The Champion – Part 2
Psalms 118 (15-29)
September 12, 2021
Last time we met we began walking through this magnificent Psalm
About the Champion of Israel.
It is the final Psalm in a 6 Psalm set known as the Hallel
It was originally meant to commemorate the Passover and the Exodus from Egypt.
And while one could certainly see
How a song of such deliverance could be sung at the event,
This Psalm is not about what happened in Egypt.
• This Psalm is about the true Passover.
• This Psalm is about the true Champion.
• This Psalm is all about Jesus Christ.
And, as we pointed out last time,
The children of Israel even unintentionally fulfilled this Psalm
On the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt.
Matthew 21:9 “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”
When you read in verse 25 “O LORD, do save, we beseech You”
• “save” in the Hebrew is YASA (ya-shah)
• “we beseech You” in the Hebrew is ANNA (aw-nah)
(ya-shah-aw-nah) is HOSANNA in your English Bible.
It means SAVE NOW!
We saw this Psalm literally play out before as a great movie script.
It is all about the saving Champion of Israel.
We started looking at this Psalm last time.
We left it at as a cliff-hanger.
So I suppose we should start off by saying,
“Previously on The Champion”
We saw the opening calling is that we would “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
The aim of the Psalm is
• To get us to see the great lovingkindness of the LORD,
• To understand that it is everlasting,
• To give thanks to God for His goodness in extending that lovingkindness to us.
That is the objective.
And in order that we might see His great lovingkindness
The Psalmist tells the story of the champion.
This is where we began.
#1 THE STORY OF THE REDEEMER
Psalms 118:5-21
And we broke this story down into 5 basic points.
1) HIS TURMOIL (5-6)
We saw the Champion in great distress.
He was no doubt in mental anguish as He contemplated the battle before Him.
• And while one might see David as he first contemplates fighting Goliath…
• And while one might see Daniel as he contemplates praying with his window open…
THIS PSALM IS ABOUT JESUS
Who in the garden was in such agony that He sweat drops of blood.
• He began to identify with sinners and for the first time began to contemplate the reality of suffering under the wrath of Holy God.
• The anguish was so much that Jesus actually asked that this cup would pass from Him, but immediately subjected Himself to the will of God.
• It was at this point that angels came and ministered to Him.
• Almost immediately a Roman cohort led by Judas arrived to arrest Him and our Lord demonstrated great meekness by submitting Himself to their plan.
And we can easily see all that occurred in GETHSEMANE recorded in verses 5-7:
“From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.”
That was His turmoil.
2) HIS TRUST (8-9)
We noted that after being arrested our Lord endured no less than 6 trials.
Annas – Caiaphas – Sanhedrin – Pilate – Herod – Pilate.
But it was the last trial before Pilate that really stands out.
For Jesus had been condemned by everyone except for Pilate.
Pilate was the first to render a verdict of “Not Guilty”
If anyone could be appealed to by Jesus for a fair trial and an acquittal
Certainly Pilate could help Jesus out.
• But as Pilate spoke to Jesus, Jesus would not speak in return.
• Jesus would not trust Pilate, He would entrust Himself to Him who judges righteously.
And of the scene we know as GABBATHA we read in verses 8-9:
“It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”
From there we moved forward in the story of our Champion.
3) HIS TRIAL (10-14)
Not His trial in a judicial sense, but in a hardship sense.
This was His battle.
• This was pictured when David stood before the giant.
• This was pictured when Daniel walked into the den of lions.
Ultimately it was what occurred at GOLGOTHA when Jesus was crucified.
• “All nations surrounded me”
• “They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me”
• “The surrounded me like bees;”
• “They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;”
We saw our Champion surrounded and ridiculed.
• Soldiers gambled for His clothes
• Chief Priests sneered His claims of being able to save
• Passers by hurled abuse at Him for claiming to be God’s Son
• Even the criminals hanging next to Him joined in the attacks
But our Champion did not flinch.
He knew that one day every one of these mockers
Would bow in submission to Him.
He knew that “In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.”
They were NOT the trial.
They were NOT the battle.
The battle occurred when God’s wrath entered the arena.
