The last of the Hallel Psalms is 118. This is also a Messianic Psalm — a prophecy of Jesus. This Passover Psalm follows His steps from Gethsemane to Pilate’s Judgment (Gabbatha), to Golgotha, and final Glory. As you read this, imagine Jesus singing this with His Disciples after the Last Supper and on their way to the Garden.
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” 3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.” 4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”
Jesus in agony praying at Gethsemane. Image is copyright of the LUMO project (Big Book Media) from FreeBibleImages.org
5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. 6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? 7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. 8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.
10 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. 11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. 12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. 13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me. 14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. 15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! 16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things! 17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.
Are you good enough to get into heaven?
19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. 20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. 21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!
22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. 24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. 26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. 27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
In Gethsemane, Jesus is comfroted by an angel. Image by GNPI.org, CC BY-NC-ND 4 from FreeBibleImages.org
Think of verses 5-6 as prophetic of Jesus’ experience in Gethsemane, and verses 7-8 as His trial before Pilate, at the Gabbatha or pavement. “I called on the LORD in distress…” Matthew 26:37 tells us that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John… “And He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed…”
Jesus’ struggle in Gethsemane ended with Him being strengthened. He’s now ready to endure the trials ahead of Him.
Verse 8 is prophetic of Messiah’s thoughts before the Roman Governor, Pilate, at the Judgment Hall. Where were the men He called disciples? For over three years Jesus gave to their development His constant time, effort, and energy. Now in His hour of need they abandon Him?
The psalmist gets more specific in verse 9. Who will provide a fair trial? Not “princes” – not the High Priest, or Sanhedrin, or Pilate, or Herod? More than anyone who ever lived, Jesus knew that trusting in man leads to nothing but despair. Even good and godly people eventually let you down. This is why it’s “better to trust in the Lord.”
The part of not trusting in men or “princes” — that is, ruling authorities — is huge! We cannot put our trust in a church, priest, pope, president, or prime minister. They, as humans, inevitably will let us down. Religion is man-made to enslave us to rites, rules, and rituals that get us nowhere but lost. Religion can’t save you! Only Jesus can!
I was raised Catholic, and all the church did for me was prepare me to be a great prodigal. I was lost for years looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. It wasn’t until I was in my 40s that reading the Left Behind book led me to invite Jesus Christ into my life.
All Nations
In my last post, we covered Psalm 117, which says that all nations will praise the Lord. That won’t happen until Jesus comes back in His Glory. In the first century, as now, nations — people from all over — surrounded Jesus, and right now, the nations that surround Israel are threatening. Pastor Sandy continues…
Now Messiah’s thoughts take us to Golgotha. From Gethsemane to Gabbatha to Golgotha…at the place of the skull. The locals call it “skull hill.” We call it Mount Calvary (skull). Verses 10-21 are the Messiah’s thoughts while hanging on the cross. And on the cross, Jesus says in verse 10, “all nations surrounded” Him. According to John 19:20 the sign that hung above the cross that pronounced His sentence was written in three languages – Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
Notice in verse 11, the fight Jesus exhibits on the cross. He’s on the offensive. Jesus is out to destroy His enemies. But it’s not what you think… The Hebrew word translated “destroy” is a fascinating word. Almost everywhere else it’s used in the OT it’s translated “circumcision.” Jesus is fighting not to kill, but to circumcise the nations.
This is what Colossians 2:11 says about the work of Christ, “In Him you were also circumcised with circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ…” Circumcision is a spiritual metaphor for the work of Jesus.
Males are born with a fold of flesh that hinders good hygiene. Likewise, all humans are born with a spiritual nature that hinders healthy spiritual hygiene.
Just as circumcision deals with that fold of flesh. Spiritual circumcision, the work of Jesus in the heart of man, skins back our rebellious nature. Jesus shaves off our selfishness and makes us tender toward God.
Attacks against Jesus on the cross were like bees (furious) and thorns (fierce).
Who is the “You” in verse 12? Jesus’ hidden foe? It was no doubt the devil. On the cross Jesus destroyed and overcame His secret foe, Satan.
Jesus didn’t suffer for His own crimes. He was sinless in birth and from birth. 1 Corinthians 5:21 explains the cross, “For (God) made (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This is the amazing grace we sing about – On Jesus God took out His wrath against sin, so that He could be merciful toward us. Jesus gets what we deserve – while we get what Jesus deserves.
Jesus doesn’t just give salvation – He is salvation. Jesus is the narrow gate through which we come to God. The next verse gets quoted by most of the NT writers in reference to Jesus.
Verse 22 gets quoted by most of the New Testament writers in reference to Jesus. This verse is connected to an ancient Jewish legend. When the Temple was being built the first stone from the quarry looked odd. It didn’t fit the specs. Someone concluded it must’ve been a mistake. They rolled the stone over the cliff, and ignored it for months.
When the construction neared completion, workers waited on the cornerstone. That’s when someone said it had already been sent.
The chief cornerstone the stone the builders rejected. Jesus was the first stone that didn’t fit Jewish expectations for the Messiah. His ambitions were spiritual not geopolitical. And so they rolled Jesus aside. But at the end of the age the Jews will look again for the cornerstone, and they’ll realize the mistake they’ve made. They’ll return to Jesus and set Him in His rightful place.
This age will close with Jesus on the throne.
We often quote verse 24 and sing it in reference to this day, today… “This is the day…” But verse 24 isn’t referring to just any day or every day, but to the specific day when Messiah will return in glory!
He says, “Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.” (NLT) The phrase “save us” is the Hebrew word “Hosanna.” “Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.” This what the crowd shouted when they greeted Jesus the Sunday before Passover. Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem and the crowds hailed Him as their Messiah.
They quoted Psalm 118 – they knew it was a Messianic Psalm. And the nation Israel will sing this song again… Later in the week, Jesus pronounced judgment on the stubborn nation who had rejected Him. He told them, “For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!”
When Jesus returns the Jews will acknowledge that they rejected the cornerstone, and they’ll greet Him again with the song of Psalm 118. The same song Jesus sang with His disciples after the Passover.
When the Passover ended and Jesus sang these songs – how His heart must’ve been stirred. He knew their long term ramifications. They spoke of Gethsemane… Gabbatha… Golgotha… all the way to Glory… And you’ve got to admire God’s forethought. 1000 years in advance God embedded in the Passover Psalms the encouragement He knew His Son would need during the most special Passover of all.
Holy and Gracious Father, thank you for sending Your Son to carry our sins to the cross. With His death, He defeated sin. With His Resurrection, He defeated death and Satan’s schemes. We anxiously await His return for us, His born-again believers. I pray that if someone is not sure of their salvation, they repent of their sins and sincerely accept You, Jesus, as their Lord and Savior. I ask this in Jesus’ mighty name, the Name above all names. Amen!
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
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