We have already seen that Psalm 117 is a fitting introduction to Psalm 118. The latter concludes the Hallel psalms, which begin with Psalm 113. An analysis of this psalm, as we shall see, shows that it is a pageant dramatizing Israel's return to God after her long dispersion and residence among the nations.

In order for us to understand and appreciate this dramatized message, we must remember the conditions which existed during the time for the Second Temple. When Zerubbabel and Joshua led the remnant of Israel from Babylon back to the home land, they left the major portion of their brethren in exile. These did not wish to return. Only the pious and godly of Israel eagerly accepted the challenge to return to the land of their fathers and start life anew. As the decades past, many Israelites moved out into Gentile territory, and by the time of the first century they were scattered over the Roman Empire, especially in the principal cities. Each year at the great festivals, especially at Passover, these brethren living in the Diaspora, the Dispersion, made their journeys to Jerusalem to worship the God of their fathers. At that time the bulk of the nation was outside the limits of the Holy Land with only a remnant of the nation dwelling there.

When the Lord gave the commission to the Apostles to go only to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," He prophesied saying, "But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come" (Matt. 10:23). He blended the command to evangelize Israel, which was carried on by the Twelve under the restricted commission, with the preaching of the gospel to the remnant of Israel in the end time, who will be in their own cities and colonies (Matt. 10:23). In this verse He passed over the entire Christian Dispensation, blending the events of His first coming with those connected with His return. Thus this long period intervening between the two comings is Israel's long night, during which she has suffered untold persecutions and pogroms. But in this verse from Matthew we do not see this period. During the night of Israel's dispersion, very few Jews have lived in Palestine. But in the end of this age, according to the message of the prophets and the Lord Jesus, there will be a representative number of them in their own land, dwelling in their cities and colonies. But the major portion of the race will be dispersed among the nations.

The Lord used the fact of Israel's being scattered among the nations and of her making pilgrimages to the national shrine at Jerusalem as an object lesson to portray to the world in a dramatic manner her final return to God and her rehabilitation in the land of the Fathers. His using these historical facts to set forth a great spiritual lesson every year to His people should not be surprising to anyone who is acquainted with the Scriptures. At different times He used various circumstances to set forth great spiritual lessons. For instance, the Lord caused Hosea, a man of pure life and tender heart, to marry Gomer whose life was corrupt. "When Jehovah spake at the first by Hosea, Jehovah said unto Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land doth commit great whoredom, departing from Jehovah" (Hosea 1:2). There were children born of this union. Gomer, not appreciating her position and relationship to her husband and children, went back into the former life from which she had been rescued by her marriage with the prophet. Although she was living in sin, the Lord instructed the prophet to go, love her, and show great tenderness toward her. Though she did not return to the prophet as his wife at once, they remained apart and she was unable to become associated with any other men. Finally, she returned and the family circle was completed again. For the full details read the first three chapters of the Book of Hosea. The prophet, his wife, the children, and their lives set forth in a dramatic manner the relationship that has existed between God on the one hand and Israel on the other. Just as Gomer finally returned to her husband, after her wild escapades, so will Israel return to the Lord Jehovah, her God. Isaiah and his wife and children were likewise living symbols, setting forth the relationship between God and His true children in Israel (Isa. 8:16-18).

The desire to set forth Israel's life and position in the world with relation to God has not died down in the Jewish heart. On July 21, 1943, the pageant, "We Will Never Die," was given at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California. This dramatic presentation was written by Ben Hecht and was a master piece of production, being well rendered. After the blowing of the Shofar, Deuteronomy 6:4 was repeated, affirming Israel's faith in God. The beginnings of the nation were shown, and then certain ones enacted the parts of the great ones of Israel in the past. Modern Israel was represented. Following this, there were those who impersonated the Jewish nation of the present day as they were fighting on all battle fronts for the freedom of mankind. Then the ghosts of the ones slaughtered in the ghettos of Europe by the Nazis were portrayed most vividly. One of the final scenes represented the "Peace Table" at which the delegates of United Nations will sit—with the exception of Israel. The pageant closed with a prayer—the Kaddish—for the martyred dead. The various actors played their parts well and set forth in the most vivid manner the history through which Israel has past. Notwithstanding the gloomy outlook of the present day, the nation was represented as looking to the future with hope.