(13a) “You pushed me violently saw that I was falling” (literally fell)
Our Champion was treated as an enemy of God.
• Though He was sinless.
• Though He was righteous.
• Though He was pleasing.
• He was treated as though He was the vilest of offenders.
God was pleased to crush Him.
And yet at the same time, in a seeming paradox,
The God who crushed Him also helped Him.
“But the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.”
We heard our Champion, even as He was dying say:
Luke 23:46 “And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.”
OUR CHAMPION DIED.
Because it was late His body was hastily thrown
Into the borrowed tomb of a rich man.
This was certainly significant for the prophet said:
Isaiah 53:9 “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.”
But our Champion was dead and buried none the less.
• And we could see the women crying that their Savior was dead.
• And we could see the disciples huddled in fear that their Master was dead.
• And we could see the Chief Priests celebrating that their enemy was dead.
We saw them plot and scheme to keep Him dead
By placing a stone over the tomb, sealing the stone,
And stationing a guard to make sure no one stole His body.
BUT AS WE LEFT LAST SUNDAY NIGHT,
The ground was shaking, and an angel was rolling away the stone.
So tonight we pick up the story of our Redeeming Champion.
His Turmoil, His Trust, His Trial
4) HIS TRIUMPH (15-18)
• One could certainly be tempted here to see David lodge a stone in the forehead of the giant and then remove the giant’s head from him…
• And one could imagine the roar of the Israeli army on the hillside as their enemy had been defeated.
• One could certainly be tempted here to see Daniel emerge from the pit unharmed and his enemies thrown there in his stead…
• And one could imagine the roar of the saints as the word spread and their foe had been stopped.
But as amazing as those moments certainly were,
They pale in comparison to the triumph of our Champion.
Matthew 28:1-7 “Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
OUR CHAMPION WAS NOW ALIVE AGAIN!
When the Champion did first reveal Himself to the disciples it is said “they worshiped Him”
Paul said:
Romans 1:4 “[He] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,”
And for the first time it began to sink in what just happened.
Our Champion did not lose His battle, He won it.
For our Champion was not fighting God, He was fighting sin and death.
This was the whole purpose for why He came.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
THIS HAD BEEN THE PLAN ALL ALONG.
The whole reason our Champion came to earth as a human
Was that He could fight this battle.
• Death was the Goliath we had no chance of conquering.
• Death was the lions we had no chance of surviving.
• Death was the Pharaoh we had no chance of escaping.
And Jesus, our Champion, came to fight Him.
And when He appeared to the apostle John, John recounts the conversation:
Revelation 1:17-18 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
Our Champion took death’s best shot.
He clothed Himself in sin,
Stood before a Holy God,
Received full condemnation,
And submitted Himself to death.
BUT DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM.
Peter would later say at Pentecost:
Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
No longer would we have to fear death.
No longer would we have to fear condemnation.
For in Christ Jesus there is now no condemnation.
• Jesus closed condemnation’s mouth.
And in Christ Jesus death has now lost it’s sting.
• Jesus removed death’s head.
And so beside verses 15-18 we write the word GRAVESIDE
For that empty grave is where our Lord
Declared victory over sin and death.
And this is exactly what the Psalmist is singing about.
(15-16) “The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.”
“The right hand of the LORD” is none other than our Champion
Who is seated at God’s right hand.
• And as the Psalmist said, He “does valiantly”
• And He is rightly “exalted”
And because of His victory over sin and death
“The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous”
He fought the battle we could not win.
We receive the glory of victory that we could never earn.
And now, because of His victory:
Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
• He has now been given the name which is above every name.
• He is given the name “Lord”
All because He conquered death on our behalf.
We even hear the post-game press conference of our Champion.
(17-18) “I will not die, but live, And tell of the works of the LORD. The LORD has disciplined me severely, But He has not given me over to death.”
It is what we read about in Psalms 16
Psalms 16:10 “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
And so our Champion, having endured the battle of His life,
HAS EMERGED VICTORIOUS.
• He is holding the severed head of the giant.
• He has silenced every lion.
And we rejoice because this Champion has promised:
John 14:19 “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.”
