Psalms – The Language of Our Faith
Psalm 118 – The Stone the Builders Rejected
March 25, 2018
Show three pictures of baby animals. Show the baby photo and then the adult photo for three animals:
1. Baby Panda
2. Baby Wombat
3. Baby Aye Aye
Nature surprises us. What seems ugly and insignificant, becomes something beautiful.
Psalm 118:1 NIV
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
God is good. His love endures forever.
‘steadfast love’ is the Hebrew word hesed: covenantal, loyal love
Of the 244 times it is used in the OT, it is used 126 times in the Psalms!
Big questions:
1. Will God love me even when I don’t love him?
2. Will God abandon me if I reject him?
Psalm 118:22-27 NIV
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 O Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. 27 The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.”
When Solomon’s temple was being built, it was forbidden for the sound of hammers to be heard at the job site because it was a holy place of worship. What this meant for the construction was that each 20-ton stone had to have a ‘shop drawing’ and was made several miles away in the quarry. The very first stone to be delivered was the capstone, but that’s the last stone needed in construction. Well, years went by and the grass grew over the capstone and everyone generally forgot about it. Finally, the construction was done, and the builders said, “send us the capstone” and the word came back from the quarry “we already did”. Then someone remembered what they had done with the very first stone sent to them. It was taken from its lowly position among the overgrown weeds where it had been forgotten, and it was honored in the final ceremony to complete the temple.
God’s extravagant pursuit of a faithless people is the central story of the Bible.
2 Timothy 2:8-13 NIV
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
God will not abandon His people.
God will not forget His promises.
We’ve all been notoriously unfaithful, but God is gloriously faithful.
We often pray for people to come to Jesus, when we should be praying for people to see the Jesus who has already come to them.
Jesus is the missing piece for all of us
The Table:
Acts 4:11-12 NIV (Peter’s Sermon)
“He is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
