"Hosanna": Call upon the name of the Lord.

"Hosanna": Call upon the name of the Lord. -

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Matthew 21:9 (NIV), (Psalm 118:25,26).

"Hosanna"(Hebrew), etymology says that Hosanna is a single word derived by joining two Hebrew separate words, "Yesa" and "Na".

Where, "Yesa", pronounced "yaw-shah", means, "deliverance, rescue, liberty, welfare, salvation".

And, "Na", pronounced "naw", means, "please, now, (in old fashioned form - pray)".

We can see this word in Psalm 118:25, "Save now, I...", as pleading the Lord as they ascend the Holy Temple steps. The commentators say that this Psalm was sung annually at the Passover celebration, or at other ceremonies. 

As the Israelites on their pilgrimage they are asking the Lord to save them. Is it just the Israelites that should be saved? Or is the whole world that God wants to rescue out? We can deduce the meaning "world" from Psalm 107. I see four kinds of people asking the Lord for Help. Verses from 4-7, 10-14, 17-20, and 23-30. The CSB version starts with the words, Some (V4), Others (v19), Fools (v17), and Others (v23). I would like to name them as Israelites, Gentiles, Backslidden, and the Apostles, not just for easy understanding but the essence of these verses makes this sense.

Israelites (v4-7) - Exodus first chapter starts with the genealogy of the sons of Jacob who was renamed as Israel (Genesis 35:10). After crossing the Red Sea, they were wandering in the hot desolate place because of their stubbornness for forty years (Deuteronomy 2:7). Psalm 107:4-7, addresses these people as "finding no way to a city where they could live (107:4, CSB). When their spirits or their souls failed or fainted (v5), they cried out to the Lord in their trouble (v6). And then came the Lord to rescue them (v6). He led them through the right path (v7) until they reached the city (Jerusalem) that they could live at peace by the time of David. 

Gentiles (v10-14) - Other than descendants of Seth (see the genealogies in Matthew 1:2-16 and Luke 3:23-38), rest of the people have parted their way away from the Lord. They sat in darkness and gloom or the shadow of death. They were prisoners in cruel chains, because they rebelled against the Most High (v10,11). Nobody was there to rescue them (v12) for they followed their own paths, some with demi gods, some made themselves gods, some with ablutions and some with penance, etc., At last when they cried out for help (v13), the Lord brought them out of the darkness and the shadow of death (v14). He broke the chains that bound them till then.

Backslidden (v17-20) - I see these people as once they had sufficient faith to follow Him, but as they continued in the association of Jesus as followers and as disciples, they were uncomfortable or incompatible with the teachings of Jesus and started to disassociate and left the group. We can see such kind of people from John 6:22-66. One of His own disciple Judas Iscariot deserted Him, His own brothers made fun of Him (John 7:3-5; Matthew 13:55,57). Charles Taze Russell, Ellen G.White, etc., are some who fall in the same club. Psalm 107:17, names such people as fools. They fooled themselves because of their rebellious ways, they sinned against God. However, some have lost their lives, but even if those who now are ready to give up their past life and ask for help, He is ready to help them. John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (Jesus Christ), that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." He sent His Word (the Word) to rescue them from the Pit [sehiyt(heb) - destruction, pitfall] (Psalm 107:20).

The Apostles or the Church (v23-30) - I will sum up this scenario with Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; and Luke 8:22-25, where we can see Jesus hushing the sudden storm. Sometimes we are in the boat of faithful believing Church, but at some stormy situations we feel we are left all alone, skeptical, and uncertain of our destiny. Some even take hasty decisions. The disciples of Jesus were in the same situation in spite of knowing that they have a man who is an extraordinary person with them. For the past few days they witnessed some unbelievable miracles done by this man Jesus. But still they worried about their life. Their courage has melted down, all their skill to save themselves was useless (v27). Now, they cried out to the Lord, and He stilled the wild waves to a calm (v28,29). When we are in a weary situation, just remember the promise, call upon the name of the Lord and we will be saved (Romans 10:13).

This promise has worked when Jesus Christ gave up Himself upon the Cross of Calvary for every human being to rescue him from eternal death. Colossians 1:13,14 reads, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" and Ephesians 1:7 reads, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins..." He really heard us, when we cried out "Hosanna", "Lord! Save us now". We can see this affirmation of those who are been saved in Revelation 7:9-12, "After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” All the angels.. the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (NIV).