Seeing Jesus in Psalm 118

Psalm 118

Sometimes a big event overshadows something else very significant happening around the same time. Since I set out on this journey to handwrite a copy of every Psalm and then write a “Bible lesson” for each one everyday for 150 days, I always get asked the same question. “What are you going to do when you get to Psalm 119?” My friends were so concerned that they organised a crew of helpers to join in the task of rewriting the Psalm. More on that after this Psalm. I realised after 70 some days that I needed to have a rest day in the week and that writing 7 days a week wasn’t the best idea. But I was still determined to finish the project by the end of the year, so I made the plan with Lyssa to rest on Sunday and write two Psalms on Monday (which is my weekend day since the store is open on Saturday and closed on Sunday and Monday). But after reordering the Psalms I noticed that would put Psalm 119 on a Monday and actually couple it with Psalm 118. With all the concentration on Psalm 119 and its 176 verses, Psalm 118 got little forethought and attention from me. But after today I think I will remember Psalm 118. It is a veritable Aladdin's cave of treasure with which I was actually very familiar with, and it requires no effort to see Jesus in Psalm 118.

In three of the gospels, often called the synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke quote Jesus quoting Psalm 118: 22 to refer to himself.

“The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”

Psalm 118:22

16 "I'll tell you--he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others." "How terrible that such a thing should ever happen," his listeners protested. 17 Jesus looked at them and said, "Then what does this Scripture mean? 'The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.' 18 Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on." 19 The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them--they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people's reaction.

Luke 20:16-19 NLT

And so we not only can see that Jesus would have enemies trying to kill him, a fact Jesus often spoke of to his disciples, but we probably can also see the resurrection from the dead in Psalm 118. As I am not really as much a writer as I am a talker, I often find these many truths and then the explanation of them far more laborious to explain in writing than I would to discuss it with someone. I think I may be leaving you frequently saying, “What? What are you talking about? Can’t you explain that a bit more, I think you're making too great a jump to get from this Psalm to Jesus.” I’ll put my hands in the air and say, “Yes, I admit I see connections that others probably don’t see. And not all my possible connections may not be particularly valid”. This is one of the reasons I share my writing widely and also why I have invited 150 people to respond to the Psalms and my writing with me in a book. I want to be challenged. But be prepared to make a case. Because “nee-saying” without a good counter argument will not likely sway me from my opinion. But I do want to be corrected. I remember Martijn, a former ETF student and a volunteer with us, reading my answer to an apologetic question of God’s existence and saying to me, that God’s primary answer to the question is Jesus. Examine Jesus if you want to see the argument God puts forward for His own existence. So here we are seeing Jesus in Psalm 118 and it is Jesus Himself that points us to the passage to find him. 

If you have been following this journey through the Psalms to find Jesus you may be familiar with the Treasure of Scripture Knowledge often attributed to R.A. Torrey. I want to encourage you to click the link here and visit the website or buy the book because using the bible to understand the bible is a key method of growing in faith, knowledge and understanding of God and His plan. And for instance in Psalm 118:2 the TSK refers us to Hebrews 13:15, Galatians 6:16 and Peter 2:9-10 in the New Testament.And this way you may see the things that the Psalmist were telling us about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the King.

And in verse 4 of Psalm 118 the TSK points us to Revelation 4:7-11 which this past Saturday in Het Goede Boek Leuven Moriah, Jerry and I were talking about christophanies and theophanies. We were discussing where we saw Jesus and or the Father and if we could distinguish between who in the trinity we were seeing. I mentioned the Baptism of Jesus where the Father sets the example of praising the Son. Psalm 118 is full of praise and thanksgiving and recognition of God’s great work.

I took a break from writing this morning and made some mushrooms, tomato, yellow pepper and eggs with lactose free cheese. While cooking I listened to Psalms 117-119. You can listen to it here too on YouTube.

As I was sitting eating my eggs I was searching around on the internet about Psalms 118 and I ran across two things that I did not earlier know. 

Firstly, one person said “In Christian tradition this is the song that Christ and the Disciples sang before departing to the Garden of Gethsemane.” I did some further searching and this seems to be a credible possibility because 118 is among those often sung at Passover (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hallel). (Matthew. 26:30, Mark 14:26)

Secondly, the people were shouting phrases from Psalm 118 when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on an occasion often referred to as the triumphal entry. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumphal_entry_into_Jerusalem)

And lastly C.H;Spurgeon also saw this Psalm as very messianic (https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/tod/ps118.cfm?a=596001) I want to encourage you to read This commentary because although Spurgeon warns against making links to Christ he believes are too forced He then himself makes many many references to Jesus, like this one. “Our Lord Jesus, having made all his people priests unto God, may well call upon them in that capacity to magnify the everlasting mercy of the Most High. Can any one of the royal priesthood be silent?” (C. H. SPURGEON :: TREASURY OF DAVID)

I would like to end with this verse from Psalm 118 because it reminds me of what God is doing in my life, and how I see Him answering prayer, how I see Him causing the church and ministry to flourish and how long my list is of reasons to praise and thank my God.

This is the Lord’s doing,

and it is wonderful to see.

Psalm 118:23

Handwritten Psalm 118

Handwritten Psalm 118