Psalms 113–115 call us to praise the Lord together, united in worship and thankfulness for his love. Psalms 116–118 become more personal, although not exclusively. While in 113–115, the psalmist never says, ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’, in 116–118 he says ‘I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’, 72 times. This is not a slide into pietistic narcissism; when God saves his people, his salvation becomes personal. Both sets of outer Psalms (113 and 115; 116 and 118) are songs of praise and thanksgiving, while the centre Psalms (114 and 117) call on the nations to worship. Repeated words and phrases, many ‘Hallelujahs’, stitch the two parts into one theme of praise and expectation—a unanimous exhortation to people of all nations to exit bondage and embrace the Lord’s redeeming reign.
