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During his general audience on Feb. 12, Pope John Paul II focused his weekly catechesis on Psalm 118, a processional song of victory and thanksgiving that was used in Jewish liturgical services at the Temple of Jerusalem. It was part of his series of teachings on the psalms and canticles from the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Holy Father pointed out that the faithful sang this psalm to exalt God's hand of protection, which protects those who are upright and trusting, even when cruel enemies confront them. “There is an awareness of never being left alone or at the mercy of the storms that the wicked have unleashed,” he said. “God truly has the last word. Although he allows his faithful to be tested, he does not deliver them over to death.”

John Paul noted that Christ applied images from this psalm — the stone that the builders rejected that then became the cornerstone — to himself when he foretold his passion and resurrection. Therefore, we can interpret this hymn of trust and thanksgiving in a Christian perspective. Various Church Fathers pointed this out, including St. Ambrose, who said that we, too, should strive to be a rock — firm in our actions, words and faith — founded on the true rock.

The sequence of psalms from Psalm 113 to Psalm 118 was sung during the most important and most joyful feasts of ancient Judaism, especially during the celebration of Passover. This series of hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God was called the “Egyptian Hallel” because one of them, Psalm 114, recalls in a very vivid and poetic way Israel's exodus from Pharaoh's Egypt, the land of oppression, and the marvelous gift of God's covenant. The last psalm in this “Egyptian Hallel” is Psalm 118, which we have just heard and upon which we have already reflected on a previous occasion.

This song was obviously used during liturgical services within the Temple of Jerusalem. As it unfolds, a procession seems to be wending its way; it begins in the “tents of the victors” (verse 15), which are the houses of the faithful. The faithful exalt the protection of God's hand, which is capable of protecting those who are upright and trusting, even when confronted by cruel adversaries. The psalmist uses a very expressive image: “They surrounded me like bees; they blazed like fire among thorns; in the Lord's name I crushed them” (verse 12).

God Has the Last Word

After this narrow escape from danger, God's people break out in a “joyful shout of deliverance” (verse 15) in honor of “the Lord's right hand” that “strikes with power” (see verse 16). Thus, there is an awareness of never being left alone or at the mercy of the storms that the wicked have unleashed. God truly has the last word. Although he allows his faithful to be tested, he does not deliver them over to death (see verse 18).

At this point, the procession apparently reaches its goal, which the psalmist depicts using the image of the “gates of victory” (verse 19), or the holy door of the Temple of Zion. The procession is accompanying the hero to whom God has given the victory. He asks that they open the gates for him so that he can “thank the Lord” (verse 19). Together with him, “the victors enter” (verse 20). In order to express the difficult test that he had overcome and the glory that he attained as a result of it, he compares himself to a “stone the builders rejected” that then “has become the cornerstone” (verse 22).

Christ Is the Cornerstone

Christ himself later used this image and this verse at the end of the parable of the murderous tenants in order to foretell his passion and glorification (see Matthew 21:42).

By applying this psalm to himself, Christ opened the way for a Christian interpretation of this hymn of trust and gratitude to the Lord for his hesed, or loving faithfulness, which resounds throughout the psalm (see Psalm 118:1, 2, 3, 4,29).

The Fathers of the Church adopted two symbols from this psalm. First of all, they adopted the symbol of the “gates of victory,” of which St. Clement of Rome made the following comment in his Letter to the Corinthians: “Many doors are open, but the door of victory is in Christ. Blessed are all those who enter through it and walk the path of holiness and righteousness, doing everything peacefully” (48, 4 in I Padri Apostolici, Rome, 1976, p. 81).

The other symbol, which is linked to the preceding one, is that of the stone or rock. We will now let ourselves be guided in our meditation by St. Ambrose in his Exposition of the Gospel Ac cording to Luke. Commenting on Peter's profession of faith at Caesarea Philippi, he recalls that “Christ is the rock” and that “Christ did not refuse this beautiful name even to his disciple, so that he, too, would be Peter (Rock) and have from the rock the strength of perseverance and the indestructibility of faith.”

Strive To Be a Rock

Then Ambrose makes the following exhortation: “You, too, must try to be a rock. But in order to do so, do not seek the rock outside of you but within you. Your rock is your actions and your rock is your thoughts. Your house is built upon this rock, so that it will not be lashed by the storms of evil spirits. If you are a rock, you will be within the Church, because the Church is on the rock. If you are within the Church, the gates of hell will not prevail against you” (VI, 97-99 in Opere Esegetiche IX/II, Saemo 12, Milan/Rome, 1978, p. 85).

(Register translation)