November 12
________________________________________
REJECTED STONE BECOMES CHIEF CORNERSTONE
Open the gates of righteousness to me;
I will enter through them, I will give thanks to the LORD.
20 This is the gate of the LORD;
The righteous will enter through it.
21 I will give thanks to You, for You have answered me,
And You have become my salvation.
22 A stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This came about from the LORD;
It is marvelous in our eyes. – Psalm 118:19-23
________________________________________
I quote enduringword.com commentary on these verses in Psalm 118. In psalm 19, The psalmist probably had in mind a triumphal entry into the holy city. With those gates open, he would go through them, full of praise to the LORD.” Spurgeon states “Alas, there are multitudes who do not care whether the gates of God’s house are opened or not; and although they know that they are opened wide they never care to enter, neither does the thought of praising God so much as cross their minds. The time will come for them when they shall find the gates of heaven shut against them, for those gates are peculiarly the gates of righteousness through which there shall by no means enter anything that defileth.” In verse 20, we picture the singer actually passing through the open gate, In verse 22 regarding the stone that the builders rejected, we don’t know what personal experience the psalmist might have had that led to these words. Perhaps it was purely a prophetic statement, because it certainly was fulfilled in the work of Jesus.They didn’t approve of His origin (John 7:52).They didn’t approve of His lack of formal education (John 7:15). They didn’t approve of His disregard for religious traditions (Luke 6:2). They didn’t approve of His choice of friends (Matthew 9:11). Spurgeon says “Still do the builders refuse him: even to this day the professional teachers of the gospel are far too apt to fly to any and every new philosophy sooner than maintain the simple gospel, which is the essence of Christ: nevertheless, he holds his true position amongst his people, and the foolish builders shall see to their utter confusion that his truth shall be exalted over all.”
We need to follow how Jesus set himself apart from the world so we can follow his lead. ________________________________________
REFLECTION
• Why should we not be bothered when we are rejected by others?