1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. 2 Let Israel now say that his loving kindness endures forever. 3 Let the house of Aaron now say that his loving kindness endures forever. 4 Now let those who fear the LORD say that his loving kindness endures forever. 5 Out of my distress, I called on the LORD. The LORD answered me with freedom. 6 The LORD is on my side. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 7 The LORD is on my side among those who help me. Therefore I will look in triumph at those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD, than to put confidence in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD, than to put confidence in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me, but in the LORD’s name I cut them off. 11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. In the LORD’s name I indeed cut them off. 12 They surrounded me like bees. They are quenched like the burning thorns. In the LORD’s name I cut them off. 13 You pushed me back hard, to make me fall, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. 15 The voice of rejoicing 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 will not die, but live, and declare the LORD’s works. 18 The LORD has punished me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 19 Open to me the gates of righteousness. I will enter into them. I will give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous will enter into it. 21 I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! 25 Save us now, we beg you, LORD! LORD, we beg you, send prosperity now. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the LORD’s name! We have blessed you out of the LORD’s house. 27 The LORD is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you. You are my God, I will exalt you. 29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
Psalm 118 — The Stone the Builders Rejected
The Easter psalm of the Church, and the one Jesus quoted about himself days before his death.
What Psalm 118 Means
Psalm 118 is the psalm the Church sings at Easter, and it is the one Christ applied to himself in the last week of his life. It is a thanksgiving liturgy, built for a procession: voices call and answer, gates are opened, and a crowd moves toward the altar with branches. It belongs to the Hallel, the group of psalms sung at Passover, which means it is very likely among the psalms Jesus and the apostles sang at the Last Supper before going out to the Mount of Olives. At its centre is the line that made it inescapable: the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Jesus quotes it at the end of a parable directed at the chief priests, and they understood exactly what he meant. The builders are the ones responsible for the building. The rejected stone is not discarded material; it is the one everything else is aligned to. The psalm also gives the Church the verse it sings on Easter morning: this is the day that the LORD has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. Read in place it is not a general remark about a nice day. It is said by people who have come through something, at the moment the gates open. It opens and closes with the same line about mercy enduring forever, which is how a liturgy is built.
Liturgical Use in the Catholic Church
Psalm 118 is the responsorial psalm of Easter Sunday and is used throughout the Easter Octave. It belongs to the Hallel psalms sung at Passover and appears at Sunday Lauds in the Liturgy of the Hours.
Praying Psalm 118 — A Simple Practice
Pray it aloud, because it was written for voices answering each other and it goes flat when read silently. On Easter morning it needs no preparation at all. During the rest of the year, the stone verse is the one to keep: it is addressed to anyone who has been passed over by the people doing the choosing, and it does not promise recognition so much as a different builder.
Related Prayers
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