as expressive of what occurred to him. It contains principles also which may be as applicable to him as they were to the psalmist; and, therefore, it is used by the Saviour to enforce the moral of his own parable in reference to himself, as having had a counterpart in their own history, in a case which must have been familiar to them all. As such, it is right to use it now, as illustrating what occurred in the treatment of the Redeemer.

A general exhortation to praise God for his mercy, Psalm 118:1-4. The psalmist, by his own experience, encourages the people to trust in God, and shows them the advantage of it, Psalm 118:5-9; then describes his enemies, and shows how God enabled him to destroy them, Psalm 118:10-13. The people rejoice on the account, Psalm 118:15, Psalm 118:16. He speaks again of the help he received from the Lord; and desires admission into the temple, that he may enter and praise the Lord, Psalm 118:17-19. The gate is opened, Psalm 118:20. He offers praise, 21. The priests, etc., acknowledge the hand of the Lord in the deliverance wrought, Psalm 118:22-24. The psalmist prays for prosperity, Psalm 118:25. The priest performs his office, blesses the people, and all join in praise, Psalm 118:26, Psalm 118:27. The psalmist expresses his confidence, Psalm 118:28. The general doxology, or chorus, Psalm 118:29.
Most probably David was the author of this Psalm, though many think it was written after the captivity. It partakes of David's spirit, and every where shows the hand of a master. The style is grand and noble; the subject, majestic.
Dr. Kennicott, who joins this and the hundred and seventeenth Psalm together, considers the whole as a dialogue, and divides it accordingly. The whole of the hundred and seventeenth he gives to the psalmist as part the first, with the first four verses of the hundred and eighteenth. The second part, which is from the fifth verse to the twenty-first inclusive, he gives to the Messiah. The third part, from the twenty-second verse to the twenty-seventh, he gives to the chorus. And the fourth part, the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth verses, he gives to the psalmist. Of the whole he has given an improved version.
Bishop Horsley is still different. He considers the hundred and seventeenth Psalm as only the exordium of this. The whole poem, he states, is a triumphant processional song. The scene passes at the front gate of the temple. A conqueror with his train appears before it; he demands admittance to return thanks for his deliverance and final success, in an expedition of great difficulty and danger. The conqueror and his train sing the hundred and seventeenth Psalm, and the first four verses of the hundred and eighteenth, as they advance to the gate of the temple, in this manner - The hundred and seventeenth Psalm, Chorus of the whole procession. The first verse of the hundred and eighteenth Psalm, A single voice. The second, Another single voice. The third, A third single voice. The fourth, Chorus of the whole procession. Arrived at the temple gate, the conqueror alone sings the fifth, sixth, and seventh verses. The eighth and ninth are sung by his train in chorus. The conqueror, again alone, sings the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth verses. His train, in chorus, sing the fifteenth and sixteenth. The conqueror alone sings the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth verses. The twentieth is sung by the priests and Levites within, in chorus. The twenty-fifth by the conqueror alone within the gates. The twenty-sixth, by the priests and Levites in chorus. The twenty-seventh, by the conqueror's train in chorus. The twenty-eighth, by the conqueror alone. The twenty-ninth, by the united chorus of priests and Levites, and the conqueror's train, all within the gates. "Now," the learned bishop adds, "the Jewish temple was a type of heaven; the priests within represent the angelic host attending round the throne of God in heaven; the Conqueror is Messiah; and his train, the redeemed." On this distribution the bishop has given a new version. The simple distribution into parts, which I have given in the contents, is, in my opinion, the best. Ingenious as Dr. Kennicott and Bishop Horsley are, they seem to me too mechanical. This is the last of those Psalm which form the great hallel, which the Jews sung at the end of the passover.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 118
Kimchi says their Rabbins are divided about this psalm. Some understand it of David; others of the Messiah: but, with us Christians, there ought to be no doubt of its belonging to the Messiah; since our Lord has quoted a passage out of it, and applied it to himself, Psalm 118:22; see Matthew 21:42; and so has the Apostle Peter, Acts 4:11. Nor did the Jews of those times object thereunto, which doubtless they would have done, had the psalm respected any other but the Messiah; yea, the common people that attended Christ when he entered into Jerusalem, and the children in the temple, took their "hosanna" from hence, Psalm 118:26; see Matthew 21:9. It is generally thought to be written by David, after he was established in the kingdom, and had brought the ark of the Lord into the city. It concludes the great "Hallel", or hymn sung at the Jewish festivals; particularly at the feasts of tabernacle and the passover.

