Psalm 118 ~ 20190407 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

04//07_Psalm 118; The Suffering King and the Help of Yah; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20190407_psalm-118.mp3


Intro:

We are coming up on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Next week is Palm Sunday.

Last week we saw an echo of Psalm 118:17-18 in 2 Corinthians 6:9. This Psalm is connected directly with Palm Sunday, the day Jesus presented himself to Israel as their king, riding in to the city on a donkey while the crowds shouted 'Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

Today I want to open up this Psalm, to see how it points us to Jesus.

Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17 record Jesus quoting Psalm 118:22 after his parable of the tenants who killed the Master's Son, rebuking the leaders of Israel for rejecting him.

Matthew 23:38-39 and Luke 13:35 record Jesus lamenting over Jerusalem's rejection of him, and he quotes Psalm 118:26 promising the religious leaders that they will not see him again until he is welcomed with the words of this Psalm; 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' We see this fulfilled quite literally in Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:9-10, Luke 19:37-38 and John 12:13

Jesus takes this Psalm and applies it to himself. He uses it to challenge people, particularly his enemies, to ask who he is.

Who Is The King?

Some psalms have an original superscription, sometimes including musical notes, the author and the circumstances. In the Hebrew text this is counted as the first verse. For example, Psalm 56 says “To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.”

Psalm 118 has none; it is anonymous, and it points to no specific circumstance that occasioned its writing.

The Psalm begins and ends with a responsive chorus of thanksgiving to the Lord for his unending covenant love, then it tells the story of a king, surrounded by enemies, in great distress, who cried out to YHWH for help, and YHWH became his salvation. This king then returned victorious to the city and then the temple, requesting the gates be opened to him, and he receives a victor's welcome, culminating in worship of YHWH in the courts of the temple.

Who was this anonymous king, and what battle was this through which the Lord became salvation?

Egyptian Hallel

This is the final Psalm of what is known as the Egyptian Hallel (or Praise), traditionally sung at the 3 pilgrim feasts; Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; at Passover, Psalm 113-114 were sung before the meal, and 115-118 after.

These Psalms are known as the Egyptian Hallel because they echo the Lord's rescue of Israel from Egypt, leading them all the way to Mount Zion. There are echoes in this Psalm of the Song of Moses in Exodus 15, after the Lord conquered his enemies and brought deliverance to his people through the Red Sea.

Responsive Thanksgiving

The Psalm opens and closes with a vocal affirmation of thanksgiving. The speaker begins, and then calls for the people of Israel to respond, then the priests to respond, then all to respond together. We will try to do this this morning. You in the center section will be Israel, you on the sides will be the house of Aaron.

Psalm 118 [ESV]

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

4 Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.”

The Suffering King and The Help of the Lord

Then the king tells of his deliverance: I will read from the Lexham English Bible translation, which retains the proper names of God; YHWH and its shortened form Yah.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

5 Out of my distress I called to Yah.

Yah answered me, setting me in a broad place.

6 Yahweh is for me; I do not fear.

What can mere humans do to me?

7 Yahweh is for me as my helper,

and so I will look in triumph on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust in humans.

9 It is better to take refuge in Yahweh than to trust princes.

10 All nations surrounded me.

In the name of Yahweh I opposed them indeed.

11 They surrounded me; yes, they surrounded me.

In the name of Yahweh I opposed them indeed.

12 They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished like a fire of thorns.

In the name of Yahweh I opposed them indeed.

13 You pushed me hard to make me fall, but Yahweh helped me.

The king is in a place of distress or affliction, being pushed hard; he repeats four times that he is surrounded, surrounded by the nations. This is no local conflict, no skirmish with one enemy; this sounds more like Psalm 2, where

Psalm 2:1 ...the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against YHWH and against his Anointed [Messiah]...

He says that they surrounded him like bees; countless, close, persistent, angry, painful, chaotic, uncontrollable.

But he trusts in YHWH. YHWH is for me; I do not fear. What can man do to me? We hear this from the lips of David in Psalm 56

Psalms 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? ...9 ...This I know, that God is for me. ...11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Paul says in Romans 8

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Hebrews 13:6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

The Lord is a more sure refuge than alliances or military strength. The king testifies that although he was surrounded by nations, in the name of YHWH he cut them off; they were extinguished like a fire of thorns. Dry thorns burn furiously, crackling loudly, and produce raging heat, but they burn out quickly. Thorns are a reminder of the curse on all creation because of our sin. The fire, quickly kindled, will be quickly extinguished.

YHWH's Valiant Right Hand

He continues in verse 14

Psalm 118 [LEB]

14 Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

15 The sound of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;

the right hand of Yahweh has done valiantly.

16 The right hand of Yahweh has exalted;

the right hand of Yahweh has done valiantly.

17 I will not die but live,

and tell of the works of Yah.

18 Yah has disciplined me severely,

but he did not consign me to death.

