אבנימ

Testimony to the Word, and Prayer

Our Lord Jesus prayed for us:

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Text: Psalm 118

Introduction

This is a sermon for Palm Sunday, but it also follows in continuity with our series on Covenant Theology. Psalm 118 shows forth the relation of the events of Holy Week with the Covenant of Grace. It further sets out part of what was expounded last week: namely, How Jesus fulfills the terms of the Covenant.

Palm Sunday is so called because of the palm branches that were spread out on the road in front of Jesus as He entered Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. From the earliest days of the Church, believers have commemorated on this day our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, as He rode on a donkey to the acclaim and cheers of His nation. Looking back from our vantage point, having the completed canon, we see that his coming to Jerusalem on this day was the catalyst which set in motion the events of Passover Week which culminated in His crucifixion just a few days later.

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9.51 ESV).

He was looking to the cross, and beyond the cross, to the joy set before Him. He tread the path with resolution in obedience to the Father.

Jesus came to Jerusalem at this time and in this manner to plainly fulfill the prophecies concerning the coming King, as Zechariah wrote:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9.9 ESV)
But Jesus came to fulfill all the Scripture, not just the royal Messianic prophecies. Jesus comes to Jerusalem as the Seed promised to Adam & Eve to crush the Serpent’s head. He comes to restore fallen man – to succeed where Adam and all his progeny had all failed. He comes as the Prophet, who reveals the Father in all His fullness. He comes as the Great High Priest who will abide forever, the One who will make full and final atonement for the sins of His people, He comes as the Perfect Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He comes in the fullness of time, born under the Law, to fulfill all righteousness.

And as Jesus walked in perfect obedience to the Law of God, he submitted to the ordinances given to Israel that they should make pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times each year, for the three great feasts of Passover (Unleavened Bread), The Feast of Weeks (First Fruits), later known as Pentecost, and The Feast of Tabernacles (Ingathering).

Passover was the first and greatest of these 3 annual feasts, and so Jesus in obedience to the Law comes to the Temple for the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
He comes to the appointed place at the appointed time.

He comes as the perfect man to fulfill all righteousness, but He also comes as the Eternal and Holy Son of God to fulfill the words of the prophet Malachi:

“And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3.1 ESV)

Introduction – Psalm 118

As we read the accounts of the Triumphal Entry in the Gospels – Matthew 21.1-9, Mark 11.1-10 and Luke 19.28-40 – we find Psalm 118 quoted in each of them:

“And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”” (Matthew 21.9 ESV)

This throng of people fulfills the words of Psalm 118 with their praises on this day. Though these are the same people who just a few days later would fulfill other prophecies as in a demonic frenzy they demand His crucifixion, for now they hail Him as the Messiah of David’s royal line, the Deliverer of God’s people, calling upon Him to save His people now — “Hosanna!” The word taken directly from Psalm 118. ‏

Indeed the words of Psalm 118 had to be fulfilled, as the Lord said to his enemies “I tell you, if these were people silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19.40 ESV)

In each of the Gospel narratives we find that upon coming into the city, Jesus goes to the Temple to teach the people, and there He quotes Psalm 118:

“…Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Matthew 21.42 ESV)

Of all the Old Testament quotations in the New Testament, Psalm 118 is among the most quoted of all, especially by Jesus Himself. This was also the favorite psalm of Martin Luther, and with good reason, as we shall see.

Background of Psalm 118

Psalm 118 is the final psalm of the Hallel (praise) series of Psalms (Psalms 113-118), 6 psalms which are traditionally sung during the Passover Feast. Psalm 118, as the last psalm in the series concludes this celebration which commemorates God’s deliverance of His people from bondage in Egypt, and which anticipates the eternal redemption accomplished by the blood of Christ, the Passover Lamb who would take away the sins of the world.

The last thing recorded that our Lord did before going out to Gethsemane from the Last Supper with His disciples was that He “sang a hymn.” Since this psalm is the last of Hallel psalms sung at Passover it was most probably this psalm that Jesus sang with His disciples, before leaving to pray and meet His betrayer.

