cxviii. (inclusive), was chanted antiphonally, or rather, with responses, to the

accompaniment of the flute. As the Levites intoned the first line of each Psalm, the

people repeated it; while to each of the other lines they responded by Hallelu Yah

('Praise ye the Lord'). But in Psalm cxviii. the people not only repeated the first line, 'O

give thanks to the Lord,' but also these, 'O then, work now salvation, Jehovah,'24 'O

Lord, send now prosperity;'25 and again, at the close of the Psalm, 'O give thanks to the

Lord.' As they repeated these lines, they shook towards the altar the Lulabh which they

held in their hands - as if with this token of the past to express the reality and cause of

their praise, and to remind God of His promises. It is this moment which should be

chiefly kept in view.

The festive morning -service was followed by the offering of the special sacrifices for the

day, with their drink -offerings, and by the Psalm for the day, which, on 'the last, the

Great Day of the Feast,' was Psalm lxxxii. from verse 5.26 27 The Psalm was, of course,

chanted, as always, to instrumental accompaniment, and at the end of each o f its three

sections the Priests blew a threefold blast, while the people bowed down in worship. In

further symbolism of this Feast, as pointing to the ingathering of the heathen nations,

the public services closed with a procession round the Altar by the Priests, who chanted

'O then, work now salvation, Jehovah! O Jehovah, send now prosperity.'28 But on 'the

last, the Great Day of the Feast,' this procession of Priests made the circuit of the altar,

not only once, but seven times, as if they were again compassing, but now with prayer,

the Gentile Jericho which barred their possession of the promised land. Hence the

seventh or last day of the Feast was also called that of 'the Great Hosannah.' As the

people left the Temple, they saluted the altar with words of thanks,29 and on the last day

of the Feast they shook off the leaves on the willow-branches round the altar, and beat

their palm -branches to pieces.30 On the same afternoon the 'booths' were dismantled,

and the Feast ended.31

We can have little difficulty in determining at what part of the services of 'the last, the

Great Day of the Feast,' Jesus stood and cried, 'If any one thirst, let Him come unto Me

and drink!' It must have been with special reference to the ceremony of the outpouring

of the water, which, as we have seen, was considered the central part of the service.32

Moreover, all would understand that His words must refer to the Holy Spirit, since the

rite was universally regarded as symbolical of His outpouring. The forthpouring of the

water was immediately followed by the chanting of the Hallel. But after that there must

have been a short p ause to prepare for the festive sacrifices (the Musaph). It was then,

immediately after the symbolic rite of water -pouring, immediately after the people had