The Stone the Builders Rejected

Psalm 118

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

 ¹ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures forever!

 ² Let Israel say,
   ”His steadfast love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say,
   ”His steadfast love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say,
   ”His steadfast love endures forever.”

 ⁵ Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
   the LORD answered me and set me free.
⁶ The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
   What can man do to me?
⁷ The LORD is on my side as my helper;
   I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

 ⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
⁹It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.

 ¹⁰ All nations surrounded me;
   in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹¹They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
   in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹² They surrounded me like bees;
   they went out like a fire among thorns;
   in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
¹³I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
   but the LORD helped me.

 ¹⁴The LORD is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
¹⁵Glad songs of salvation
   are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
 ¹⁶the right hand of the LORD exalts,
   the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”

 ¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live,
   and recount the deeds of the LORD.
¹⁸The LORD has disciplined me severely,
   but he has not given me over to death.

 ¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness,
   that I may enter through them
   and give thanks to the LORD.
²⁰This is the gate of the LORD;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
²¹I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
²² The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone.
²³This is the LORD’s doing;
   it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴This is the day that the LORD has made;
   let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 ²⁵Save us, we pray, O LORD!
   O LORD, we pray, give us success!

 ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
   We bless you from the house of the LORD.
²⁷The LORD is God,
   and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
   up to the horns of the altar!

 ²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
   you are my God; I will extol you.
²⁹ Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures forever!

Did you know you just read a record-breaking Psalm? We know Psalm 118 is a Messianic psalm because it is the MOST-QUOTED psalm by the New Testament, with references in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, and 1 Peter. The historical significance of Psalm 118 is also interesting. Some scholars believe the Psalm could be from the time of Moses during the Exodus, and some content that is was written by Moses himself.

The repetition of phrases suggests that these are lyrics meant to be set to music, which might explain why so many have written songs with these words:

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good / His love endures forever,”

“This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made,”

and others, including a less-familiar song from Jars of Clay:

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Hallelujah!”

This is the verse (v. 22) that gets me. Such glorious praise, ascribing to God his strength, such honest confession (v. 18) and recognition of the untouchable righteousness of God, and then this verse about the stone! Like so many Messianic verses, it had a dual application to its contemporary context and to the coming Messiah. The stone was Moses, rejected by his people but used to establish a nation and foretell the Messiah (Deut. 18:15). The stone was that nation, Israel, rejected by her neighbors but steadfast as a covenant people chosen by God. And the stone is Israel’s spotless lamb, Jesus (Acts 4:11, 1 Pet 2:7). The Messiah the people rejected, the one worthy of all this praise, has become the cornerstone, the foundation upon which our very lives are built because of our new standing with God!

It is another layer of revelation of the humility of Christ to know that He, a mighty stone, worthy of prominence as the most important stone in the most important building, allowed Himself to be rejected for the sake of the very ones purporting to construct the building.