What is the meaning of Psalm 118:21? I will give You thanks • The psalmist’s first instinct is gratitude. Thanksgiving is not an after-thought; it is the rightful response to God’s work. • Psalm 100:4 urges, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” The same doorway of gratitude stands open here. • A life marked by giving thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18) recognizes God’s hand in every victory and trial. • By starting with thanks, the writer teaches us to rehearse God’s goodness before recounting our needs or victories (Colossians 3:17). for You have answered me • The reason for praise is specific: God has heard and responded. This confidence rests on countless earlier deliverances, echoing Psalm 34:4, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” • Answered prayer proves a living relationship. Jeremiah 33:3 promises, “Call to Me and I will answer you,” and the psalmist testifies that the promise holds. • God’s answers come in His timing, yet the writer speaks in the past tense—faith sees the response as accomplished (1 John 5:14-15). • Every believer can remember moments when cries were met by divine intervention; recalling them fuels fresh gratitude (Psalm 40:1). and You have become my salvation • The deliverance is personal: “my” salvation. What God provides, He also embodies. Exodus 15:2 declares, “The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.” • This points beyond immediate rescue to ultimate redemption. Isaiah 12:2 celebrates the same reality: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.” • The phrase anticipates the Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus. Acts 4:12 affirms, “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” • Salvation is not merely an escape from trouble; it is God Himself stepping in, securing life now and eternally (John 3:16; Jonah 2:9). summary Psalm 118:21 moves from thankful praise to confident testimony. The writer thanks God first, because past answers prove a faithful Listener, and those answers reveal God as the very essence of salvation. He does not merely give help; He becomes the help. Our rightful response follows the same pattern: thank Him, trust His answers, and rest in the salvation that is found in Him alone. |
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