Reading: PSALM 118
Ill: If you think your family has problems,
• Consider the marriage mayhem created when 76-year-old Bill Baker of London;
• Recently wed Edna Harvey.
• She happened to be his granddaughter’s husband’s mother.
• That’s where the confusion began, according to Baker’s granddaughter, Lynn.
• “My mother-in-law is now my step-grandmother.
• My grandfather is now my stepfather-in-law.
• My mom is my sister-in-law and my brother is my nephew.
• But even crazier is that I’m now married to my uncle & my own children are my cousins.”
In many ways Psalm 118 is a confusing Psalm;
• The structure of this Psalm is complex and not very obvious:
• As we look at it you will notice that it does not fit into a nice neat outline.
(A). Background to the Psalm:
(1). Unknown writer and setting.
• William Phelps taught English literature at Yale for forty-one years;
• Until his retirement in 1933.
• Marking an examination paper shortly before Christmas one year,
• Phelps came across the note: "God only knows the answer to this question. Merry Christmas”
• Phelps returned the paper with this note:
• "God gets an A. You get an F. Happy New Year”
We are not sure who wrote it:
• Or exactly what the background setting was when it was written.
• Quote: “Many writers only one author”.
• Not knowing who the human author was;
• Is also a hindrance to interpreting the events that this psalm describes.
The Psalm is a strange mix:
• It seems to require different readers at different points,
• It moves from the singular, the individual; to plural, to collective elements.
• Its content is also mixed,
• Using imagery from both a battle and the temple.
• The most satisfactory or simplistic background for the psalm,
• Is to say it is connected to a time when the Lord had given victory to his people.
(2). It is a HALLEL PSALM.
• Six of the Psalms (numbers 113 to 118):
• Form what is called the Egyptian Hallel,
• These six psalms are called this;
• Because they celebrate the Children of Israel's deliverance from Egypt.
• These six psalms were sung at the three great Jewish feasts,
• The Passover, Pentecost, and Booths or Tabernacles.
• At Passover it was song or chanted when the Passover lambs were offered,
• And later at home over the Passover meal.
• This Psalm is very likely the hymn Jesus song after he instituted the Lord's supper.
• Matthew 26:30: "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives ".
• We are used to reading that Jesus preached and taught or served or prayed;
• But this is the only time in the gospel records where we find Jesus singing.
(3). THE THEME OF THE PSALM IS FOUND IN Vs 6:
“The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”
• Unlike the Psalmist we might read that verse and think;
• ‘What can man do to me?’ Answer: A lot!"
• e.g. People can oppose, slander, hurt, hate, maim, murder us etc .
• Evil people can do evil things.
• But the point that the psalmist is making is in the end,
• They cannot really harm us because our lives are preserved by God and in God.
QUOTE: New Testament equivalent would be Romans chapter 8 verses 35-39:
Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love?
Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?
36(Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep. '') 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love.
Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I believe that is what the Psalmist is saying in verse 6:
• The enemy cannot really harm us;
• Short term they may kill the body but they cannot destroy the eternal soul.
• Because our lives are preserved by God and in God.
Ill:
• When the Emperor Valens threatened Eusebuis with confiscation of all his goods,
• Torture, banishment, or even death, the courageous Christian replied,
• “He needs not fear confiscation, who has nothing to lose;
• Nor banishment, to whom heaven is his country;
• Nor torments, when his body can be destroyed at one blow;
• Nor death, which is the only way to set him at liberty from sin and sorrow.”
• The enemy cannot really harm us;
• Short term they may kill the body but they cannot destroy the eternal soul.
• Because our lives are preserved by God and in God.
(4), THE PSALM USES A LOT OF REPETITION:
• Quote: Repetition is a good teacher.
• It is always good to review and revisit what we have previously studied.
• The use of repetition is quite notable throughout this psalm.
• e.g. The opening and closing verses are identical.
• e.g. The same refrain "His love endures forever", also appears in verses 2, 3, and 4.
• e.g. Verses 6 and 7 both start the same way.
• e.g. Verses 8 and 9 are identical. Except for the last few words.
• e.g. Verses 10, 11, 12 contain the phrase "They surround".
• e.g. As well as the words "I cut them off'”.
• e.g. Verses 15 & 16 the expression "the right hand of the LORD" is used three times.
• e.g. Verses 19 & 20 repeat the words "gate" and "righteous".
• e.g. And ,there is a threefold invitation to reflect God's mercy.
• e.g. And the expression; "His love ("Mercy") endures forever". Occurs five times.
