Palm Sunday
Psalm 118
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Palm Sunday
Psalm 118
Happy Palm Sunday Church! This Sunday is the day we commemorate Jesus entering into Jerusalem, for His final week of ministry before His crucifixion. Now just recently, on our chronological walk through the gospel books, we had looked at Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. We had noted that as He entered Jerusalem, He then went to the temple, but then immediately left and went back to Bethany for the night. The pomp and circumstance the people gave Jesus was promising, just like the green leaves on the fig tree, but upon deeper inspection at the temple, Jesus could see that the tree of Israel was showing no fruit. The setting was not fit for Him to reign as King, the temple was in no shape to give Him the honor He deserved on this day that coats and palm tree branches were laid before him. The next day Jesus would enter the temple again in order to clear out the merchants and money changers, people who probably were not with those who had earlier cried out “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD”- words taken directly from Psalm 118. Now “Hosanna” in essence means “Lord- do save us.” It was a cry for salvation.
I can imagine on that Sunday, there were those crying out “Lord save us” who really meant that and understood the spiritual salvation Jesus was offering. But I’m sure there were others who were crying out “Lord save us” who were mistakenly just crying out for a king to overthrow the Roman oppression. And there were probably still others who were looking for a miracle worker who could save them personally from whatever physical challenge they were facing. But no matter the motivation, those who cried out “Hosanna, (Lord save us)- all could more than likely identify with the thoughts and emotions of the Psalm 118 author who originally wrote those words. I want us today to use these words of Palm Sunday, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD” as a springboard to dive into the encouraging message the Lord has for us in Psalm 118.
If you read Psalm 118 (which I encourage you to do- actually, pause right now and read Psalm 118 in its entirety), and then let’s look at it together. In reading Psalm 118, we get the impression that the writer is attempting to encourage himself. He has experienced super difficult life challenges, challenges that he still might not even be fully through- Verse 5 “From my distress” (this writer has been under distress), verse 6 he’s telling himself not to fear (he obviously has had reason to fear and he’s having to verbally tell himself not to fear), verse 10 all the nations surrounded him (for those of you who ever feel like the whole world is against you- this guy knows that feeling), verse 13 he’s been pushed violently, verse 18 he’s been disciplined severely by the LORD (not only is the whole world
(the nations) up against him, but God Himself has even made life more difficult for him.
Now that we’ve considered some of what the Psalmist was perhaps feeling, let’s look at how he dealt with those feelings. The first thing he says, verse 1, is “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” He starts his words off with “Give thanks to the LORD.” Why give thanks to God, in this season of distress, fear, God and the whole world being against him? Why? Because no matter the circumstances, the Psalmist knows- as we know- that ultimately God is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. He is good, and His love and kindness do not ever stop- they are eternally, continually, being given. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, when circumstances would seem to indicate otherwise, know and remind yourself that God is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. The Psalmist here wants to emphasize this point, and encourage others to hold on to this despite life’s circumstances, he continues in verse 2… “Oh let Israel say, ‘His lovingkindness is everlasting.’ Oh let the house of Aaron say, ‘His lovingkindness is everlasting.’ Oh let those who fear the LORD say, ‘His lovingkindness is everlasting.’” May all who know the Lord know that even through the Corona Virus- His lovingkindness is everlasting.
In verse 6 he reminds himself that “the Lord is for me”- even as he is being disciplined by the Lord, he reminds himself that the Lord- even as He disciplines- has his best interest at heart. Verses 8-9 he declares that his trust is much better placed in the Lord than in mankind and government leaders. In verses 10, 11, and 12 he three times says “In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off”-referring to the world that has come up against him. He’s doing like the “little engine that could”: “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can… I will get through this, I will get through this… In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off… I will surely cut them off.” In verse 14 he declares the Lord as his strength and salvation. Verses 15 and 16 affirm two times that the Lord’s hand is valiant (courageous, determined, brave). In verses 19 and 20 he declares that the Lord will allow even him to enter into the gates of righteousness, leading us up to more thanks given in verse 21.
Now in verse 22 and following, all of a sudden, we realize that this Psalm is not just a glimpse into the life of its author, but it is a bit of a forerunner prophecy, a glimpse into the life of Jesus. Verse 22 says “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.” This is actually a verse recited by Jesus referring to Himself, just a couple days after Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:42).
He continues, verse 24 “This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Often we think of this verse as a declaration of each day we live, but I believe the Psalmist was referring to this specific day that Jesus, the rejected stone, would be placed as the chief corner stone. Perhaps even the day of His resurrection, coming back from the rejection sting of crucifixion, raised on Easter Sunday as the chief corner stone- the crucial, foundational, corner building element that would allow one wall to be securely joined to another. Jesus died and raised back to life in order to be the foundation upon which God and man could be united together.
Upon stating this, we now arrive to the Palm Sunday declaration in verse 25 “O LORD, do save we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! (Hosanna is the one word that sums up that entire sentence) Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” Now being armed with the encouragement that the rejected Messiah will become the uniting, chief corner stone, and that through this act the Lord is willing and able to save, the Psalmist continues in verse 27 “The LORD is God, and He has given us light; (Remember Jesus declaring Himself as the “Light of the world” in John 8:12) Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.” With this prophetic insight, the Psalmist is able to say in this difficult time “it’s ok, I am ok with giving a sacrifice to the Lord who is God.” And it’s ok for us too, in the midst of sacrifice and difficult times, because ultimately Jesus allowed Himself to be bound to the “altar horns” of the cross- and because of this act, we have every reason to, like the Psalmist in his closing words, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Because Jesus chose to be the Passover festival sacrifice, bound to the cross, we can rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and everlasting lovingkindness. We can call out to Him “Hosanna, save us.” We can rejoice and be glad in the day that He made, in which Jesus rose to life again as the eternal chief cornerstone. And we can rejoice and be glad in this current day- resting in God’s lovingkindness shown through His son who rose to life again.
Through times of distress, times of fear, though the world may seem to be up against you- may you take courage knowing that God hears your prayer of “Hosanna, do save Lord.” May you be comforted knowing that He is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. If you have repented and called out to Jesus asking for His salvation, take comfort in knowing that He is a solid foundation cornerstone that has united you with God, forming the structure of His church, that will not be shaken. Blessings to you church!