The occasion of the writing of Psalm 118 as stated before, is not certainly known. The rabbis of old declared that it was supposed to celebrate five different things. Without a doubt there lies back behind this dramatic presentation the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. With this as a sounding board, the promise of her final deliverance is set forth in this pageant.

As has been said before, the Psalms are unintelligible without a knowledge of the background which is afforded by the messages of the prophets. Israel's coming from all parts of the world to celebrate the Passover and her other feasts annually sets forth in a graphic manner her return to the land of the fathers, with various events and developments connected with this future restoration, and her final conversion. Let us now note the principal assumptions here presupposed.

When God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, He promised that He would bless all nations in and through him and his seed (Gen 12:1-3). Before this time, when the Almighty scattered the people at the Tower of Babel and sent them to the various portions of the world, He allotted to each group that section of territory which was to be the future home of their descendants. This thought is set forth in Deuteronomy 32:8, 9:

"When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, When He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the peoples According to the number of the children of Israel. For Jehovah's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance."

The assignment of their inheritance to the various nations was made with reference to the children of Israel. In other words, each of the nations was related to the Chosen People. Palestine is spoken of as the center of the earth (Ezek. 38:12).

Not only did the Lord select Palestine as the home of the Jewish people, but He promised through Moses to select one of their cities to be the place where he would abide. This promise is found in such passages as Deuteronomy 12:5-12. The selection of this place is found in the following passage:

"Moreover he refused the tent of Joseph, And chose not the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, The mount Zion which he loved" (Ps. 78:67,68).

This same theme is the subject of Psalm 87:1-3:

"His foundation is in the holy mountains. Jehovah loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God."

Note that there are "glorious things" spoken of Zion, the city of our God. On the beauty of this city of the Great King, see Psalm 48:1,2. The selection of Zion as the place for the residence of Jehovah was a permanent choice.

"For Jehovah hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it for his habitation.
This is my resting-place for ever:
Here will I dwell; for I have desired it" (Ps. 132:13,14).

Psalm 118, which we are studying, cannot be appreciated without our recognizing Jewish ownership of Palestine and Jerusalem's being the city of the Great King--Messiah.

Our psalm presupposes Israel's world-wide dispersion. When the Lord delivered His word to Israel at Sinai through Moses, He outlined the course of Jewish history. In Leviticus 26, this delineation is set forth. Verses 1 and 2 reiterate her covenant position with God. Verses 3-13 recount the promises of unparalleled blessing vouched to Israel upon the condition that she would be faithful to Him. Verses 13-39 threaten the nation with judgment and then final expulsion from the land in the event of unfaithfulness. In the latter part of this last section, verses 34-39, the barren condition of the land of Israel is set forth as it exists during her expulsion. Verses 40-45 set forth her confession of her national sin and return to God which will be in the future. (For a detailed study of Leviticus, chapter 26 and Deuteronomy, chapter 28 see the article, "The History of Israel in Prophecy" of my volume, The World's Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated.)

There appears a most graphic prediction concerning Israel's entrance into the land of Canaan, her corrupting herself after remaining there for a time, her turning to idolatry, her being cast out of the land and being scattered among the nations, and her final return in the time of the end when the judgments of Almighty God will be falling upon her, in Deuteronomy 4:25-31:
"When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, to provoke him to anger; I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly destroyed. And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, wither Jehovah shall lead you away. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from thence ye shall seek Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, in the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and hearken upon his voice; for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swear unto them."

Deuteronomy, chapter 28, is a repetition and an enlargement of the prophecy found in Leviticus, chapter 26. It likewise outlines the course of Jewish history. Deuteronomy, chapter 32 is the national anthem of Israel as given by Moses and delineates the whole course of Jewish history in song. These and many other passages foretell Israel's world-wide dispersion and her return to the Holy Land in the end time.