Verse 14 is an exact quote of Exodus 15:2a in the song of Moses: “Yah is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation”, and

verses 15-16 echo Exodus 15:6 'the right hand of Yahweh has done valiantly'; 'Yahweh, your right hand is glorious in power; Yahweh, your right hand destroyed the enemy.'

The deliverance belongs to YHWH. He is the strength of the king, and he receives the worship of the king. Notice the connection between God's salvation and songs of rejoicing. One naturally flows from the other. To experience God's strength and salvation is to have a heart that overflows with rejoicing and song, telling of the works of Yah.

Open the Gates to The Righteous King

In verse 19, the king has returned to the walls of the city, and he demands that the gates be opened to him.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them and give thanks to Yah.

We see righteousness as a theme here. They are the gates of righteousness; Those who enter must be righteous. In Revelation 22 we read:

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Who is this king of glory? Psalm 24

Psalm 118 is anonymous, leaving us asking 'who is this king?' Psalm 24 may give us some help. It begins by introducing YHWH as creator and owner of all the earth, and then asks:

[LEB] Psalm 24:3 Who may ascend the mountain of Yahweh? And who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who is innocent of hands and pure of heart, who does not lift up his soul to falseness, and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from Yahweh, and justice from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the sort of those who seek him, those who seek your face, even Jacob. Selah

Then the gates are addressed, and the question is asked of them:

[LEB] Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates, and rise up, O ancient doorways, that the king of glory may enter. 8 Who is the king of glory? Yahweh, strong and mighty; Yahweh, mighty in war! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift up, O ancient doorways, that the king of glory may enter. 10 Who is the king of glory? Yahweh of hosts, He is the king of glory! Selah

The gates of the city, and now the gate of the temple stands open to receive the righteous King, the king of glory.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

20 This is the gate of Yahweh,

through which the righteous will enter.

Personal Thanks for Personal Rescue

Now we see the king in the courts of the temple, addressing the Lord directly, giving thanks. The introductory call to give thanks to the Lord for he is good has become a personal thanks because of a personal experience of rescue.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

21 I will give thanks to you for you have answered me,

and you have become my salvation.

YHWH is good and his steadfast love endures forever, but now you have answered me; you have become my salvation. God is good, but we must personally experience his goodness. Have you experienced the steadfast love of the Lord so that you can say 'you have become my salvation'?

The Rejected Cornerstone

Verse 22 is the verse Jesus quoted about himself in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and it is quoted about him by Peter in Acts 4, and in Romans 9, Ephesians 2, and 1 Peter 2.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

23 This is from Yahweh; it is wonderful in our eyes.

24 This is the day Yahweh has worked; let us rejoice and be glad in him.

Jesus the promised king was rejected even by the builders, the leaders of Israel. The nations that surrounded him included his own people. But the one who was despised and rejected of men has become the foundation stone 'in whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ...built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit' (Eph.2:20-22); the 'living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious' on whom we ' like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' (1Pet.2:4-7).

Hosanna!

In verse 25 the congregation, brought in to the courts of the Lord through the merits of the righteous king address YHWH for salvation, and bless the coming king.

Psalm 118 [LEB]

25 O Yahweh, please save; O Yahweh, please grant success.

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of Yahweh.

We bless you from the house of Yahweh.

27 Yahweh is God, and he has given us light.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

This Psalm provided the vocabulary for the crowds as they cast their cloaks and branches in the road before the King who came humbly, riding on a donkey.

The Psalm climaxes with sacrificial imagery. Derek Kidner writes:

What those who took part in such a ceremony could never have foreseen was that it would one day suddenly enact itself on the road to Jerusalem: unrehearsed, unliturgical and with explosive force. In that week when God's realities broke through His symbols and shadows (cf. Heb.10:1), the horns of the altar became the arms of the cross, and the 'festival' itself found fulfillment in 'Christ our passover' (1 Cor. 5:7, AV).” [Kidner, p.415]

Some sacrificial animals no doubt were difficult to handle may have necessitated binding them with cords. But Jesus said:

John 10:17 ...I lay down my life... 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down voluntarily....

Jesus bound himself to the cross with cords of love (Hosea 11:4).

A Personal and Public Response of Praise

Verse 28 completes the quotation from Exodus 15 which began in verse 14, but in a more personal and direct way:

Exodus 15:2 [LEB] Yah is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him—the God of my father—and I will exalt him.

[LEB] Psalm 118:28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you.

You are my God; I will exalt you.

The deliverance from Egypt points to our greater deliverance from a greater enemy by one greater than Moses; our deliverance out of greater bondage and lead by a greater king to a greater promised land and into a greater sanctuary.

The Psalm concludes with the refrain with which it opened:

[LEB] Psalm 118:29 Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good,

for his loyal love is forever.

Let's say this together:

[ESV] Psalm 118:29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org