The Lord Is My Banner

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart that I might not sin against God! Amen!!!

Open Bibles To: Psalm 118.

Today, we have reached the last of the “Hallel Psalms”.

I have had a wonderful time praising God through this series, and I hope you have as well.

As of this very minute, I do not know where God will take us next, but regardless of the location, all of God’s Word is amazing, so I am sure it will be good.

The aim of the text today, is to show that God’s people are to always proclaim the name of the Lord, regardless of their current situation.

The name of God that we are going to look at today is, “Jehovah-Nissi”, which means “The Lord is My Banner”!

The title of the message this morning is, “The Lord Is My Banner”.

Context

Psalm 118, like most of the other “Hallel Psalms”, celebrates God’s deliverance of His people from their enemies and is a song of rejoicing. Most scholars agree that the people who sang it were the remnant of God’s people who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Captivity.

While God’s people were still in Babylon, Jeremiah had prophesied that this joyous day would eventually come:

Jeremiah 33:10–11 NKJV

10 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the Lord of hosts, For the Lord is good, For His mercy endures forever”— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord.

Psalms III: Chapters 107–150 (King James Version) Psalm 118: When Powerful Enemies Surround and Confront You, 118:1–29

As Nehemiah and the men of Jerusalem constructed the city wall, they had encountered angry opposition. Their enemies were so aggressive that only half the men worked while the other half stood guard, ready to defend the city from attack. In fact, the builders labored with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other (Ne. 4:16–17).

Nehemiah 4:16–17 NKJV

16 So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah. 17 Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.

Psalms III: Chapters 107–150 (King James Version) Psalm 118: When Powerful Enemies Surround and Confront You, 118:1–29

God strengthened Nehemiah and his crew and, by His faithfulness, they finished the task.

The occasion for its singing was most likely the dedication of Jerusalem’s walls and gates that had been rebuilt under Nehemiah’s leadership. If we take this context into consideration, much of the psalm comes together seamlessly.

The psalm also has a dual literary composition, which simply means that it is composed with multiple literary types. It is written in multiple ways.

We have already stated that this Psalm is a song. Therefore, it is poetic in nature. We will look at this a little deeper in a moment.

Not only is Psalm 118 poetic, it is also prophetic. It speaks of Jesus Christ and looks forward to His coming. It is a Messianic Psalm.

We can easily deduce this from verse 22:

Psalm 118:22 NKJV

22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

1 Peter 2:7 NKJV

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”

Psalms III: Chapters 107–150 (King James Version) Psalm 118: When Powerful Enemies Surround and Confront You, 118:1–29

A Messianic psalm, Psalm 118 is among the most-quoted in the New Testament. It celebrates not only Israel’s deliverance from her enemies but also the salvation that would be brought by Jesus Christ. As sure as God delivered the Jewish people from their foes and Christ delivered us from sin, we can rest in the confidence that God will help us when we face intense opposition and persecution.

Content

The Procession

The March

Psalm 118 is a song.

The way the song was performed was very unique.

It would start by gathering all the people at one end of the camp.

There would be a sacrifice, a large bull, that would head the procession towards the temple.

They would start singing this song, and continue singing it until they reached the gates of temple court.

The song was also sung by different groups and in different stages.

One group would sing a certain section, then the other group would sing the other section. They would continue going back and forth throughout the song.

Notice also that the first and last verses of this Psalm are the same. This allowed for a continual loop of the song.

Once they reached the temple gates, they would sing until they reached verse 18.

Verse 19 would then be sung by the leader of the people: “Open to me the gates of righteousness”, which would speak of the gates of the temple.

Those inside the gates, usually the Levitical priesthood, would respond with verse 20: “This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.”

The leader back out on the outside would then respond with verses 21-25, which was an anthem of praise to God.

Those inside the gates would then respond with verse 26: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”

They would then open the gates and let the procession in.

They would then march to the altar and sing verse 27.

Sometime during that period, the whole congregation would then join together in song for the last two verses.

The Meaning

God had been good to Israel and the writer of this Psalm wanted everyone to know just how good God has been. Look with me at the text again and see all of the things the author said about God:

God is good (v. 1, 29)

God’s mercy endures forever (vv. 1-4, 29)

The Lord answered me (v. 5)

The Lord is on my side (v. 6)

The Lord is for me (v. 7)

Trust in the Lord (vv. 8-9)

God will fight for me (cc. 10-12)

The Lord helped me (v. 13)

The Lord is my strength, my song, and my salvation (v. 14)

The right hand of the Lord does valiantly and is exalted (vv. 16-17)

The Lord has chastened me but has not given me over to death (v. 18)

This is the Lord’s doing (v. 23)

The Lord has made this day (v. 24)

God is Lord (v. 27)

You are my God (v. 28)

Breaking it Down

vv. 1-4: God is good and His mercy endures forever.

vv. 5-7: The Lord hears me and fights for me.

vv. 8-13: The Lord is faithful above all others.

vv. 14-22: The Lord is my salvation and I will declare His wondrous works.

vv. 23-25: God orchestrated this day and we will rejoice.

vv. 26: Those who come in the name of the Lord are blessed by those who are in the Lord.

vv. 27-28: God has provided the means for salvation and we are here to offer sacrifices in His name.

v. 29: Give thanks to the Lord. He is good and His mercy endures forever.

The Prophecy

vv. 1-4: God is good and His mercy endures forever.

vv. 5-7: The Lord hears me and fights for me.

vv. 8-13: The Lord is faithful above all others.

vv. 14-22: The Lord is my salvation and I will declare His wondrous works.

vv. 23-25: God orchestrated this day and we will rejoice.

vv. 26: Those who come in the name of the Lord are blessed by those who are in the Lord.

vv. 27-28: God has provided the means for salvation and we are here to offer sacrifices in His name.

v. 29: Give thanks to the Lord. He is good and His mercy endures forever.

The Promise

Commitment