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No. 39Psalms of Thanksgiving
Psalm 118
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone
StatusEssential
Read2 min
Study5 min
DifficultyBeginner
Psalm 118 · Unattributed · Israel; approaching the temple gates
The Point
Psalm 118 opens and closes with the same line, His steadfast love endures forever, and everything between is the evidence. Surrounded, pushed hard, disciplined severely but not handed over to death, the psalmist arrives at the temple gates giving thanks. Its most famous image is a reversal: a stone the builders threw aside turns out to be the cornerstone, which is what God does with what people discard.
Story Snapshot
The psalm calls Israel, the priests, and all who fear God to declare that His steadfast love endures forever. The psalmist recalls calling out in distress and being set free, declaring it better to take refuge in God than to trust people or princes. He describes being surrounded like bees and pushed hard, yet helped. He asks for the gates of righteousness to be opened, celebrates the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone, and blesses the one who comes in the LORD's name.
Main Characters
| Character | Role | Key Trait | Why They Matter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Psalmist | The delivered worshiper | Pressed, grateful | Recounts rescue and enters the gates giving thanks |
| The LORD | The helper and builder | Faithful, saving | Answers in distress and makes the rejected stone the cornerstone |
| The Builders | Those who discard | Dismissive, mistaken | Reject the stone that becomes the cornerstone |
Story Summary
The psalm opens with a call to give thanks because God is good and His steadfast love endures forever, then invites three groups in turn, Israel, the house of Aaron, and all who fear the LORD, to say the same line. The psalmist testifies: out of distress he called and God answered by setting him free, so the LORD is on his side and he will not fear what people can do. Twice he states the comparison, better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people, better than to trust in princes. He describes being surrounded by nations, surrounded like bees, pushed hard so that he nearly fell, and in each case being helped and prevailing in the LORD's name. He declares that the LORD is his strength and song and has become his salvation, and that glad songs of victory are heard in the tents of the righteous, celebrating the LORD's right hand. Then a resolve: I shall not die but live and declare the works of the LORD, adding that God disciplined him severely but did not give him over to death. He asks for the gates of righteousness to be opened so he may enter and thank the LORD, and identifies that gate as the LORD's, through which the righteous enter. He thanks God for answering him and becoming his salvation, then states the famous reversal, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, this is the LORD's doing and marvelous in our eyes. He declares this the day the LORD has made, calls for rejoicing, cries out save us now, and blesses the one who comes in the name of the LORD. The psalm ends where it began, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, His steadfast love endures forever.
Timeline
- The Call to ThanksIsrael, priests, and God-fearers all say it.
- Out of DistressHe called and God set him free.
- Better RefugeBetter to trust God than people or princes.
- Surrounded Like BeesPressed hard but helped.
- I Shall Not DieDisciplined severely, not given over to death.
- The Gates OpenedHe enters to give thanks.
- The Rejected StoneNow the cornerstone, the LORD's doing.
- This Is the DayRejoicing, and blessing on the one who comes.
Themes
ThanksgivingDeliveranceReversalRefugeDiscipline
What This Story Means
Psalm 118 is the last psalm of the Hallel, sung at Passover, which means Jesus and His disciples likely sang it together the night before the crucifixion, and the crowds quoted it days earlier as He entered Jerusalem. That layering is worth knowing, because the psalm's own logic is reversal: what gets discarded is what God builds on. The psalmist is not describing a life without opposition, he was surrounded, pressed, and disciplined severely, and the psalm holds all of that alongside gratitude. The line about not dying but living carries the weight of someone who had reason to think otherwise. And the famous verse about this being the day the LORD has made sits in context after all that trouble, which makes it less a cheerful morning slogan than a hard-won decision about how to receive the day you have been given.
Bringing It Home
- What people discard is not what God discards.
- Gratitude and severe discipline can be described in the same breath.
- Refuge in God is better than the strongest human backing.
- Receiving the day as God-given is a decision, not a mood.
Key Verse
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day that Yahweh has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!”
Did You Know?
- Psalm 118 closes the Hallel, sung at Passover, likely by Jesus and the disciples.
- The crowds quoted verse 26 at the triumphal entry: blessed is he who comes in the LORD's name.
- The rejected-stone verse is quoted by Jesus and by Peter and applied to Christ.
- 'Save us now' translates the Hebrew hoshiana, the origin of hosanna.
Read Next
What This Shows Us About God
- God's steadfast love endures beyond every crisis.
- God builds on what human builders reject.
- God disciplines His people without abandoning them to death.
What This Shows Us About People
- We trust princes and people more readily than God.
- We discard what does not look useful to us.
- We need rescue we can look back on and recount.
A Question to Sit With
What has been rejected or discarded in my life that God might be making into a cornerstone?
Prayer
LORD, You are good and Your steadfast love endures forever. Thank You that when I was surrounded and pressed hard, You helped me. Thank You that You discipline without handing me over. Take what has been rejected in my life and build with it, and let me rejoice in the day You have given. Amen.