I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
-At the beginning (Psalms 118:5) and at the close of this division (Psalms 118:13-14) the salvation already received is described. In the intervening seven verses there is the confident expectation that the deliverance will be completed, and Israel made conqueror over all her foes.
Verse 5. I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, (and set me) in a large place. Omit "and set me" - words not in the Hebrew. 'I called upon the Lord in a narrow place (straits); the Lord answered me in a wide place' (Psalms 4:1, Hebrew; 18:19; 31:8). The reference is to the deliverance of the people from their captivity, and setting them at large, both literally and in a spiritual sense also.
Verse 6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? Dra n from Da id's ords Cedron (cf. note, Isaiah 12:3). When the singers reached the first verse of Psalms 118:1-29 all the company shook their lulabs, or bunches of branches tied together; also at the 25th and at the 29th verses. They used to dwell during the feast in booths or huts (Succah), as distinguished from the tents of skin or cloth (Ohel), the term used of the sacred tabernacle.