Liturgical Structure of Psalm 118

Let’s look at this psalm consider how it is composed. It was written by David to be used in the liturgy of worship by God’s people, and it contains in itself the prescribed elements of the worship service.

• Opening Call to Worship (vss 1-4)
• Testimony of God’s Salvation (vss 5-13)
• The Song of Salvation (vss 14-16)
• Confession of Faith in God’s Salvation (vss 17-24)
• Petition and Thanksgiving for God’s Salvation (vss 25-28)
• Closing Doxology (vs 29)

Read Psalm 118 with Liturgical Headings
Listen to the psalm now, paying attention to the Liturgical Structure

“Listen carefully: this is God’s Holy Word”

Opening Call to Worship

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.”

Testimony of God’s Salvation

5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.
6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
7 The LORD is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

10 All nations surrounded me;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.

Song of God’s Salvation (Song of Moses)

14 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16 The right hand of the LORD exalts,
The right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”

Confession of Faith in God’s Salvation

17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18 The LORD has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Petition and Thanksgiving for God’s Salvation

25 Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.

Closing – Doxology

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

Call to Worship (1-4)

In the first verse, we are called to worship the Lord, and with a reason.
We are summoned to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.”

This teaches us that our thanksgiving to God should arise, not initially because of what He has done for us, but first and foremost because of who He is.

The LORD is good!
In the words of our catechism, He is “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

Consider what would be like for us if He were not so. What if he were capricious and inconsistent and given to human frailties and passions like the so-called gods of the pagans? Or even the impersonal Chance of Evolution? We would live in constant anxiety and uncertainty, if not abject terror. We would know nothing about peace of conscience or joy in the Holy Spirit. But our God is not like that. He is good.

Because He is good, “His steadfast love endures forever.” His loyal love and covenant faithfulness flow from His nature, from who He is. We are the beneficiaries of His steadfast love and the objects of His favor. We safely trust and rely on all His promises, because He is good. All the promises of God to us are “Yes!” and “Amen!” in Christ Jesus.

Now compare the first and last verses — the psalm ends in the same way it begins, calling all who hear these words of God to give Him thanks, because He is good, and because His mercies endure forever. These are the bookends of the psalm, both the entrance into and the exit from God’s worship – they set the tone and context of worship for everything we find here.

In verses 2-4, the Psalmist focuses the call to worship in a threefold crescendo:

Let Israel say…
Let the house of Aaron say…
Let those who fear the Lord say…

“His steadfast love endures forever!”

As part of the Call to Worship, this is a responsive exhortation which calls us to give thanks to the Lord, as we reflect on the entire history of redemption:

Let Israel say… God called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and separated them from their heathen forebears. He made them promises concerning their Seed. He brought forth from them His own people, and sealed them as His own by covenant when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt.

Let the house of Aaron say… God made a further separation and distinct call to the house of Aaron who would serve as His priests, foretelling in their office Christ, the High Priest of His people, the Perfect and Final Offering for Sin, and the True Temple of God.

Let those who fear the Lord say… God become exclusive in separating Israel and then the priesthood of Aaron, that through Abraham’s seed He might become inclusive and embrace the entire world. The great mystery of Gospel revealed is that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs with His people. The promise made to Abraham was that in his Seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The priesthood of Aaron fore-shadowed Jesus Christ the High Priest, who would offer Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The great company of the redeemed is taken “…out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Testimony of God’s Salvation (5-13)

The next element in the liturgy is where God’s people give personal testimony to His merciful deliverance. Throughout the Scriptures and especially in the psalms, God calls His people to remember and to tell of His faithful works. And this remembering and telling is something that was specifically prescribed for the Passover.

“And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.”
(Exodus 12.25–27 ESV)

As the Psalmist remembers and tells of God’s deliverance in vss. 5-13, his testimony again spans across the entire story of Redemption:

1. The Exodus – the original Passover
2. The Life of David
3. The Life of Christ
4. The Experience of all God’s people

The Exodus

First, the Exodus is the original instance of God’s redemptive acts, and becomes the picture of salvation recalled throughout the Scriptures.

