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Psalms

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Psalm 118

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his loyal love endures. 2 Let Israel say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 3 Let the family of Aaron say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 4 Let the loyal followers of the Lord say, “Yes, his loyal love endures.” 5 In my distress I cried out to the Lord. The Lord answered me and put me in a wide open place. 6 The Lord is on my side; I am not afraid. What can people do to me? 7 The Lord is on my side as my helper. I look in triumph on those who hate me. 8 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in people. 9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord than to trust in princes. 10 All the nations surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 12 They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away. 13 “You aggressively attacked me and tried to knock me down, but the Lord helped me. 14 The Lord gives me strength and protects me; he has become my deliverer.” 15 They celebrate deliverance in the tents of the godly. The Lord’s right hand conquers. 16 The Lord’s right hand gives victory; the Lord’s right hand conquers. 17 I will not die, but live, and I will proclaim what the Lord has done. 18 The Lord severely punished me, but he did not hand me over to death. 19 Open for me the gates of the just king’s temple. I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the Lord’s gate—the godly enter through it. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders discarded has become the cornerstone.⁠ 23 This is the Lord’s work. We consider it amazing! 24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it. 25 Please, Lord, deliver! Please, Lord, grant us success! 26 May the one who comes in the name of the Lord be blessed.⁠ We will pronounce blessings on you in the Lord’s temple.⁠ 27 The Lord is God, and he has delivered us. Tie the offering with ropes to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks. You are my God and I will praise you. 29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 118:22 and 1 Peter 2:4

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Psalm 118 describes a rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone, a symbol of reversal and vindication. 1 Peter uses this to describe the community facing public shame, connecting their experience to the same pattern of rejection turned to honor.

Passages

Psalm 118:22

Hebrew Bible
20 This is the Lord’s gate—the godly enter through it. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me, and have become my deliverer. 22 The stone that the builders discarded has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s work. We consider it amazing! 24 This is the day the Lord has brought about. We will be happy and rejoice in it.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

1 Peter 2:4

New Testament
2 And yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the Lord’s kindness. 4 So as you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it says in scripture, “Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.”
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Peter

References

"... Particularly interesting is the application of Psalm 118:22-23 first to Jesus and then seamlessly to the situation of believers in 1 Peter 2:4-8 ... The author has described Jesus in 1 Peter 2:4 as a “stone ... rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight,” a description combining echoes of Psalm 118:22-23 with Isaiah 28:16. This second passage, which is then explicitly quoted in 1 Peter 2:6, ends by promising that “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” The addressees of 1 Peter, currently being intentionally shamed by their neighbors (see above), are thus told that their trust in Jesus will result in their future vindication. Verse 7 makes this conclusion even more explicit: “Honor, then, is for you who believe,” just as honor came to the One who had been “rejected by mortals.” ..."
David A. deSilva, Honor, Patronage, Kinship & Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), 54.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 118:22 and 1 Peter 2:4

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