to build (literally and figuratively) · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
refused
מָאֲס֣וּma.'a.Su
H3988
to spurn · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
head
לְרֹ֣אשׁle.Rosh
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
corner
פִּנָּֽהpi.Nah
H6438
an angle · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 20:17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the c…
Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner…
1 Peter 2:4-8 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Mark 12:10-11 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
Ephesians 2:20-22 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 118:19–end
We have here an illustrious prophecy of the humiliation and exaltation of our Lord Jesus, his sufferings, and the glory that should follow. Peter thus applies it directly to the chief priests and scribes, and none of them could charge him with misapplying it, Act 4:11. Now observe here,
I. The preface with which this precious prophecy is introduced, Psa 118:19-21. 1. The psalmist desires admission into the sanctuary of God, there to celebrate the glory of him that cometh in the name of the Lord: Open to me the gates of righteousness. So the temple-gates are called, because they were shut against the uncircumcised, and forbade the stranger to come nigh, as the sacrifices there offered are cal…
The stone which the builders refused,.... This is not Zerubabel, according to the sense of some Jews, as Theodoret suggests; nor the people of Israel, as Jarchi and Kimchi; nor David, as the Targum, which paraphrases the words,
"the child the builders despised was among the sons of Jesse, and deserved to be appointed a king and a governor.''
He doubtless was a type of Christ, and there was some shadow of what is here said in him: he was refused by all the tribes but Judah; Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, was set upon the throne, though afterwards all Israel and Judah united in making David king, 2 Samuel 2:8. But the Messiah is intended, as some ancient Jewish writers (e) own, and Jarchi hims…
Psalm 118:22-26
22. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. [393] 23. This was done by Jehovah; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24. This is the day which Jehovah made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25. I beseech thee, O Jehovah! save me; I beseech thee, I beseech thee, O Jehovah! give prosperity, I beseech thee. 26. Blessed is he who cometh in the name of Jehovah: we bless you out of the house of Jehovah.
22 The stone which the builders rejected In these words David boldly pours contempt on the calumnies with which he was unjustly and undeservedly assailed. As there was something ominous in his being condemned by the entire assemblage of the nobles, and all…
The Church Fathers
But who is this whom we speak of? "The Stone which the builders rejected" [Psalm 118:22]; for "It has become the head Stone of the corner" to "make in Himself of two one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body;" [Ephesians 2:15-16] circumcision, to wit, and uncircumcision.
Figuratively stated: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." If we take the stone literally, which stone did the builders reject, and it became the cornerstone? If we take the corner literally, on whose corner was this stone made the head? If we admit it is said figuratively, and you take it figuratively; the cornerstone is Christ; the head of the corner, the head of the Church. Why is the Church a corner? Because here he called the Jews, there the Gentiles, and as if two walls coming from different directions and converging in himself, he united by the grace of his peace. For he himself is our peace, who made both one.
"A stone was placed at the entrance to the tomb." Thus, one stone [was placed] against another stone, so that [this] stone might be keeping guard over "the stone that the builders rejected." This [stone], lifted "up by" [human] hands, had to keep guard over that which was "detached, without [human] hands"; this [stone], on which "the angel was sitting," [had to keep guard] over that which "Jacob had placed under his head"; this [stone] with its seal [had to keep guard] over that which, through its seal, watches over the faithful. Thus did the gate of life go forth from the gate of death. "For this is the gate of our Lord, through which the just enter." When it was closed, it delivered those closed in. Through its death the dead lived. Through its voice the silent cried out. Through its resurrection, there was an earthquake. Its emergence forth from the tomb introduced the Gentiles into the church.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Corner — The angle of a house (Job 1:19) or a street (Prov. 7:8). “Corners” in Neh. 9:22 denotes the various districts of the promised land allotted to the Israelites. In Num. 24:17, the “corners of Moab”…
Hallel — Praise, the name given to the group of Psalms 113-118, which are preeminently psalms of praise. It is called “The Egyptian Hallel,” because it was chanted in the temple whilst the Passover lambs were…
Stone — Stones were commonly used for buildings, also as memorials of important events (Gen. 28:18; Josh. 24:26, 27; 1 Sam. 7:12, etc.). They were gathered out of cultivated fields (Isa. 5:2; comp. 2 Kings…
Temple, the Second — After the return from captivity, under Zerubbabel (q.v.) and the high priest Jeshua, arrangements were almost immediately made to reorganize the long-desolated kingdom. The body of pilgrims, forming…
Builder · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Christ, The Head Of The Church · Predicted — Predicted
Cornerstone · .Of Christ — .Of Christ
House · .Figurative — .Figurative
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His being rejected by the Jewish rulers — His being rejected by the Jewish rulers
Quotations And Allusions · with — with
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The gates of the Temple are called gates of righteousness because they are the entrance to the place of the mutual intercourse between God and His church in accordance with the order of salvation. First the "gates" are spoken of, and then the one "gate," the principal entrance. Those entering in must be "righteous ones;" only conformity with a divine loving will gives the right to enter. With reference to the formation of the conclusion Psa 118:19, vid., Ew. 347, b. In the Temple-building Israel has before it a reflection of that which, being freed from the punishment it had had to endure, it is become through the mercy of its God. With the exultation of the multitude over the happy beginnin…
The psalmist sees his own salvation as the beginning of a new day in which the Lord will do great things.
118:22 The cornerstone (or keystone) of a building or an arch gives the structure its shape and foundation. It is the most important of all the stones. The Lord chooses and places this stone for his sanctuary (Isa 28:16). Jesus referred to himself as this cornerstone (Matt 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17; see Acts 4:11; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6-7).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 118:22
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. Here the people magnify God for bringing his chosen servant into the honourable office, which had been allotted to him by divine decree. A wise king and valiant leader is a stone by which the national fabric is built up. David had been rejected by those in authority, but God had placed him in a position of the highest honour and the greatest usefulness, making him the chief cornerstone of the state. In the case of many others whose early life has been spent in conflict, the Lord has been pleased to accomplish his divine purposes in like ma…
