The following is taken from MacDonald, 1997.
The occasion of this magnificent chorus of praise is the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The scene is Jerusalem where the crowds have gathered to celebrate the Advent of Israel’s long-awaited Messiah. In the shadow of the temple, a soloist takes his place at the microphone, the choir standing behind him. A hush comes over the audience.
118:1 SOLOIST: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
CHOIR: For His mercy endures forever.
(All over the audience heads are nodding in hearty assent.)
118:2 SOLOIST: Let Israel now say,
CHOIR: “His mercy endures forever.”
118:3 SOLOIST: Let the house of Aaron now say,
CHOIR: “His mercy endures forever.”
(Deep-throated “Amens” rise from the priests who are standing at the temple door.)
118:4 SOLOIST: Let those who fear the Lord now say,
CHOIR: “His mercy endures forever.”
(At this, a company of God-fearing Gentiles bite their lips and fight back tears of gratitude for the grace that enables them to share in the glory of this moment.)
118:5–9 SOLOIST: I called on the Lord in distress;
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in man.
It is better to trust in the Lord
Than to put confidence in princes.
(The crowd understands that this is the language of the faithful remnant of Israel, marvelously preserved by God during the Tribulation Period. They have learned to trust in God alone, and have lost their fear of men. At last they realize that it is better to trust in the Lord than even princes, that is, the best of men.)
118:10 SOLOIST: All nations surrounded me,
CHOIR: But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
118:11 SOLOIST: They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;
CHOIR: But in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
118:12 SOLOIST: They surrounded me like bees;
They were quenched like a fire of thorns;
(Thornbushes make a spectacular blaze but die down quickly.)
CHOIR: For in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
118:13, 14 SOLOIST: You pushed me violently, that I might fall, But the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and song.
And He has become my salvation.
(The soloist is referring in verse 13 to the Antichrist and to his bestial treatment of the remnant for their refusal to buckle under to his demands. In the nick of time the Lord intervened and cast the false messiah into the lake of fire [Rev. 19:19, 20
118:15, 16 SOLOIST: The voice of rejoicing and salvation
Is in the tents of the righteous;
(All over Israel there is unrestrained jubilation over the triumph of the Messiah. In every home the people are singing the following song of victory.)
CHOIR: The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
The right hand of the Lord is exalted;
The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
118:17, 18 SOLOIST: I shall not die, but live,
And declare the works of the Lord.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
But He has not given me over to death.
(Speaking as the remnant, the soloist recalls the many pogroms against the Jews and their close calls with extinction. But the Lord miraculously rescued them from the mouth of the lion, and now they face the future with confidence and security.)
118:19, 20 SOLOIST: Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
(Redeemed Israel seeks admission to the temple courts in order to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord. The sacrificial system will be partially reinstituted during Christ’s reign with the sacrifices looking back to Calvary, that is, they will be commemorative.)
CHOIR: This is the gate of the Lord;
Through which the righteous shall enter.
(These are the words of those Levites who are doorkeepers at the temple. They explain that this gate belongs to Jehovah and is for the use of those godly ones who wish to draw near to Him.)
118:21, 22 SOLOIST: I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.
(Israel acclaims the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior.)
CHOIR: The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
(The Lord Jesus is the stone. The builders were the Jewish people, and especially their leaders, who rejected Him at His First Advent. Now the people of Israel confess what Parker calls “the stupidity of the specialists” as they see the despised Nazarene crowned with glory and honor. The rejected stone has become the Headstone of the corner [ASV]. There is some question as to whether the headstone is:
1. the cornerstone of a building.
2. the keystone of an arch.
3. the topmost stone of a pyramid.
Whichever is the correct view, the context demands the thought of highest honor.)
118:23 This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
(The choir represents Israel as acknowledging that it is Jehovah who has given the Lord Jesus His proper place in the hearts and affections of His people. The crowning day has come at last!)
118:24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
(Barnes writes: “As if it were a new day, made for this very occasion, a day which the people did not expect to see, and which seemed therefore to have been created out of the ordinary course, and added to the other days.” [p 173-174])
118:25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity!
(This is the verse which the people of Jerusalem quoted at the time of Christ’s so-called triumphal entry; “Hosanna” is the original word for “Save now” [Matt. 21:9]. But they soon changed their welcome to a call for His execution. Now, however, Israel is welcoming the Lord in the day of His power, and their sentiments are both sincere and lasting.)
118:26 SOLOIST: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
(As the Lord approaches the temple area, the chief singer chants the blessing of the people in clarion tones. It is an historic moment. Centuries before, Jesus had warned the people of Israel that they would not see Him again until they said, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” [Matt. 23:39]. Now at last they gladly acknowledge Him as their Messiah and King.)
CHOIR: We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
(Perhaps this is the blessing of the priests, standing inside the door of the temple.)
118:27 God is the Lord, and He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
(The congregation of Israel worships Jesus as God and as the One who has brought light to their darkened hearts. As the procession moves toward the brazen altar, with Him at the forefront, they call for cords to bind the sacrifice.)
118:28, 29 SOLOIST: You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You.
(The Lord Jesus Christ is confessed as God by a people who formerly used His name as a by-word.)
CHOIR: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His mercy endures forever.
(The song has risen to a crescendo of deep, deep praise and worship. The music reverberates through the surrounding streets of old Jerusalem. Then as it dies away, the people return to their dwellings to enjoy the wonderful thousand-year kingdom of the glorious Lord whose right it is to reign.) 
