LITURGY FOR ENTERING - This liturgical psalm of praise combines both corporate and individual praise into a memorable, inspiring entrance poem celebrated by both Christian and Jewish communities. The individual psalm of praise found in vv. 5-14, 17-18 leads up to the liturgical action which begins with v. 19-27, but especially in vv. 20-24.

JUBILATION - The words that form this Sunday’s lesson gives us a hint of the vivid and liveliness of ancient Israel’s worship-full of jubilation, happy shouting and even dancing. Entry into the Temple (vv. 19-20) was a high and festal occasion, accompanied with choirs singing in an apparent antiphonal style. [1] The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone (v. 22) is a phrase of which the original meaning is all but lost to us, yet through the lens of the New Testament, the saying becomes for Christians the aha of the gospel-surprise! The rejected one has become the center of God’s saving activity.

NIB ON PSALM 118 - Psalm 118 can be seen as a focal point for discerning the continuity between the Old and the New Testament witnesses that God is "for us" (vv. 6-7; Romans 8:31) and that God’s "steadfast love endures forever" (vv. 1-4, 29; see Romans 8:38-39) . . . Not surprisingly, the special appeal that Psalm 118 had for the Gospel writers has continued throughout the centuries of Christian interpretation . . . Given the rich historical allusions and open-endedness of the psalm, as well as the history and currency of its use in Judaism and Christianity, one might make the same conclusion of Psalm 118 as a whole-all the saints have sung it and will sing it to the end. [2]

 

Why do you suppose that Luther called this his favorite psalm?

Do you feel part of a spiritual community that has gone through "distress" (vv. 5-14)?

Who is the "us" in your "Lord, save us" (v. 25)? Where do you need help right now?

 

This psalm will typically combine with choirs, antiphonal calls and response, processions, and great hymns like, All Glory, Laud, and Honor. On this day, Psalm 118 is majestic, festive even as it foreshadows the gospel.

One homiletic idea might be to simply walk through the psalm as it connects with the gospel accounts of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. EX: Shouts of joy and victory (v. 15) could be heard in relationship to similar shouts among the throng that welcomed Jesus into their city. You could conclude your meditation on the psalm where the poem naturally ends: with the phrase, "God’s love endures forever" (v. 29), for that phrase is the rock-bottom, powerful word of promise that God gives to all generations.

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[1] Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989), page 275.
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), page 1156.