Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Psalm 118 Devotional

God's Marvelous Reversal

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”Psalm 118:22 (BSB)

Psalm 118 begins and ends with the same call to thank the LORD, because he is good and his loving devotion lasts forever (118:1, 29). In between, someone tells of his rescue. Enemies swarmed around him like bees, and he was pushed until he was falling, but the LORD helped him (118:12-13). God disciplined him severely, yet did not hand him over to death (118:18). So he comes to the LORD's gates to give thanks (118:19-21).

Then the song turns to a picture of reversal. A stone the builders discarded ends up as the cornerstone, the stone that holds the whole building together (118:22). This is the LORD's doing, and it is a wonder to see (118:23). Jesus applied these words to himself as the religious leaders were rejecting him (Mark 12:10-11), and Peter preached it after the resurrection (Acts 4:11). The one people discarded, God raised and made the foundation. When your life looks like rejection or loss, it may be the very place God is building something that will last.

To think about: Where does your life look like rejection or loss right now, and how might the God of the rejected stone be at work there?

About Psalm 118: The Rejected Stone Made Cornerstone

This festive song gives thanks for the LORD's enduring love, voiced by one whom enemies had surrounded and God had rescued. At the LORD's gate it celebrates a rejected stone made the cornerstone, words Jesus applied to Himself, and it closes with blessing, sacrifice, and renewed thanks.

Take the Psalm 118 quiz →Study notes

Get the next chapter and its devotional in your inbox each morning

One short email a day, no account needed. Stop anytime.