Psalms 118

Psalms 118THEME: The hymn Christ sang with His disciples before His deathThis wonderful psalm is the last of the Hallel psalms; for this reason we know it was the psalm which our Lord sang with His disciples the night before His death. In the Upper Room that night there was an air of informality but also of awe, an air of sadness and of joy and of anticipation. Our Lord ate the Passover feast with His disciples; then on the dying embers of a fading feast, He reared something new. Out of the ashes of the past, He took frail elementsbread and grape juice which will spoil in a few days, the weakest things in the worldand He raised a monument. It is not of marble, not of bronze, silver, or gold; it is bread and juice. That’s all. But it speaks of Him.

We know from the Old Testament that a lamb was to be eaten at the Passover feast. But in the Gospel record we hear nothing about the lamb, only the bread and fruit of the vine. Do you know why? It is because the Lamb was there serving them. He was on the way to the cross as the Lamb of God to die, and the bread and juice were to speak of Him until He comes again. Psalms 118 is the psalm they sang together on that fatal night. The Gospels tell us, “When they had sung an hymn, they went out …” (Mat_26:30). It was Psalms 118, which makes this psalm very important to us. It is said that at the Passover Feast, the cup went around the circle seven times. The seventh time it came to Him, our Lord said, “I’ll not drink this cup with you,” and He passed it on. “I’ll drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom.” He had already said that He would take the cup of salvationand He took it yonder on the cross. Christ is the Lamb of God who shed His blood, and the cup is the new covenant of His blood. He drank the bitter cup that our cup might be sweet. Oh, how good God is to us!

Psalms 118:1

And let Vernon McGee now say that His mercy endureth forever. And let you say that His mercy endureth for ever. Let us all “give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good.”

Psalms 118:4

This is the song that our Lord sang. He went to the cross without fear. And He cried out, “…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Mat_27:46). The mystery of it all is “…that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself …” (2Co_5:19).

Psalms 118:7

Have you learned to put your confidence in the Lord rather than in man? It is a marvelous lesson to learn. A prominent Los Angeles attorney and outstanding jurist told me, “When I was a young Christian, my Christian life was almost ruined. I had my eye on a man, and that man failed me. I found out then that I had made a mistake. I cannot put confidence in men.” The psalmist says that it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. On the night that our Lord sang these words He looked around at eleven men. One of them had already gone to betray Him. Those eleven men were going to forsake Himthey would be scattered like sheep that night. Don’t put your confidence in men, my friend, they will let you down. Put your trust in the Lord.

Psalms 118:9

“All nations compassed me about"Rome was a polyglot nation, and Rome nailed our Lord to a cross. The day He died on a Roman cross, that nation was doomed. Its days were numbered. That great world empire that existed for a millennium would pass off the stage of human events. (It will, however, come back by the way of Antichrist.)

Psalms 118:14

In this wonderful section we have praise for deliverance. It is a song of salvation.

Psalms 118:15

This is a reference to our Lord’s resurrection. Also there is something else here: Israel is going to survive as a nation.

Psalms 118:18

That is, Christ came back from the dead. And Ezekiel 37 makes it clear that God will open the graves and bring out the nations of the world.

Psalms 118:19

What is the gate of the Lord? Christ made it very clear when He said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (Joh_10:9). That door was the door to the sheepfold. The Lord also said, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Joh_14:6).

Psalms 118:21

Now we have another figure of speech:

Psalms 118:22

The stone in this verse refers to Christ Himself. Our Lord in Mat_21:42 made that clear: “…Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” 1Pe_2:6-8 says, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.” The stone is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalms 118:24

What day is the psalmist talking aboutsome twenty-four-hour day? No. The word day can be used for a period of time, it can be used for a twenty-four-hour day, and it can be used for a peculiar type of thingmost anything. For example, we could say that this is the day of the automobile. Now what day is the psalmist referring to here? Well, he is talking about the day “which the LORD hath made,” the day of salvation. That day has already been two thousand years long, and “we will rejoice and be glad in it.” We rejoice in the day of salvation. Now here we have the believing cry, Hosanna"Save now” is the word hosanna. It is the word the multitudes used when our Lord came riding into Jerusalem:

Psalms 118:25

“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” was quoted by our Lord after He cleansed the temple for the final time, then wept over Jerusalem. His words were, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat_23:38-39).

Psalms 118:27

This is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, a sacrifice for you and for me.

Psalms 118:28

My friend, I wish I could somehow express to you the fact that you and I ought to praise the Lord. In my flesh I am cabined and contained and have all kinds of hang-ups. I wish I could open up like a flower and express my praise and thanksgiving to my God! Oh, my friend, to fall down and worship Him, to praise His name and glorify Him is all important. He loved us and gave Himself for us. May our love today go out to Him in adoration and praise.