Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 118:26
Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
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. Psa 129:8; Deu 21:5 ; 2Sa 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 (Mat 21:9). The Psalm may already have received a Messianic interpretation. Hosanna was a “God save the king” (Psa 20:9); and “he that cometh” was a title of the Messiah (Mat 11:3). The disciples, expanding the original, shouted “Blessed is the king that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luk 19:38; cp. Mar 11:10).
[77] Hosanna ( ) represents a contracted form (cp. Psa 86:2), hsh ‘-nn , which was substituted for the fuller form hsh‘h nn used in the Psalm. See Dalman, Gramm. des Jd. Pal. Aram. p. 198.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord – See the notes at Mat 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 Mat 21:9, and by the Saviour himself Mat 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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 118:26
Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Christ received with great joy
The words are an acclamation of the people, declaring and setting forth the welcome of Christ to all believing souls; their joy and rejoicing conceived upon the coming of Christ among them; their gratulation and thanksgiving for Christs appropinquation and coming nigh unto them; their vote and exoptation of all prosperity., blessed and happy success to Christ in His kingdom. Christs coming proves most joyful to them that lovingly receive and entertain Him. In the words we have in the general two things considerable–
1. A gratulation uttered by the people, Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord.
2. A benediction pronounced by the ministers of the Lord, We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. In the gratulation there is–
(1) The agent, the people, they bless, they rejoice, they are thankful for Christs coming. Man hath greatest cause of all creatures to rejoice in and for the coming of Christ Jesus.
(2) There is the act, Blessed, praised, exalted, magnified be Christ. Christ, is worthy to be celebrated with all praises for His coming to us.
(3) There is the manner of their gratulation, blessed, expressed–
(i.) By way of thanksgiving and rejoicing, and–
(ii.) By way of exoptation and wishing. Whosoever truly rejoiceth in Christ doth also wish well to the cause and kingdom of Christ.
(4) There is the party coming, He who is the Son of God by eternal generation, and by grace of hvpostatical union, the Prince of the kings of the earth by authority and dominion; He who is the Head of the Church by spiritual jurisdiction; He who is the Redeemer of man by the merit of His obedience and passion; He who is the Conqueror over hell, death, sin, and Satan by His resurrection; He who by His office is the Prophet instructing us, the King commanding and defending us, and the Priest offering Himself a sacrifice for us; He who is the Mediator between God and us by His intercession, the fountain of all mercy, grace, and peace unto us by Divine ordination. Blessed be He, welcome be He, in Him let our souls rejoice, His coming let us entertain with the chiefest and strength of our rejoicing. The Lord Jesus ought to be the prime and complete object of mans joyfulness.
(5) Here is His motion, cometh. Christ as God is everywhere, and neither goes nor comes, but fills all places; yet He cometh by His laws and ordinances, as a Prince by His proclamations; He cometh by His ministers, as a King by His ambassadors; He cometh by His incarnation, as a brother taking our nature upon Him; He cometh by His gifts and graces bestowed on us, as a friend cometh by his love-tokens; He cometh by His Word and Gospel, as the sun cometh by his light, enlightening us, as a king cometh by his sceptre binding, bowing, and inclining our hearts unto obedience. (A. Grosse.)
The coming deliverer
During the dark days of the struggle for Italian liberty the people generally looked upon Garibaldi as their invincible deliverer. Prisoners, hurried away to loathsome dungeons, would be cheered as they passed along the streets by friends whispering in their ears, Courage, Garibaldi is coming! Men would steal out at night and chalk on the wails and pavements, Garibaldi is coming! And when the news of his approach near to a city was announced the people broke out into the rapturous shout, Garibaldi is coming! He came, and Italy broke her political and religious fetters never to be so enslaved again. A greater than Garibaldi is coming to Gods people. The Desire of all nations is on the way. Jesus is coming, coming to reign, and His kingdom is of icy, peace, blessing eternal. (H. O. Mackey.)
We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
A benediction uttered by the ministers of the Lord
1. The parties blessing, the ministers of the Lord; we, who are called of God to this sacred function, who are appointed to make prayer and supplication for you, to pronounce a blessing upon you. Holy and faithful ministers are the instrumental causes of great blessings to Gods Church and servants.
2. Here is their act, an act of blessing, We have blessed. Ministers bless the people sometime by way of vote and exoptation, prayer and supplication; sometime by way of vocal pronunciation, pronouncing good things in the name of God upon them; sometime by way of prophecy and prediction, foretelling great blessings to come; sometime by way of doctrine and instruction. They declare and open the blessings which God hath prepared for them, and the Lord by them, as by His ministerial instruments, communicates His grace and blessing to the people. It must be the care of ministers so to demean themselves in their function that they prove a blessing to the people.
3. Here is the object or parties blessed, you; you to whom Christs coming is acceptable, you who wish well to Christs kingdom, you who readily endeavour the exaltation of Christs name and Gospel, we have blessed you. The labours of Gods ministers prove a blessing only to such people as rejoice in, and endeavour the advancement of, the Gospel.