As God’s people were in desperate bondage in Egypt, they cried out to God in their distress, and God, whose “steadfast love endures forever” remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and graciously came down to deliver. He spoke to Moses from the burning bush:

“I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them…” (Exodus 3.7–8 ESV)

• “I have seen”
• “I have heard”
• “I know their sufferings”
• “I have come down to deliver”

This is the essence of our salvation, God mercifully coming down to deliver us. It is here at the burning bush, that God reveals His covenant name “Yahweh” – I am who I am – and thus pledges Himself to forever be the Great Deliverer of His people.

As God’s people sing and recite verses 5-13, we recall that first miraculous deliverance, which becomes the type of God’s salvation.

This is the great theme of all of Scripture, which culminates in Jesus Christ, who in fulfillment of His covenant becomes the Word made flesh – He comes down to deliver — His people and lead them in Exodus out of bondage to sin into the Promised Land of Salvation.

The Life of David

Second this is the testimony of the Psalmist himself, David the man after God’s own heart. David sings of how God brought him through great personal suffering and conflict to become the Shepherd King of Israel, and the precursor of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.

These words graphically and poetically describe the life and experience of David.

Consider the similarities between Psalm 118 and Psalm 18, (found also found in 2 Samuel 22), which is an explicit personal testimony by David of God’s deliverance.

Ps 18.6 In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

Ps 118.5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.

Psalm 118.10-13 – The fourfold “surrounded” is reminiscent Psalm 18.4-5:

Ps 18.4-5 The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.

“ All nations surrounded me ;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
They surrounded me like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.” (Psalms 118.10–13 ESV)

David is the preeminent type of Christ. He prefigured Christ

• in being the man after God’s own heart
• in experiencing the hatred of rulers
• in suffering the rejection of his own people
• in surmounting impossible circumstances to rise and become God’ s anointed King

The Life of Christ

Being a prophet, as David wrote of his own experiences in God, they clearly foretell the sufferings and the glory of Christ:

“For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
(Psalm 22.16–18 ESV)

“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.”
(Psalm 16.9–11 ESV)

And so it is here in Psalm 118, these verses 5-13, apply to Christ, as He undertakes the great labor of redemption of His people.
Beginning with:

“Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.” (Psalms 118.5 ESV)

And concluding with:

“I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.” (Psalms 118.13 ESV)

All God’s People

Christ is the forerunner of His people, and we are united to Him in His life, in His death and His resurrection. His experience becomes our experience. The apostles teach us that we will share in His sufferings. As He was in this world, so are we His people. He is the captain of our salvation, and we follow in His train.
“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. ” (John 15.20 ESV)

Christ is the Living cornerstone of God’s True Temple, the Church, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious. The apostle Peter says that we also are living stones, also rejected by men and also chosen by God and precious.

And thus His testimony is ours, the testimony of all the people of God throughout history, and in every part of the world.

Song of Salvation (14-16)

Verses 14-16 are not just a song of salvation, they are the Song of Salvation, taking us back to Exodus 15 and the Song of Moses:

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,
“I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15.1–2 ESV)

The Exodus is the definitive figure of God’s great redemptive acts throughout history, which is recited again and again throughout Scripture even up to the ultimate fulfillment when we read in Revelation that the glorified saints in Heaven “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God…”

The Song extols the strength of God’s right hand in defeating all our foes, and we know that this power of God, “The right hand of the Lord” who “does valiantly” is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Confession of Faith in God’s Salvation (17-24)

And thus rejoicing in the power of God, who delivers us from our bondage, we boldly and confidently confess together as God’s people:

“I shall not die but live…”

In this confession, we are focusing on the specifics of our redemption:

• “Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them…” (19)
• “This is the gate of the LORD” (20)
• “You have answered me and become my salvation.” (21)
• “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (22)
• “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (23)
• “This is the day that the LORD has made.” (24)

Each one of these phrases finds fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them…” (19)

In the liturgy of this psalm, God’s people approach the temple for worship. David, as the Lord’s Anointed says “Open to me the gates of righteousness” referring to the entrance of the temple, signifying our entry into God’s Holy presence to worship Him.