That is the Champion’s Triumph
5) HIS TRIBUTE (19-21)
• One could stand by and watch David parading through the streets as the crowds sing, “David has slain his ten-thousands”
But the accomplishment of David is too small
To receive the type of tribute our Champion receives here.
He has now approached the temple.
He has approached the abode of God.
And our Champion has declared “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD.”
He arose victorious and then goes to present Himself to the Father.
Hebrews 9:11-12 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”
When Christ died the veil was torn and the graves were open.
And now Christ having stepped out of the grave
Goes to appear before God on our behalf.
And so beside verses 19-20 we write the word: GLORY
For this is what Christ receives and what He has purchased for us.
Acts 1:9-11 “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
HE ALONE IS RIGHTEOUS.
He alone has the right to draw near to God.
David asked:
Psalms 15:1 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?”
He asked again:
Psalms 24:3 “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?”
And the answer is given:
Psalms 24:4-5 “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
Christ alone is acceptable
And He has gone as the Champion on our behalf.
(20) “This is the gate of the LORD; The righteous will enter through it.”
Not only does Christ enter the gate, but He then becomes the gate.
And through Him, we are allowed to enter through as well.
John 10:7-10 “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
And because of this we rejoice!
(21) “I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, And You have become my salvation.”
And this has been THE THEME of the entire Hallel.
We already read:
Psalms 116:1-6 “I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live. The cords of death encompassed me And the terrors of Sheol came upon me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the LORD: “O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is compassionate. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.”
And so now at this epic conclusion we have come to realize
That this segment of Psalms known as “The Praise”
Is not about the first Passover, but is actually about the second.
For Jesus Christ has become our Passover.
• It is He who faced death
• It is He who faced sin
• It is He who bore wrath
• And It is He who saved us.
He has become our salvation.
That is the story of the Redeemer.
That is the story of the Champion.
But Psalms 118 doesn’t end there.
• Psalms 118 instead culminates in the worship and gratitude and praise of those who have benefited from the work of the Champion.
The Story of the Redeemer
#2 THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED
Psalms 118:22-29
• This is the song of the Israelites who stood on the hillside watching eagerly as David approached the giant.
• This is the song of the captives who waited eagerly as Daniel entered the den of lions.
This is the song of the redeemed who have seen death defeated because of the work of the true Champion, Jesus Christ.
And we can break this down a little further as well.
1) THE SAVIOR RECOGNIZED (22)
“The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone.”
This statement became a staple of Jesus’ preaching in the temple
And a foundational reality of the preaching of the apostles.
For it now gives us insight into the identity of who those nations where who surrounded and mocked our Champion.
• It was “the builders”
• It was David’s brothers
• It was the very people whom our Champion came to save.
Jesus said:
Matthew 21:42-45 “Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.”
The Champion knew who the enemies where.
It was the very people whom He had come to redeem.
Though our Champion was the only one capable of defeating the foe of sin and death, still the religious elite hated Him for it.
The apostles picked upon this as well.
Acts 4:10-11 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone.”
1 Peter 2:6-7 “For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”
We find here that our Champion was forced to suffer the cruelest of injustices.
• Namely that He was despised and we did not esteem Him.
• He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.
• He was mocked and beaten
• He was rejected and scorned
And yet, despite the great humiliation,
He went forward and won the victory on our behalf anyway.
He is a great Champion.
2) THE SOVEREIGN REVEALED (23-24)
“This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
• We certainly cannot overlook who caused this great salvation.
• We certainly cannot overlook who gets the credit.
“This is the LORD’s doing”
• God did this, not man.
• It is the work of God, not man.
In fact, “It is marvelous in our eyes”
That is to say it is something that
Is beyond the realm of human comprehension.
Man would have never thought of such a great plan of salvation as this.
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
GOD DID THIS, NOT US.
AND THUS WE REJOICE.
“This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
I’m well aware that most of the time that verse is quoted
As sort of a verse to encourage daily optimism and gratitude.
And surely, there is nothing wrong with recognizing God as the sovereign of each day and thus determining to rejoice in the day He sets before you.
However, this verse is not random and this statement is not generic.
