A Psalm for Festival Services
V. 20. This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter, the sacrificial acts on the part of the congregation, and the sacramental acts on the part of God’s servants, uniting them with Him in the most intimate fellowship.
V. 21. I will praise Thee, in the full consciousness of this wonderful union with Yahweh; for Thou hast heard me and art become my Salvation.
V. 22. The stone which the builders refused, rejecting it with scorn as useless, is become the headstone of the corner, the corner-stone upholding the entire building of the Lord’s Temple. This is a direct prophecy, which, as Jesus says, was fulfilled in Himself, Matt. 21, 42; Mark 12, 10. 11; Acts 4, 11; 1 Pet. 2, 7; Is. 28, 16. The Jews rejected their Savior, refusing to acknowledge Him as the promised Messiah; but He, by the merciful counsel of the Lord, became the Corner-stone of the Christian Church, the Foundation upon which all believers rest their hope of salvation, Eph. 2, 20-22.
V. 23. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes, and its marvel grows with every new consideration of the manner in which our salvation was effected. V. 24. This is the day which the Lord hath made, the day, the period of grace and salvation extending down to the last day of the world, Is. 49, 8; 2 Cor. 6, 2; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Compare Rev. 19, 7.
V. 25. Save now, the hosanna of the multitudes on Palm Sunday, I beseech Thee, O Lord! O Lord, I beseech Thee, send now prosperity, true spiritual happiness, Matt. 21, 9. V. 26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, this cry of welcome as used by the chorus of Levites in the Temple-services and by the inhabitants of Jerusalem in greeting their brethren from a distance, being used in an unusually appropriate manner in the case of Christ upon His entrance into the city; we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord, wishing them the wonderful blessings which are dispensed at the Temple.
V. 27. God is the Lord, Yahweh is God, the only true God, which hath showed us light, with the spiritual enlightenment in His Word.
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar, the number of the offerings being so great upon festive occasions that the entire court was filled with the animals, so that some of them were led even to the space next to the altar of burnt offering, there to await their turn. This invitation is accepted by the worshiping multitude, in whose name the psalmist now answers.
V. 28. Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee, with joyful thanksgiving; Thou art my God, I will exalt Thee, giving Him the honor due His holy name.
V. 29. O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever, this same merciful favor being the sustaining power in the believers of all the world to this day.