22 The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was
the LORD'S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is
the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save
now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed
is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of
the LORD.
The remnant of Israel is back
in their Promise Land after the captivity, and they are rebuilding the temple
and the walls of Jerusalem. At the same time, they were still facing tremendous
opposition from those who hated them. Every day they needed encouragement and
God’s help to accomplish their task and finished the work before them. In
verses 1-4, the people were encouraged to give thanks to the LORD at all times.
In verses 5-14, they were exhorted to trust the LORD in every crisis. In verses
15-21, they are instructed to glorify the LORD after every victory. Now in
verses 22-29, they were reminded that their God is Jehovah, who will always be
there in every experience they have.
Under Zerubbabel and Ezra, the
Jewish people had been rebuilding the temple, and under the leadership of
Nehemiah, they had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and restored the gates.
During these activities, did they find among the ruins a large stone that they
rejected, only to discover it was the most important stone of all? The Gentile
nations had despised and rejected Israel (Neh. 2:18-20; 4:1), but God had
spared them to finish the work He gave them to do.
In Scripture, the stone is a
familiar image of the LORD God (Psalm18:2, 31, 46; Gen. 49:24; Deut. 32:4, 15,
18, 30-31; 2 Sam. 22:2-3, 32, 47; Isa. 17:10; 26:4; 30:29; 33:6). It
particularly points to the Messiah (Isa. 8:14; 28:16; Dan. 2:34-35, 45; Matt.
21:42-44; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17-18; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:32-33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1
Peter 2:6-8). The Apostle Peter made it clear that the Jewish leaders
("builders") had rejected their Messiah, the Stone (Acts 4:11), and
He became to them a stone of stumbling (Isa. 28:16; Rom. 9:32-33). But in His
death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ has become the chief
cornerstone of the church, God's temple, binding Jews and Gentiles together in
one sanctuary (Eph. 2:19-22). One day Jesus will return as the Stone of
judgment and crush the arrogant kingdoms of this world (Dan. 2:34, 44-45).
Every Christian believer can use verses 22-24 to praise the Lord for the
salvation provided in Jesus Christ.
"Save now" in verse
25, is the word "hosanna", the same word which the people shouted
when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:9; Mark 11:9-10). They also quoted
from verse 26, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." In
verse 27, Jesus is the sacrifice that was nailed to the “altar” of the cross. Each
sacrifice in the Old Testament was a picture of the death of Jesus Christ, the
Savior of the world. On each of the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, the
priests led a procession once around the altar and then offered one burnt
offering, but on the eighth day, the procession marched seven times around the
altar and seven sacrifices were offered.
We can clearly see Jesus
Christ is in this psalm! His triumphal entry (vv. 25-26), His rejection (v.
27), His death and resurrection (v. 17), and His exaltation as God's chosen
Stone (vv. 22-23). Perhaps verse 24 hints at the Lord's Day, the day of
resurrection, as "the new day" of the new creation made possible by
His atoning work.
My friend, it is important
that we see Jesus Christ in every experience of life, for then these
experiences will help us grow in grace and become more like the Savior. Except for
five verses, the name LORD is in almost every verse in this chapter! And the chapter
ends with the same exact words that it began with! “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures
forever.”
May the LORD help us to do
this today and every day!
God bless!
