Psalm 118

Jesus tells the Pharisees they cannot escape hell (Matthew 23:33), then immediately tells them they WILL see Him and say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39), which is a direct quote from Psalm 118:26. Psalm 118 then shows what happens to those same people: they were disciplined severely (“The Lord disciplined me severely, but He did not give me over to death”), they entered through the gates (“Open to me the gates of righteousness”), and the entire Psalm is framed by “His mercy endures forever” repeated twenty-six times. The people Jesus said could not escape hell are the same people who confess Him and enter the gates after discipline. Mercy outlasts the fire