A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
Psalm 118:14-29.
This Psalm is the last of the processional Psalms which were sung by pilgrims on their way up to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts. There are echoes of the Passover, and anticipations of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Psalm 118:14 takes us back to the Song of Moses (Exodus 15:2). The more exact translation in both instances is: “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.” These are the words of the Psalmist who had been undergoing some measure of persecution (e.g. Psalm 118:13).
They could also be the words of Jesus, who had found ‘all nations’ encompassing him with malice (Psalm 118:10-12). They are also words of praise for individual believers out of the midst of their own trials (cf. Isaiah 12:1-2).
The celebrating pilgrims hear the sound of rejoicing from within the City, represented as “the tents of the righteous” (Psalm 118:15). Hosannas (cf. Matthew 21:9) echo from the stones (cf. Luke 19:40). Voice answers to voice, both within and outside the Temple, with a triple reference to “The right hand of the Lord” (Psalm 118:15-16).
A lone voice rises above them all: “I shall not die but live” (Psalm 118:17). Are these the words of the Psalmist in his affliction, now being uttered by the leader of the procession on behalf of the pilgrim party; or are they words put into the mouth of the individual sufferer? Ultimately, they are the words of Jesus who, having been dead, yet lives to “declare the works of the LORD.”
Jesus has faced death, gone through death, and conquered death on behalf of us all (Psalm 118:18). Jesus was ‘crucified in weakness, but He lives in God’s power’ (2 Corinthians 13:4). We also live in the power of His resurrection – not only in the hereafter, but in the ‘now’ of our experience.
The leader of the pilgrims cries out to the doorman of the Temple: “Open to me the gates of righteousness…” (Psalm 118:19). Jesus is the forerunner, gone into heaven on our behalf (cf. Hebrews 6:20). We too may “enter the gates of righteousness and give thanks (praise) to the LORD.”
The reply comes from within: “This is the gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter” (Psalm 118:20). The righteous are those who have been rescued by the LORD: those who have been made ‘right with God through the Lord Jesus Christ’ (cf. Romans 5:1). It is Jesus who has ascended into heaven (Ephesians 4:8), and we in Him (Ephesians 2:6).
The lone voice is heard once more (Psalm 118:21). In effect - “Thank you, LORD, for hearing and answering my prayer: it is you who have saved me.” The sufferer acknowledges his deliverance; Jesus acknowledges the Father’s hand in overcoming death; and the repenting sinner embraces the full free salvation which is ours in Christ Jesus.
The use of this Psalm in Christian worship, and the association of these words with Jesus, is firmly underlined in Psalm 118:22-23, which is quoted extensively in the New Testament. The irony is that the One who was cast aside and left for dead, is the very One who holds the whole building together (Ephesians 2:20). “The stone which the builders rejected” who is made “head stone of the corner” is Jesus.
Jesus uses these words of Himself (Matthew 21:42). Peter argued for the resurrection from this text (Acts 4:10-12). It is the touchstone (no pun intended) which marks out the difference between those who believe, and the disobedient (1 Peter 2:6-8).
The morning I wrote this, I was meditating on Psalm 118:24. Afterwards I went out for a walk, and thought I heard someone say, ‘What a beautiful day’ – after which they added the words, “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” If the day is beautiful, it is the Lord who has made it so.
Our pilgrims prayed for a holistic salvation (Psalm 118:25; cf. 3 John 1:2). The doormen welcomed them as those who came in the name of the LORD. The travellers received a benediction from out of the house of the LORD (Psalm 118:26).
The term “save now” (Psalm 118:25) - transliterated as ‘Hosanna’ - was used by the crowds who met Jesus as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:9). They recognised Him as the Messiah, and cried with this Psalm “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD” (Psalm 118:26).
It is the light of the LORD which has brought us thus far (Psalm 118:27). Jesus is the light (cf. John 8:12). Out of several possible translations of Psalm 118:27, we may surmise that “the procession is drawn to the altar with branches”, or that “the sacrifice is bound to the altar with cords”.
When the pilgrims entered Jerusalem for any of the festivals, the first place they would want to go is to the altar. When Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover Week, the palm-waving crowd (John 12:13) strew branches in the way before Him (Matthew 21:8). Yet He entered as the Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the full, final sacrifice for our sins.
It is only right that we should praise the LORD, and honour the name of Jesus (cf. Psalm 118:28). Our Psalm ends with the echo of its own refrain. “O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:29).