(5). Procession (Verse 27):
“The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar”.
• I mentioned earlier that this Psalm is a strange mix:
• It seems to require different readers at different points,
• It moves from the singular, the individual;
• To plural, to collective elements.
• The hymn was probably sung in procession by king, priests and people:
• As they approached the temple.
(6). Trivia fact: Middle verse of the Bible:
• There are 30,442 verses in the complete Bible.
• O.T. contains 22,485 and N.T. 7,957
• Verses 8-9 are the middle verse of the entire Bible;
• Which gives them a novelty value.
• Ill: Verse & chapter divisions are not inspired, verse divisions;
• Were introduced by Rabbi Isaac Nathan (O.T. 1440) & Robert Estienne (N.T. 1551)
Verse 8-9:
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
• The verse does not say it is not bad or wrong to trust people,
• The verse is emphasizing the fact, it is just better to trust the Lord:
• Because people fail, even our loved ones at times let us down.
• Governments wane.
• Weapons prove inadequate.
• But God never fails.
(B). An outline to the Psalm:
(1). Collective Praise (1-4):
The opening and closing verses of the psalm are an invitation to praise.
• The theme, or reason we should praise him,
• Is the love of God, which is eternal, it is ongoing, everlasting!
Verses 2-4: three groups of people are mentioned:
• First group mentioned are 'Israel " - The people of God.
• Second group are the 'House of Aaron' - They are the priestly caste.
• The third group mentioned are' Those who fear the Lord' .
• They would be Gentiles who interested in the true God, proselytes, converts to Judaism.
Commentators believe that:
• Each group are gathered outside the temple:
• And each group of people in turn are called to give thanks.
• The Psalmist then gives us two reasons to give thanks;
• (1). The Lord is good. (2). His love is as enduring as himself.
ILL:
• Let's try it! I will say the first line;
• If you will respond (N.LV.): "His love endures forever "
• Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever:
• Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
• Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever."
• Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."
Ill:
• Oliver Cromwell, who ruled England during the seventeenth century,
• Once decreed that a certain young man should be executed at the ringing of curfew.
• The young man’s fiancée pleaded with Cromwell for his life;
• But Cromwell would not change his mind.
• He told her:
• “The young man you love will die at the ringing of curfew.”
• The old and completely deaf sexton (bell-ringer);
• Went up to the church that night to ring curfew.
• Unknown to him, the young lady who loved the condemned man;
• Had climbed up inside the great bell and was hanging on to the clapper for dear life.
• So every time the deaf sexton pulled the bell rope,
• He assumed it was ringing loud and clear,
• He was unaware that the woman’s body was hitting against one side of the bell;
• And then the other; preventing a note being struck.
• When the sexton finished what he thought was the ringing of curfew,
• The girl made her way down, battered, bloody, and bruised.
• As she came stumbling down the hill,
• Oliver Cromwell was already on his way up to see why the curfew had not rung.
• Suddenly he saw her and realized what she had done.
• Looking her in the eyes, he said, “Curfew shall not ring tonight.”
• Love had conquered disaster and won the day!
• God’s people were to give thanks for an even greater love,
• An everlasting love,
• One that endures for ever and ever and ever and………
(C). A song of deliverance (verses 5-21):
• We are not going into this whole section in any detail;
• Time will not permit and I certainly couldn’t explain it all.
• There are however two situations that are easy to understand.
• Two situations where the psalmist is delivered, and experiences God's salvation.
(a). Personal salvation (verses 5-7):
“In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.”
• The psalmist reflects upon what happened when he was in distress:
• He was in anguish, a tight spot,
• We are not given the details as to what that tight spot was;
• But we are given the outcome; the Lord rescued him from that situation and set him free.
Ill:
• Martin Luther the great Reformer loved many parts of this psalm:
• He had a copy of verse 17 up on his wall,
"I love them all.....But this psalm (118) is nearest my heart, and I have a familiar right to call it mine. It has saved me from many dangers....
It is my friend, dearer to me than all the honours and power of the earth. "
• One example of how this Psalm ‘saved him’;
• When he was summoned to the city of Worms to face the charges against him:
• He was warned by friends not to go.
• But quoting Psalm 118 verse 6, Luther said,
"The Lord is for me, so I will not be afraid. I am determined to go though as many devils should oppose me as there are tiles upon all the houses. "
As he entered the assembly hall, an old soldier put his arm on Luther's shoulder and said:
• "Little monk, you need more courage for your battle today than any soldier I know.
