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 Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22

Hebrew Bible

Summary

Isaiah’s cornerstone in Zion and the rejected stone in Psalm 118 later became symbols of God’s choice and renewal, tied to the temple and David’s line. Zechariah reuses this imagery to describe Zerubbabel and the rebuilding of the temple.

Passages

Isaiah 28:16

Hebrew Bible

14 Therefore, listen to the Lord’s message, you who mock, you rulers of these people who reside in Jerusalem. 15 For you say, “We have made a treaty with death, with Sheol we have made an agreement. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, we have hidden ourselves in a deceitful word.” 16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord, says: “Look, I am laying a stone in Zion, an approved stone, set in place as a precious cornerstone for the foundation. The one who maintains his faith will not panic. 17 I will make justice the measuring line, fairness the plumb line; hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place. 18 Your treaty with death will be dissolved; your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

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

References

"... The Targum to Psalm 118:22 (the verse cited in Matthew 21:42) interprets the rejected stone as the youngest of the sons of Jesse, who was not summoned when Samuel came to anoint the new king. Pseudo-Philo is another early witness to the passing over by men of the stripling David. Matthew Black gives grounds for thinking the author of Daniel 2:34, 44-45, was speaking figuratively of the son of David who would rule the world, or at least of the son of Man of Daniel 7, who may be an alias for the royal Messiah. Therefore, for Matthew's audience the allusion in 21:43-44 to Daniel 2:44 and 7:27 would impregnate the passage with a Davidic tincture. A second metaphor is that of the foundation stone of Isaiah 28:16 and Zechariah 3:8-9 and 4:7-10 ... Here the foundation stone is clearly related to the Temple and the Davidic king. The same combination occurs in Zechariah 4:6-10, where Zerubbabel lays the "first stone" of the post-Exilic Temple ..."

Brian M. Nolan, The Royal Son of God: The Christology of Matthew 1–2 in the Setting of the Gospel, OBO 23 (Fribourg: Éditions Universitaires, 1979), 190–191.

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

Psalms150 psalms

Compare Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 28:16

Psalm 118:22

References

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