Many are the passages which speak especially of Israel's return to the land in the latter days and of her accepting King Messiah. For instance, in Isaiah 11:11-12:6 we have a prophecy that the Lord will put forth His hand a second time to restore His people from their world-wide dispersion. The paragraph consisting of Isaiah 11:11-16 speaks of the literal restoration to the land of the fathers; but 12:1-6 foretells the spiritual return to God. We see Israel's regathering as set forth in Isaiah 49:12,13: "Lo, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth: and break into singing, O mountains: for Jehovah hath comforted his people, and will have compassion upon his afflicted."

Once more we have a grand and panoramic view of the gradual restoration of Israel set in forth in the vision of the valley of dry bones found in Ezekiel 37:1-14. Jeremiah also speaks of her return to the land and of their accepting God in genuine repentance (Jer. 3:16-25).

As we study Israel's return to God and to the land of the fathers, we must not forget predictions which show that many of them in the latter days will return to Egypt and build up a civilization there, whereas others will return to Assyria. The prediction regarding their return to Egypt in the end time and the building of five cities, speaking the language of Canaan, is found in Isaiah 19:18-22. The prophecy regarding the return to Assyria, as well as to Egypt, is set forth in Isaiah 27:12,13. When we take all the passages relating to the return of Israel from her sojourn among the Gentiles, we come to the conclusion that they will gather, not only in Palestine, but also in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. During the Tribulation the faithful remnant who settle in Palestine will at the persecution of the Antichrist flee into Ammon, Moab, and Edom. But at the second coming of Christ our Lord will, according to Isaiah 27:12,13, gather from the places those who survive to the land of the fathers.

This phase of the restoration, I fear, has been generally overlooked by Bible students. The Jews are now pressing their claims to rehabilitation in Palestine. The Arab situation is acute and is diametrically opposed to Zionistic national aspirations. Without doubt God is overruling and is preventing all the Jews from returning to Palestine. He is now gathering them out of the nations and will take them into the "wilderness of the peoples" (Ezek. 20:35) where He will enter into judgment with them and make them pass under the rod (Ezek. 20:37). He will thus purge the nation of the wicked and disobedient and will let only the faithful remnant return to the land. Thus the present opposition to Jewish aspirations regarding Palestine is being used of God to steer the course of Jewish migration to these places where He said that they would be gathered back in the end time.

As stated in Section 1, God, when He settled Israel in Canaan, selected Jerusalem as the city of the Great King. Those of the house of David who have sat upon this throne were simply occupying it until He comes whose right it is to reign (Ezek. 21:27). If Israel had only been faithful to God, the throne and the nation would have remained intact throughout the centuries, even up to the second coming of Messiah. This fact is shown clearly in Jeremiah 17:24-27 and also Isaiah 48:17-19.

Although Israel has been unfaithful, the Davidic house has failed the Lord, and the throne of David has been overthrown, the Almighty will not alter the thing that has gone forth from His mouth; but He will perform every word and will re-establish the throne of David as He declares in Psalm 89:34-37. At that time Jerusalem will become the beauty spot of the world (Psalm 48:1,2). It will also be the praise of the whole earth (Isa. 62:6,7). It will be the center of attraction for all the peoples, who will go there in pilgrimages to see and to listen to the messages of the Great King (Isa. 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-8).

A knowledge of all these fundamental teachings concerning Israel's future are presupposed by the one who wrote Psalm 118, which is a pageant interpreting Israel's annual visits from her residence among the Gentiles to her national capitol.

Having learned the general teaching concerning Israel's return, we are now in a position to study the psalm more minutely. As we saw in our investigation of Psalm 117, Israel will be overcome by an overwhelming sense and consciousness of the grace of God and will call upon the peoples of earth to come and worship Jehovah along with her. In Psalm 118:1-4 we see and hear the leaders of the nation calling upon the people to come and return to God, worshipping Him and praising Him for His matchless grace. In these verses we do not see any reference to law or works of merit. Everything is free grace and God's loving-kindness. The call goes forth from the leaders to the people to give thanks to God because He is good and because His grace endures forever. The leaders of Israel will see, as never before, the matchless, marvelous grace of God. They will therefore call upon Israel to acknowledge and receive His grace. Then they will call upon the priestly tribe to do the same thing; and finally they will urge all Jewish proselytes to praise Him.

