Psalms 118:26

118:22,23, may refer to David's preferment; but principally to Christ. 1. His humiliation; he is the Stone which the builders refused: they would go on in their building without him. This proved the ruin of those who thus made light of him. Rejecters of Christ are rejected of God. 2. His exaltation; he is the chief Cornerstone in the foundation. He is the chief Top-stone, in whom the building is completed, who must, in all things, have the pre-eminence. Christ's name is Wonderful; and the redemption he wrought out is the most amazing of all God's wondrous works. We will rejoice and be glad in the Lord's day; not only that such a day is appointed, but in the occasion of it, Christ's becoming the Head. Sabbath days ought to be rejoicing days, then they are to us as the days of heaven. Let this Saviour be my Saviour, my Ruler. Let my soul prosper and be in health, in that peace and righteousness which his government brings. Let me have victory over the lusts that war against my soul; and let Divine grace subdue my heart. The duty which the Lord has made, brings light with it, true light. The duty this privilege calls for, is here set forth; the sacrifices we are to offer to God in gratitude for redeeming love, are ourselves; not to be slain upon the altar, but living sacrifices, to be bound to the altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be engaged.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord,.... These words were used by the multitude that followed Christ, as he went into Jerusalem, in order to eat his last passover, and suffer and die for his people, and are applied to him; as also by his disciples, who expressed them thus, "Blessed be the King that cometh", &c.

Luke 19:38 ; the King Messiah, who came from heaven to earth, from his Father into this world, to save the chief of sinners; who now came to Jerusalem on that errand, and into the temple, as the proprietor of it; where he showed his power, and exercised his authority: he came not in his own name, but in his Father's name; and not to do his own will, but his; nor did he seek his own glory, but his Father's: he came as his servant to do his work; he came with a commission from him, by his order, and to obey his commands, which he did; he came with his full consent and will, and, as man and Mediator, was helped and assisted by him; and as such he is pronounced blessed: all blessing, happiness, and honour, are wished for him, and ascribed unto him, as his just due; being Lord and King, Saviour and Redeemer, of his people; we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord; these are the words of the priests, one part of whose office it was to bless the people, Numbers 6:23; but these were not the chief priests of the Jews in Christ's time; for they were displeased with the multitude, and with the children in the temple, for crying "hosanna" to the son of David, and wishing well to him, Matthew 21:15. But the disciples of Christ, or ministers of the Gospel, who blessed the people that blessed their Lord and Master; or wished well to them, and prayed for them that wished well to him.

Psalm 118:26 . Blessed be he that cometh — Namely, unto us, from whom he was long banished; or, unto the throne; or, he that cometh from his Father into the world, namely, the Messiah, known by the name of him that cometh, or was to come: see the margin. In the name of the Lord — By command and commission from him, and for his service and glory. We earnestly pray that God would bless his person and government, and all his enterprises. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord — We, who are the Lord’s ministers, attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, ( Numbers 6:23 ,) do pray for, and, in God’s name, pronounce his blessing upon thee, and upon thy kingdom. So these are the words of the priests.

Verse 26. - Blessed be he that cometh in the Name of the Lord . Once more a voice issues from the interior of the temple (comp. ver. 20). The priestly choir there stationed to receive the procession, blesses it as coming "in the Name of the Lord;" i . e . for a religious purpose, and with pious intentions. We have blessed you, they say (or, rather perhaps, we bless you ) out of the house of the Lord . "The house of the Lord is the fountain and the treasury of all blessing" (Hengstenberg). Psalm 118:26

Blessed be he; we earnestly pray that God would bless his person and government, and all his enterprises. That cometh , to wit, unto us, from whom he was long banished; or unto the throne; or from his Father into the world; the Messias, who is known by the name of him that cometh or was to come , as Matthew 11:3 21:9 Luke 7:20 13:35 John 12:13 , and of whom this very word is used, Genesis 49:10 Isaiah 35:4 . He who is about to come, or will certainly come. In the name of the Lord ; by command and commission from him, and for his service and glory. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord; we who are the Lord’s ministers, attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, Numbers 6:23 Deu 10:8 , do pray for, and in God’s name pronounce, his blessing upon thee. So these are the words of the priests.

26 . The priests in the Temple bless the entering procession. Blessed in the name of Jehovah be he that entereth! The accentuation rightly connects in the name of Jehovah with blessed . Cp. Psalm 129:8 ; Deuteronomy 21:5 ; 2 Samuel 6:18 . With these words and with the Hosanna [77] (‘save now’) of the preceding verse, the multitudes greeted Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem ( Matthew 21:9 ). The Psalm may already have received a Messianic interpretation. Hosanna was a “God save the king” ( Psalm 20:9 ); and “he that cometh” was a title of the Messiah ( Matthew 11:3 ). The disciples, expanding the original, shouted “Blessed is the king that cometh in the name of the Lord” ( Luke 19:38 ; cp. Mark 11:10 ). [77] Hosanna ( ὡσαννά ) represents a contracted form הוֹשַׁע־נָּא (cp. Psalm 86:2 ), hôshă‘-nnâ , which was substituted for the fuller form הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא hôshî‘âh nnâ used in the Psalm. See Dalman, Gramm. des Jüd. Pal. Aram . p. 198.

Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord - See the notes at Matthew 21:9 . This is the language of those who had charge of the sanctuary, addressing him who came in the name of the Lord to present his thank-offering. It is the language of welcome; the assurance that his offering would be acceptable to God. It was applicable to the Messiah, as coming in the name of the Lord, and was so used by the multitudes Matthew 21:9 , and by the Saviour himself Matthew 23:39 ; but this use of the language does not prove that it had original reference to him. The Old Testament abounds in language which may thus be employed to express ideas under the Christian dispensation; but this does not prove that all such language was originally designed to refer to that dispensation. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord - We, the priests, the ministers of religion, have pronounced and do pronounce you blessed. We welcome your approach. You may come freely with your thank-offering. It will be accepted of the Lord. You come under our benediction, and the benediction of God.