God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

PSALMS 118:27KJV
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Psalms 118:27 (KJV)

What does Psalms 118:27 mean?

Psalms 118:27 says that God, who is the LORD, has given light or guidance to the people, and calls for the sacrifice to be bound with cords and brought to the altar. The verse combines a celebration of God's revelation with a call to worship through a formal offering.

In this psalm, the speaker is likely a leader or worshipper addressing the gathered people during a festival or public worship. The "light" refers to God's favor, guidance, or deliverance. The instruction to "bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar" is a vivid image from the temple, describing the act of securing an animal offering to the altar's horns—an essential part of Old Testament worship.

The Hebrew behind Psalms 118:27

  • LORD (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing God's covenant relationship with Israel.
  • light (אוֹר, 'or): This word often means illumination, guidance, or blessing. Here, it likely points to God's saving help or presence.
  • bind (אָסַר, 'asar): This verb means to tie or secure, highlighting the physical act of preparing the sacrifice.
  • horns (קֶרֶן, qeren) and altar (מִזְבֵּחַ, mizbeach): The "horns of the altar" were projections at the altar's corners, used in rituals for securing sacrifices, showing the seriousness and formality of the worship.

Why Psalms 118:27 matters

  • This verse clears up that "light" here is not just physical brightness but a symbol of God's saving presence and guidance.
  • The detailed mention of binding the sacrifice to the altar's horns shows the seriousness and completeness of the act of worship, not just a casual offering.
  • Psalms 118:27 ties together the themes of God's deliverance and the people's grateful response, connecting the experience of salvation with the practice of worship in the temple.

Where else these words appear

“cords” Hebrew H5688 · used in 23 verses

  • Exodus 28:14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
  • Judges 15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
  • Isaiah 5:18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope:

“light” Hebrew H215 · used in 43 verses

  • Genesis 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 9:19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.
  • Psalms 105:39 He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.

“sacrifice” Hebrew H2282 · used in 55 verses

  • Exodus 10:9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.
  • Deuteronomy 16:14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
  • Nehemiah 8:18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

“bind” Hebrew H631 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 39:20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
  • Judges 15:13 And they spake unto him, saying, No; but we will bind thee fast, and deliver thee into their hand: but surely we will not kill thee. And they bound him with two new cords, and brought him up from the rock.
  • 2 Chronicles 13:3 And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.