• But if God is for you, go ahead and do not be afraid. "
• Later Luther made his famous statement:
• "I cannot and will not recant; here I stand, I can do no other. "
• And the rest as they say is history!
(B). National salvation (verses 8-21):
• A second word of testimony is now given,
• But this time it has shifted from personnel to national.
• The Psalmist is speaking in the first person,
• For the entire nation.
• The terms he uses suggest some military situation,
• Probably being besieged by opposing armies (see verses 10-12).
“All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
11 They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they died out as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.”
Out of that dangerous and hazardous position he was delivered:
• And therefore he can declare that because the Lord is with him,
• His fear is banished.
• With a song of victory on their lips;
• In verses 15-16 the congregation respond again.
“Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD'S right hand has done mighty things!
16 The LORD'S right hand is lifted high;
the LORD'S right hand has done mighty things!"
Note:
• These verses then make three powerful statements about God,
• And about our right relationship to him.
(a). THE LORD IS GOD (VS 27).
• This verse is saying that it is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament,
• Who is truly God, & not one of the other competing gods of this rebellious, evil world.
• The great issue of religion, not, is there a god?
• But rather, WHO is the true God?
• In this verse the psalmist declares that Jehovah is the true God,
• And that he has revealed this to us by making his light shine on us.
(b). YOU. ARE MY GOD (VS 28).
• This God is the psalmist's own personal God,
• Not merely the nations God, but his God.
• A God who is great and mighty and unique,
• But a God who is willing to be involved in his and the nations affairs.
• Quote: Martin Luther:
• “Enjoy the personal pronouns of the Bible”.
(c). THE; LORD IS GOOD (VS 29).
• In this verse the psalmist calls on the people among whom he is bearing witness,
• To thank God because this true God "is good. "
• The psalm began and now ends with these words, "The Lord is good".
• The writer probably always new that theoretically;
• But now he knew it by experience as well;
• Practically, God had been good to him:
• He had been oppressed,
• But God had freed him from his oppression.
• He had been attacked, but God had delivered him from his enemies.
• He had been about to fall, but God had raised him up,
Jesus in the Psalm:
• During the last three or four days before going to the cross:
• The mind of Jesus would have dwelled on this psalm.
• This Psalm is almost certainly;
• The very likely the hymn Jesus song after he instituted the Lord's supper.
• Matthew 26:30:
• "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives ".
• As Jesus prepared himself to face the cross and the surrounding events,
• He found comfort and encouragement in these words.
There are two things to note.
(1). Salvation (verses 25-26)
“O LORD, save us;
LORD, grant us success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.”
• Part of verse 25,
• And all the words of verse 26,
• Are the very words the crowd shouted to Jesus,
• As he entered Jerusalem on that very first Palm Sunday.
• All four gospel writers quote one or both of these verses,
• In their accounts of the triumphant entry.
Ill:
Matthew 21 verse 9: The people exclaimed
"The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!""
"Hosanna in the highest!"
• "Save us we pray" is the Hebrew word "Hosanna",
• A one word prayer.
• This prayer is a recognition that the Lord can save;
• And that the Lord will save.
• By crying out "Hosanna" the people recognise their own need for salvation;
• And are inviting God to show his presence by delivering them.
Now remember that Psalm 118 is part of the Egyptian Hallel:
• That the Hallel was songs the Jews sang at the time of Passover,
• And it was Passover when Jesus entered and later died at Golgotha.
• Jesus entered Jerusalem on the day that the Lambs were being taken into the;
• Jewish homes in preparation for the sacrifice.
Sadly the people that day didn't fully appreciate the fuller picture:
• Jesus had come "In the name of the Lord".
• In other words he had come to do "His Father's will".
• He had literally come to "Save his people".
• But not save them from the Roman oppressors, but from sin, death & the evil one.
(2). Resurrection (Verses 22-24)
"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in"
In modern day, we tend to think of a cornerstone:
• As a stone that is inscribed and placed in the corner of the foundation of a building;
• An inscribed stone that commemorates the date the building was completed or opened.
• In the Bible uses the word cornerstone means so much more;
• It was the most important part of the building because the rest of the building depended on it.
ill:
• A solid foundation is absolutely essential for the building to stand.
• A 'capstone' or 'cornerstone' is a term used in one of two ways.
• Ill: It could therefore be used of a stone which completes & supports an arch-like structure,
• Ill: Or a foundation cornerstone which would hold together rows of stones.
• Whichever meaning you give to it;
• It is always used of a vital stone which gives a building its strength and stability.