In his own person David pictures Christ coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, proceeding as the Captain of our Salvation through the gates of righteousness into God’s Presence, which for Him are barred by the cross. But He is faithful and walks through the suffering of death on our behalf, being able to say “I shall not die but live…” knowing that His soul will not be abandoned to Hell. He goes through the gates of righteousness, by His death, and He proceeds victorious into Heaven to God’s right hand, and leading in His train all His redeemed who follow after Him.

“This is the gate of the LORD” (20)

There is only One Gate of the Lord, through which the righteous may enter – the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Way. No one comes to Father but through Him. He is the Door of the Sheep. He is One by Whom we are cleansed and made righteous, that we are enabled to enter that gate into His holy presence, into the very Holy and Holies, the veil having been torn in two by His Atoning Work.

“You have answered me and become my salvation.” (21)

David confesses to God “You have become my salvation” again recalling the Song of Moses in Exodus 15.

There is only One to whom we may say “You have become my salvation” – the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One of whom the angel said before His birth: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. “Jesus” is the name which means “Yahweh is Salvation.”

“… because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,”
(1 Corinthians 1.30 ESV)

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (22)

There is only One cornerstone of God’s Temple – the Lord Jesus Christ, rejected by the builders, but chosen by God and precious.

“you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,” (Ephesians 2.19–20 ESV)

“This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (23)

This is no scheme invented by man, the wisdom and wonder of it is far beyond any of our plans.

“the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
(1 Corinthians 1.21 ESV)

“This is the day that the LORD has made.” (24)

“This is the day” — not just any day. In the context of this psalm, it is the day of the Passover Feast in which the Lamb Without Blemish is sacrificed. This is the day in which Christ becomes for us Eternal Redemption. It is in this particular day that we rejoice and are glad, for it is the Day of our Salvation.

Now that Christ has come and put away sins forever, by the sacrifice of Himself, we say “now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6.2 ESV)

Petition and Thanksgiving (25-28)

With the details of salvation laid out so plainly, and pointing us so clearly to the Lord Jesus, what else is left for us but to cry out in joyful prayer and thanksgiving, like those who on the first Palm Sunday lined the streets of Jerusalem with the branches of trees.

We cry out to God for salvation now using the words of the this psalm,
“Hoshah na” – “Hosanna”

We pray for God’s salvation now with boldness and confidence, acclaiming Christ our Messiah as the “Blessed One” who “comes in the name of the Lord. He is promised seed of Abraham. He is the Rock who went with the children of Israel in the Wilderness. He is promised Son of David, who will rule over God’s people forever.

He is our God, “and He has made his light to shine upon us.” (27a)

“the people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light, (Matthew 4.16 ESV)

“God … has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4.6 ESV)

“Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!” (27b)

Coming now to the end of vs. 27, we might think that this is awkward, and out of place. In the midst of our shouts of “hosanna” in the joyful procession, we are now going to kill an animal and spill its blood! Some might object that this will spoil the festive mood.

But this command is not at all out of place. In fact it is the culmination and the focal point of the entire psalm.

Without the sacrifice there is no salvation. Everything else leads up to this. Christ was born to die. He set his face like a flint toward Jerusalem knowing what waited for Him there in the all-wise purpose and plan of God.

So it is in the midst of our joyful prayer and petition that
we acknowledge
and receive
and exult in
the sacrifice for sins bound to the horns of the altar.
It is the appointed and necessary end. Without it our celebration is empty and meaningless.

We understand that the horns of the altar have become the arms of the cross, where the Holy Lamb of God is slain to take away our sins forever.

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

This is the culmination and focal point of the psalm,
And of this day, Palm Sunday, which must give place to Good Friday
And of the Covenant of Grace, which is sealed by the Sacrificed Lamb.
And of our service here today: as we remember and partake of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in the Bread and in the Wine.

As so we end the psalm as we began it: Giving thanks to Lord, for He is good, for His mercies endure forever, in Jesus Christ, who has fulfilled the terms of the covenant and became the Savior of His people forever.

Prayer

Our Father, we give you thanks today through our Lord Jesus Christ our Great Savior, for you are good, and your mercy endures forever. As we come now to your table, to the true Passover Feast of His body and His blood, we rejoice in Him, and we rest in His work on our behalf.

Amen.