The Cry of the Kingdom: The Grammar of Hosanna Text: Psalm 118:25-27
Introduction: The Liturgy of Victory
There are moments in Scripture that function like flashpoints, where the Old Testament liturgy erupts into New Testament history with such force that you would have to be spiritually deaf, dumb, and blind to miss it. The Triumphal Entry of our Lord Jesus into Jerusalem is one of those moments. And the script for that entire explosive event was written right here, in Psalm 118. This is not a case of the New Testament writers cleverly finding some obscure proof texts to bolster their claims. No, this is the fulfillment of a well-known, annually celebrated, messianic victory hymn. The people who shouted these words at Jesus were not inventing a new cheer; they were singing the song they were supposed to sing when the King finally arrived.
Our modern worship can often be thin, sentimental, and historically unmoored. We think worship is about what we feel in the moment, rather than what God has done in history. But the Hebrews knew better. Their worship was a reenactment of God's mighty acts of salvation. Psalm 118 was the great processional hymn sung at the major feasts, likely as the worshippers ascended to the Temple. It is the culmination of the Hallel psalms, a song of deliverance, of victory over enemies, and of the stone the builders rejected becoming the cornerstone. It is thoroughly, robustly, and unapologetically messianic.
When the crowds on the road to Jerusalem began to shout these specific verses, they were making a definite, political, and theological claim. They were identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the long-awaited King, the one who comes in the name of Yahweh to bring salvation. They were, in effect, crowning Him. And as we will see, this coronation comes with a profound demand. It is a demand for salvation, a blessing on the King, and a call to bind ourselves as living sacrifices to the very altar He represents. This is not a quaint historical scene with palm fronds; it is the central hinge of redemptive history, and the grammar of this passage teaches us how we are to welcome our King today.
The Text
O Yahweh, save!
O Yahweh, succeed!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh;
We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh.
Yahweh is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
(Psalm 118:25-27 LSB)
The Royal Acclamation (v. 25-26)
We begin with the great cry of the people, a desperate and glorious plea.
"O Yahweh, save! O Yahweh, succeed! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh; We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh." (Psalm 118:25-26)
The first phrase here, "O Yahweh, save!" is two words in Hebrew: Anna Yahweh Hoshiah Na. If you compress that last part, Hoshiah Na, you get the word that the crowds were shouting: Hosanna. This is crucial. When the people cried "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were not just saying "Hooray!" or "Welcome!" They were quoting this verse. They were saying, "Save us now, Son of David!" It was a biblically literate cry for salvation, directed at the one they identified as the Messiah. They were asking God the Father to save them through the agency of this Son of David who was riding into town on a donkey.
This is a prayer, an urgent supplication. It is a recognition that salvation belongs to the Lord, but it is also a recognition that this salvation is coming through a particular man, a particular king. The second phrase, "O Yahweh, succeed!" or "send now prosperity," carries the same force. It is a prayer for the victory and triumph of God's anointed one. Let His mission be successful. Let His kingdom come.
And then comes the response, likely from the priests standing at the Temple gates as the procession arrived: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh." This is the official welcome. To come "in the name of Yahweh" means to come as His authorized representative, invested with His authority and power. This is not just any visitor; this is the emissary of the Great King. The crowds on the road applied this directly to Jesus, and in doing so, they were declaring Him to be the one sent from God. Jesus Himself later weaponizes this verse against the Pharisees, telling them they will not see Him again until they are prepared to say these very words (Matthew 23:39). True repentance for Israel means being ready to welcome their King with the liturgy He Himself provided.
The blessing is then returned: "We have blessed you from the house of Yahweh." This is a reciprocal blessing. The people bless the coming King, and the priests, from the center of worship, bless the people. It is a picture of covenantal harmony. When the King arrives, blessing flows in all directions. The house of Yahweh, the Temple, becomes a fountain of blessing for all who welcome the one who comes in His name. This is what worship is supposed to be: a joyful recognition of God's appointed King, resulting in a community saturated with blessing.
The Consequence of the Kingdom (v. 27)
The arrival of the King and the light He brings has a direct and demanding consequence for the people of God. Verse 27 lays it out plainly.
"Yahweh is God, and He has given us light; Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." (Psalm 118:27 LSB)
The first clause is a creedal confession: "Yahweh is God." This is the foundation of everything, the great Shema. In the context of the King's arrival, it means that this Jesus, who comes in Yahweh's name, is the full revelation of God. He is El, the mighty God. And the result of His arrival is that "He has given us light." This is the light of salvation, the light of revelation, the light that dawns on those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2). John tells us that Jesus is the true light that enlightens every man (John 1:9). When Christ the King comes, the darkness has to flee. He does not negotiate with it; He dispels it by His very presence.
So what is the proper response to this divine light? What do you do when the King has arrived and the light of salvation has dawned? You have a festival. And at the heart of this festival is a sacrifice. "Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar." This is a tangible, physical, costly act of worship. The horns of the altar were the highest points, the place where the blood of the sacrifice was applied, signifying the pinnacle of consecration. To bind the sacrifice to the horns was to fully and irrevocably dedicate it to God.
Now, we must read this with New Testament eyes, just as the first Christians did. Who is the ultimate festival sacrifice? It is the Lord Jesus Himself. He is the Lamb of God, bound to the altar of the cross, not with cords of rope, but with cords of divine love and sovereign purpose. He was bound for our transgressions so that we might be set free.
But the demand of the text does not terminate on Him alone. Because He was bound to the altar for us, we are now called to bind ourselves to the altar for Him. The Apostle Paul picks up this very language. "I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1). Our response to the Hosanna-King who has given us light is to become the festival sacrifice. We are to be tied to the altar. This is not a one-time decision, but a continual state of being. Every morning, we must wake up and find the cords that bind us to the altar have grown slack overnight, and we must tighten them again. Our ambitions, our desires, our time, our bodies, our money, our families, all of it must be bound with cords to the horns of the altar. It is an act of joyful, total consecration.
Conclusion: Living the Triumphal Entry
This passage is far more than a historical curiosity that explains what the Jews were shouting on Palm Sunday. It is the pattern for all true Christian worship and life. It provides the script for how we are to engage with our victorious King.
First, we must continually cry "Hosanna!" We must be a people who are constantly crying out to God for salvation, not just from hell in the hereafter, but from sin, apathy, and rebellion in the here and now. We must pray for the success of His kingdom, for His gospel to prosper in our homes, in our church, and to the ends of the earth.
Second, we must continually bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We do this by receiving Christ in all of His offices, as Prophet, Priest, and especially as King. We bless Him by submitting to His authority, by ordering our lives according to His Word, and by joyfully confessing His lordship over every square inch of creation. To refuse to bow the knee to King Jesus in any area of life is to stand with the Pharisees who muttered under their breath while the children were shouting for joy.
And last, because He is God and has given us light, we must joyfully bind ourselves to the altar. Christian liberty is not the freedom to do whatever we want; it is the freedom of being joyfully bound to the service of the one true King. It is the freedom of the sacrifice, whose entire purpose is fulfilled in being consumed in the service of God. This is our reasonable service. So when you come to the Lord's Table, you are coming to the horns of the altar. When you offer your praises in song, you are tying another cord. When you present your body, your life, your all to Him, you are living out the deep logic of Hosanna. You are welcoming the King, and in response, becoming the very festival He requires.