4. Here is the place from whence they blessed the people, out of the house of theLord, the place of Gods public worship, where His saints are assembled, His ordinances sincerely handled, His name invocated, His Word preached, and religious duties celebrated. God useth to dispense His spiritual blessings in the public and sacred assemblies. (A. Grosse.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 26. We have blessed you] The answer of the Levities to the king.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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 Mat 11:3; 21:9; Luk 7:20; 13:35; Joh 12:13, and of whom this very word is used, Gen 49:10; Isa 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 Lords ministers, attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, Num 6:23; Deu 10:8, do pray for, and in Gods name pronounce, his blessing upon thee. So these are the words of the priests.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. he that cometh . . . LordAsabove intimated, this may be applied to the visible head of theJewish Church entering the sanctuary, as leading the procession;typically it belongs to Him of whom the phrase became an epithet(Mal 3:1; Mat 21:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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. Lu 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, Nu 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, Mt 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. The sense is, either we who are of the house of the Lord bless you; we who stand there, and serve him, are rulers of the household of God, and stewards of the mysteries of grace: or we bless you, and pray for your welfare, who are of the household of faith; who are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God: or we bless you with provisions out of the house of God; with the goodness and fatness of his house, the word and ordinances, by administering them to you: or we pray that the Lord would bless you out of Zion, or out of the highest heavens, where he is; even with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; see Ps 134:1. The Targum of this verse Ps 118:25, is,
“We beseech thee, O Lord, “save” now, said the builders; We beseech thee, O Lord, send now prosperity, said Jesse and his wife. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord, said the builders; Let us bless you out of the house of the sanctuary of the Lord, said David.”
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(26) Blessed . . .These words of welcome are probably spoken by the Levite in charge, to the procession approaching the gates. According to Rabbinical writings, pilgrim caravans were thus welcomed on their arrival at Jerusalem.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Blessed be he that cometh Originally the salutation given by the body of the Levite singers on the temple hill, who received the procession; (Psa 118:19-20: see introduction;) afterward the welcome of the Jerusalem Jews to the pilgrims coming to attend the festivals. Its higher import was in Christ, worshipped by the people, (see Psa 118:25,) “as being the longed for guest of the feast.” D elitzsch. It was also the common form of religious salutation, (Rth 2:4; Psa 129:8,) only, perhaps, it should be transposed, “Blessed, in the name of Jehovah, is he that cometh.” According to Mat 23:39, the Jewish nation are to extend this welcome to Christ as the condition of his triumphant return to them. This psalm, says Bishop Alexander, ( Bampton Lectures, 1876,) “was provided as a song expressive of welcome to Messiah,” and truly it answers to the history of John (Joh 12:12-15) as face answers to face in a glass.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 118:26 Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
Ver. 26. Blessed be he that cometh ] Blessed be Christ. Vivat Christus eiusque insignia, said John Clark of Melda, when, for declaring against the Pope’s indulgencies, he was burnt in the forehead with a hot iron (Scultet. Annul.).
We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Blessed, &c. See Mat 21:9; Mat 23:39. Mar 11:9. Luk 13:35; Luk 19:38. Joh 12:13.
you. Plural.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 118:26
Psa 118:26
“Blessed be he that cometh in the name of Jehovah:
We have blessed you out of the house of Jehovah.”
This is the response of the tabernacle authorities to the king’s appearance in the tabernacle and to his bringing of the sacrifice. They first address the king, whether in song or speech is not known, nor is it of any importance. They pronounce a blessing upon him, saying at the same time, “We have blessed you out of (from) the house of the Lord.”
“Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Psa 118:26). These words were addressed to David, the Type of Christ; and we are not surprised that the same words were spoken of Christ himself. The multitude of Jerusalem cried out saying of Jesus, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest”! (Mat 21:9). And in his lament over Jerusalem, Jesus himself applied the words to his First Advent, saying, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mat 23:39).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 118:26. The first clause is a general statement that could have been said in any age of the world. It has no specific application as to when or by whom the coming would be done. You refers to anyone who had qualified under the terms of the first clause. The blessing upon all such was to proceed from the house of the Lord.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Blessed: Zec 4:7, Mat 21:9, Mat 23:39, Mar 11:9, Mar 11:10, Luk 19:38, Joh 12:13
we have: Psa 134:3, Num 6:23-26
Reciprocal: Exo 5:23 – in thy name Jos 1:17 – only the Lord Rth 2:4 – The Lord 1Ki 8:14 – blessed all Psa 20:9 – Save Psa 118:20 – This gate Psa 128:5 – bless thee Psa 129:8 – The blessing Luk 13:35 – Blessed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 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 Lords ministers, attending upon him in his house, and appointed to bless in his name, (Num 6:23,) do pray for, and, in Gods name, pronounce his blessing upon thee, and upon thy kingdom. So these are the words of the priests.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
118:26 Blessed [be] he that cometh in the name of the LORD: {n} we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD.
(n) Who are the priests, and have the charge of it, as in Num 6:23.