Note:
• In the Old Testament the term is used for a human figure:
• Many references in the Old Testament (Isaiah chapter 28 verse 16; Zechariah chapter 10 verse 4).
• The figure will bring stability, justice and salvation.
• It is this use which is assumed in the New Testament.
Verses 22-24 are also quoted six times in the New Testament:
• 1 Peter 2:6-7; Matthew 22:42; Mark 12:10;
• Luke 20:17; Acts 4:10-11, Eph 2:20.
• And Jesus himself;
• Quoted these verses in Matthew 21 verses 42 in reference to himself:
Ill:
• Jesus told a parable about the owner of a vineyard,
• Who rented a field out to some farmers.
• They were to care for it, harvest the grapes, and when the time came,
• They would give the owner of the vineyard his share of the profit,
• When that time came and to grapes had all been harvested,
• The owner sent servants to collect his profit.
• But the tenants beat, stoned and killed the servants,
• Finally the owner sent his own son, thinking they will respect him.
• Instead they killed the son,
• Hoping to gain the land for themselves.
• Jesus then asked the chief priests and elders to whom he was telling the story,
• "When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? "
They answered:
"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, " they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time. "
• This was the right answer of course,
• Jesus then applied the parable by quoting Psalm 118 vs 22-23:
Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes' ?
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed"
Question:
• Why did Jesus quote from this part of the Old Testament?
• He had another 149 Psalms and another 38 books to choose from!
Answer:
• I would suggest he choose this Psalm because it was pertinent!
• It had been quoted to him as he entered Jerusalem;
• And so it was still fresh in the minds of the Jewish leaders,
The end to the telling of the parable is very telling:
"When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables,
they knew he was talking about them. .
There is no doubt that Jesus is referring to himself as that stone:
• And that the Jewish leaders the evil tenant farmers.
• Who reject that stone!
The symbol of the stone:
• Has various meanings depending on the context of the passage;
• But this truth always surfaces - The stone that is rejected is actually the most precious.
Ill:
• All four gospels record the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem;
• But Mark in his gospel (11:9-10) is more descriptive of what the people shouted.
• Not just “Hosanna”,
• But “Hosanna in the highest”.
• The one who comes is not only to be sung about on earth;
• But also by the host of heaven, they too are to declare his glory!
• Ill: Angels said to the shepherds in the Christmas story?
• “Glory to God in the highest”
• God’s glory always goes beyond planet earth;
• And the host of heaven, they too are teclaring his glory!
• The one riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (fulfilling Zechariah’s prophecy chapter 9);
• Came with the authority of almighty God;
• He came to the people of God,
• He came to the city of God!
• And those who welcomed him that day and rejected him the next;
• Ought to remember – rejected on earth but not in heaven!
Ill:
• In 1888 Campbell Morgan was one of 150 young men;
• Who sought entrance into the ministry.
• He passed the doctrinal examinations,
• But then faced the trial sermon.
• In a vast auditorium that could seat more than 1,000 people;
• Sat three ministers and 75 others who came to listen.
• When Morgan stepped into the pulpit,
• The vast room and the searching, critical eyes caught him up short.
• Two weeks later Morgan’s name appeared among the l05 REJECTED for the ministry.
• He wired to his father the one word, “Rejected,”
• He sat down to write in his diary:
• “Very dark everything seems. Still, He knoweth best.”
• Quickly came a reply back from his father:
• “Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven. Dad.”
• Those who welcomed Jesus that day in Jerusalem and then rejected him the next;
• Ought to remember those words – “Rejected on earth. Accepted in heaven”
Ill:
• One day Philippians chapter 2 reminds us;
• Those who rejected him will also bow the knee and confess him as LORD!
Ill:
Peter in Acts chapter 4 verses 10-11:
• Links these verses from Psalm 118,
• Directly to the death & resurrection of Jesus.
• Peter tells the Jewish leaders straight,
• You rejected him, you killed him by nailing him to a cross.
• But God has made him "The capstone" by raising him from the dead,
• There is no other salvation apart from ‘in his name’.
• Quote: “Men may seem to win the battle but God will always win the war!”
• Quote: The Psalm says; "The LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes".
Quote:
• Jesus Christ is the foundation stone on which everything is built,
• He is the corner stone which holds everything together.
• To refuse his way is to run into an immovable object;
• To defy him is in the end to be crushed by him.
• Yet to embrace him is to be supported by him;
• He is the immovable, the eternal, the precious stone of God!