(v. 1-18) It is good to trust in the Lord.
(Psalm 118:19-29) The coming of Christ in his kingdom.

Festival Psalm at the Dedication of the New Temple
What the close of Psalm 117:1-2 says of God's truth, viz., that it endureth for ever, the beginning of Ps 118 says of its sister, His mercy or loving-kindness. It is the closing Psalm of the Hallel, which begins with Psalm 113:1-9, and the third Hodu (vid., on Ps 105). It was Luther's favourite Psalm: his beauteous Confitemini, which "had helped him out of troubles out of which neither emperor nor king, nor any other man on earth, could have helped him." With the exposition of this his noblest jewel, his defence and his treasure, he occupied himself in the solitude of his Patmos.
It is without any doubt a post-exilic song. Here too Hupfeld sweeps away everything into vague generality; but the history of the period after the Exile, without any necessity for our coming down to the Maccabean period, as do De Wette and Hitzig, presents three occasions which might have given birth to it; viz., (1) The first celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month of the first year of the Return, when there was only a plain altar as yet erected on the holy place, Ezra 3:1-4 (to be distinguished from a later celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles on a large scale and in exact accordance with the directions of the Law, Nehemiah. 8). So Ewald. (2) The laying of the foundation-stone of the Temple in the second month of the second year, Ezra 3:8. So Hengstenberg. (3) The dedication of the completed temple in the twelfth month of the sixth year of Darius, Ezra 6:15. So Stier. These references to contemporary history have all three more or less in their favour. The first if favoured more especially by the fact, that at the time of the second Temple Psalm 118:25 was the festal cry amidst which the altar of burnt-offering was solemnly compassed on the first six days of the Feast of Tabernacles once, and on the seventh day seven times. This seventh day was called the great Hosanna (Hosanna rabba), and not only the prayers for the Feast of Tabernacles, but even the branches of willow trees (including the myrtles) which are bound to the palm-branch (lulab), were called Hosannas (הושׁענות, Aramaic הושׁעני).
(Note: Vid., my Talmudic Studies, vi. (Der Hosianna-Ruf), in the Lutherische Zeischrift, 1855, S. 653-656.)
The second historical reference is favoured by the fact, that the narrative appears to point directly to our Psalm when it says: And the builders laid the foundation of the Temple of Jahve, and the priests were drawn up there in official robes with trumpets, and the Levites the descendants of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Jahve after the direction of David king of Israel, and they sang על־ישׂראל בּהלּל וּבהודת ליהוה כּי טוב כּי־לעולם חסדּו; and all the people raised a great shout בּהלּל ליהוה, because the house of Jahve was founded. But both of these derivations of the Psalm are opposed by the fact that Psalm 116:19 and Psalm 118:20 assume that the Temple-building is already finished; whereas the unmistakeable allusions to the events that transpired during the building of the Temple, viz., the intrigues of the Samaritans, the hostility of the neighbouring peoples, and the capriciousness of the Persian kings, favour the third. In connection with this reference of the Psalm to the post-exilic dedication of the Temple, Psalm 118:19-20, too, now present no difficulty. Psalm 118:22 is better understood as spoken in the presence of the now upreared Temple-building, than as spoken in the presence of the foundation-stone; and the words "unto the horns of the altar" in Psalm 118:27, interpreted in many different ways, come into the light of Ezra 6:17.
The Psalm falls into two divisions. The first division (vv. 1-19) is sung by the festive procession brought up by the priests and Levites, which is ascending to the Temple with the animals for sacrifice. With Psalm 118:19 the procession stands at the entrance. The second part (Psalm 118:20-27) is sung by the body of Levites who receive the festive procession. Then Psalm 118:28 is the answer of those who have arrived, and Psalm 118:29 the concluding song of all of them. This antiphonal arrangement is recognised even by the Talmud (B. Pesachim 119a) and Midrash. The whole Psalm, too, has moreover a peculiar formation. It resembles the Mashal Psalm, for each verse has of itself its completed sense, its own scent and hue; one thought is joined to another as branch to branch and flower to flower.