As the leaders in Israel dispersed among the nations encourage every Israelite who possibly could do so to make his pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God, thus the leaders of Israel in the end time will make their appeal to the nation, those of the house of Aaron, and all Jewish proselytes to return and make their spiritual pilgrimage back to God.

The fact that the leaders will call upon the nation to come back to God presupposes that there will be a reason for their doing this. That the call set forth in the first four verses of our psalm presupposes this knowledge is certain, in view of the fact that it is clearly foretold in related passages that Israel will make the confession of the national sin. Moses was the first to foretell it: "And they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary unto me, I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity; then will I remember my covenant with Jacob ..." (Lev. 26:40-42). The remnant of Israel, in the last generation of her dispersion, will confess its own iniquity and the iniquity of the fathers, which they (the fathers) committed when they were still in the land. Included in this confession is one that they, the fathers, trespassed against God; therefore He spewed them out of their land and scattered them among the nations. When they thus make this confession, God will remember the land and the promise which He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Lev. 26:42). Hosea likewise foretold that Israel will make this confession:

"For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and there shall be none to deliver. I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offense, and seek my face: in their affliction will they seek me earnestly." 6 Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: His going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth (Hos. 5:14-6:3).

When this passage is read in the light of related ones, it is seen that the prophet was impersonating Messiah, who comes to the nation, is rejected, and returns to His place, declaring that He will never return until they "acknowledge their offense" and seek His face.

The actual confession which the nation of Israel will make at this future date is set forth in Isaiah 53:1-9. A second version of it is found in Isaiah 63:7-64:12.

The fact that the leaders will call upon the people to come back to God because of His goodness and of His grace proves that they will know about His grace in its highest manifestation—His sending His Son to suffer and to die for the people of Israel as well as for all nations.

Who will give the facts of the truth to the Hebrew people? This question is answered by a study of Isaiah 40:1-11. The prophet calls upon certain ones who belong to God and tells them to proclaim the message of glad tidings to Jerusalem, His people. Thus there are two groups in this passage who are recognized as the people of Jehovah. The latter are the Jewish people to whom the message is to be given by the other group. The ones who are commanded to give the truth to the Jewish people can be none other than those among the Gentiles who know it and who know God. But who are they? They are none other than the believers who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, have been regenerated by the Spirit of God, and in whose heart the Holy Spirit dwells.

Again, we see certain ones, in obedience to the command of the Lord, going with glad tidings to Zion. The watchmen on the walls of Zion listen to the message of the heralds who proclaim the message of the gospel. The heart of their message, according to Isaiah 51:7-10, is that they personally will see face to face when Jehovah returns to Zion. This passage presupposes that Jehovah has been to Zion that He has gone away, and that He will return during the lifetime of those bringing the message. The messengers therefore tell the Jewish leaders that the time is at hand for Jehovah to return. Of course they will explain all the circumstances. Just simply to make the announcement that He is going to return is not sufficient. Such an announcement demands a full explanation and statement of the reasons why this message is given. In other words, the proclamation presupposes a full statement of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Again, in Isaiah 62:10-12 we see a command to those who believe in prayer—those who remind God of His promises ("Jehovah's remembrancers,"—Isa. 62:6) to proclaim a certain message to the daughter of Zion, the Jewish people. According to verse 11 God has sent forth a proclamation to the whole world calling upon all who know Him and who believe in prayer to tell the Jewish people: "Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him." The facts of the context show that the prophet is speaking of an individual, who is the very embodiment of salvation for the Jewish people, and who is none other than their glorious Messiah. But what coming are they to announce? Obviously, His second coming, because He brings His reward with Him. When He came the first time, He laid down His life for the redemption of mankind. When He comes again, He will appear in glory and power and bring His rewards with Him. This coming therefore is without question the return of our Lord. "Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift an ensign for the peoples. Behold Jehovah hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and recompense before him. And they shall call them The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah: and thou shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken" (Isa. 62:10-12).

My dear friend, are you and I obeying the command to give the truth to the people of Israel? It is not only a responsibility but a privilege that is conferred upon the people of God today to give this truth to the Chosen People in order that they might see the truth, come to Him, and become the channel of world-blessing.

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