• “the day” mentioned here is the day death was slain.
• “the day” mentioned here is the day sin was destroyed.
• “the day” mentioned here is the day Christ our Champion purchased salvation.
This day is the day of salvation.
It “is the day which the LORD has made”
And our response is to “rejoice and be glad in it”
We are called to rejoice in the day of atonement every day of our lives.
Regardless of the gratitude and faith and hope and contentment
That we show in any given day which God gives us,
We are called to always remember this day and “be glad in it”
We never forget or stray from the day our Champion defeated our foe.
We rejoice to God because He is the sovereign who accomplished it all.
The cross was according to
“the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God”
And we rejoice!
3) SALVATION REQUESTED (25-26)
“O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”
Here is the song that the masses actually sang
In ignorance and hypocrisy.
The song was CORRECT but the heart was CORRUPT.
• They identified the right Savior, but they soon rejected Him.
• They knew the right Song, but they soon abandoned it.
None the less, the triumphal entry
Became a prophetic fulfillment of Psalms 118,
Even though it was fulfilled by wicked men.
On that day, for a brief moment, the crowd had it right.
This crowd saw the Champion, entering Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt and their request was perfect.
“O LORD, do save, we beseech You”
HOSANNA!
That is the expected cry of every sinner.
That should certainly be the cry of every sinner now
Once they understand the work of the Champion.
When you learn of the work of Christ,
And you comprehend what He has done,
Then there should be no delay in you joining this chorus.
When you see a Savior like Him
Then you should at once cry out, “SAVE ME!”
AND confess Him as the only acceptable and blessed Savior of God.
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.”
• Have you joined this cry?
• Have you joined this shout?
• Have you presented this request?
OR
• Are you one of those Israelites standing in the hillside convinced that if given the chance you could beat Goliath?
• Are you one of those refugees thinking to yourself, I could survive the den of lions?
Go fight your giant then…
Go take on death.
God fight your lions then…
God take on sin.
But if you realize that you are no match for either
Then join the cry of the sinful and beseech the Lord to save you too!
That is the only acceptable response to the work of our Champion.
4) THE SACRIFICE RENDERED (27)
“The LORD is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.”
On one hand Christ presents Himself to the Father on our behalf.
But on the other hand we also present Christ to the Father in faith.
• We come before God, but we no longer bring a sheep.
• We come before God, but we no longer bring a goat or a bull.
We come before God and we present Christ on our behalf.
• We come clothed in His righteousness.
• We stand in the perfect works of Christ and in His atoning death.
“And when before the throne
I stand in him complete
Jesus died, my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat
Jesus paid it all
And all to him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow
And sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow”
He is the sacrifice we bring to the Father.
We give our all that we main gain Christ
And we give Christ as our acceptable offering to the Father.
If you do not have Christ then you have nothing of worth to give.
• He is the treasure hidden in the field which is worth the cost of everything you
own.
• He is the pearl of such great value that you should trade everything to obtain it.
He alone represents the righteousness which God demands.
He alone represents the atonement which God requires.
Those who have seen the work of the Champion
First confess Him and cry out to Him
Then they are clothed in His righteousness
That they might be acceptable to the Father.
That is the only way to respond to all that He has done.
And then finally:
5) THE SONG RESOUNDS (28-29)
“You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
We end back where we began.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Now perhaps we understand why the Psalmist
Wanted us to be clothed in gratitude for all that God has done for us.
Now we understand the greatness and glory of Christ.
• Who else would face such turmoil in Gethsemane?
• Who else would be so faithful at Gabbatha?
• Who else would fight such a battle at Golgotha?
• Who else has won such victory as the Graveside?
• Who else has been so worthy for such Glory?
ONLY CHRIST.
He is the Champion
He won the battle on our behalf.
And thus we understand why
Every single one of the redeemed
should stop and give thanks to the Lord
For His great lovingkindness toward us.
TONIGHT I ENCOURAGE YOU.
• If you’ve never cried out for salvation from the Champion before then do it tonight.
• If you’ve never confessed Him as Lord then do it tonight.
And if you are His child then give thanks once again.
• And say, “His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
