Hosanna! For Palm Sunday

Hosanna is not a generic term for praise to God.
Hosanna is not a sentimental worship word.
Hosanna is the Hebrew word(s) for "Save us!"

We find it in Psalm 118:25. It is the key to understanding Palm Sunday from the crowd's view. When they cry "Hosanna to the Son of David!" with Jesus walking past, they aren't praising Him so much as they are begging Him to save them. They think He is the one who can save them, and to that extent they believe in Him for the moment.

I say begging because 4 of the 8 Hebrew words in verse 25 are the same word "Na" or "Ana", which means "Please," or "I beseech you." The next verse, 26, is quoted in all the Triumphal Entry texts in the Gospels:
"Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yahweh."

Hosanna is a word that is screamed, cried and begged out of deep distress, anguish and oppression.

Luther cried hosanna, terrified by a lightning storm, and he became a monk.
Israel cried hosanna, oppressed and enslaved by Egpyt.
Hezekiah cried hosanna, beseiged by Assyrians bent on Jerusalem's demise.
Israel cried hosanna, oppressed by Romans in Jesus' day.

Israel cried hosanna, after Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:37. They were cut to the heart. Realized their sin, were cut to the heart, and wanted to know how to set things right.

Do you cry hosanna?
Who do you cry to? Your own hard work? Your government? Your prosperous economy?
The word "hosanna" is the verb "save." The name Jesus is the noun "salvation." SAME WORD. We cry to Jesus to save us.

What do you cry out for? What do you need to be saved from? Egypt and Assyria and Rome were all real and political enemies of God's people, but they were just pictures of our real enemy, Satan. He turns the world and even our own bodies and minds against us.

Save us, Lord, from Satan. Save us from temptation - don't let us go there. Save us from taking our sin lightly, from taking your grace for granted. Save us from sitting in pews asking what's in all this for me. Save us from boredom with worship; may we be cut to the heart and repent of our sin. Save us from our own selfishness which robs You of Your glory.

Hosanna, Yahweh!
Hosanna, Son of David, the King of Glory, Jesus our King!
Enter the gates of the city and save us!