Psalm 118:8 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 118:1-18

It appears here, as often as elsewhere, that David had his heart full of the goodness of God. He loved to think of it, loved to speak of it, and was very solicitous that God might have the praise of it and others the comfort of it. The more our hearts are impressed with a sense of God's goodness the more they will be enlarged in all manner of obedience. In these verses, I. He celebrates God's mercy in general, and calls upon others to acknowledge it, from their own experience of it (Ps.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord ,.... This, with what follows in Psalm 118:9 , is the conclusion from the above premises and experience; it is good to trust in the Lord; such enjoy peace, are in safety, shall not want any good thing, nor ever be ashamed and confounded: the Targum is, "it is better to trust in the Word of the Lord;' than to put confidence in man ; it is not good to put confidence in man at all; it is trusting to a broken staff, to a mere shadow, which can yield no... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 118:8

Better to trust in the Lord - Man is feeble, ignorant, fickle, and capricious; it is better to trust in Jehovah than in such. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 118:8

Verse 8 8It is better to trust in Jehovah He appears to state nothing but what is common-place, it being unanimously admitted, that when God and men come into comparison, he must be viewed as infinitely exalted above them, and therefore it is best to trust in him for the aid which he has promised to his own people. All make this acknowledgment, and yet there is scarcely one among a hundred who is fully persuaded that God alone can afford him sufficient help. That man has attained a high rank... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:1-21

Opposition, deliverance, thanksgiving. The psalmist (or the nation) is passing, or has just passed, through great distress. He (it) has been the object of malignant and determined attack; he has been surrounded by enemies, and been in peril of his life; he has then, as always, sought help from above; and he has been so graciously relieved that he has the sense of deliverance in his soul, and the song of triumph on his lips. I. HUMAN OPPOSITION . This begins in: 1. Hatred ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:1-29

The first eighteen verses are the song of the procession as it winds its way slowly up the hill to the great gate of the temple, sung alternately, as it would seem, by the two halves of the procession. Psalms 118:19 is the utterance of the leader, in the name of the whole hand, on their arrival before the gates. Psalms 118:20 is the reply made to them by those inside. The procession, as it enters, sings Psalms 118:21-24 antiphonally as before, all joining in Psalms 118:25 . Those... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man (comp. Psalms 62:8 , Psalms 62:9 ). Israel, on its return from the Captivity, had begun by putting a good deal of trust in its human helpers, as Cyrus and the other friendly heathen mentioned in Ezra 1:4-6 ; Ezra 3:7 . But this help, after a little time, had failed them ( Ezra 4:1-24 ), and they had found themselves in great difficulties. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:8-9

The really better may not be the apparently better. It may truly be said that the object of the discipline and experience of life is to deliver us from the fascination of what seems , and to get our conduct and relationships swayed and charactered and toned by what is . This, indeed, is presented in Eastern religions in extravagant forms. But we never need refuse to accept a truth, because somebody, somewhere, has exaggerated it into a mischievous untruth. Creatures conditioned by... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 118:8

It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man - This is stated apparently as the result of his own experience. He had found people weak and faithless; he had not so found God. Compare Psalms 40:4; Psalms 62:8-9. Literally, “Good is it to trust in Yahweh more than to confide in man.” This is the Hebrew form of comparison, and is equivalent to what is stated in our version, “It is better,” etc. It is better,(1) because man is weak - but God is Almighty;(2) because man is selfish... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 118:8-9

Psalms 118:8-9. It is better to trust in the Lord It is much safer, and more to a person’s comfort; than to put confidence in man As mine enemies do in their own numbers, and in their powerful confederates. “Armies of men, however numerous, and, to appearance, powerful, may be routed and dispersed at once: princes may not be able to help us; if able, they may fail us, as not being willing to do it; if both able and willing, they may die ere they can execute their purpose. But that hope... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 118:1-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 118:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 118:8

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 118:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:1-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:1-29

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 118:8-9

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 118:8

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 118:8-9

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