15 Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
What is so great about a rejected stone? Have you every been to a building sight and looked at what they cast aside? I would always enjoy as a child going to the Lumber yard for this project or that project. You would have a stack of wood. Every board is labeled; 2x4 8', but yet not every board could make it into the truck. My Dad would lift them up and look down each side looking for a choice piece of lumber. But those boards left behind would eventually be grabbed for some project or cut further into the scrap pile.
But switch from a board to a puppy. You go to the pet store to find that perfect dog (because there is no perfect cat). All the puppies are dogs. All the puppies have their shots and are determined healthy (not always the case). For this illustration all these puppies are the same, but maybe one is more playful than the rest. Maybe you pick out the one that has the saddest eyes. Maybe you pick out the one that looks like it might be the easiest to train. But what happens to the left overs? Are they just cut down further and thrown away for scrap?
Most of us do not give a second thought the leftover stones at a work site, or lumber at a lumber yard, but then there are those cute or sad little puppies. God takes the stone that the builders rejected and it is upon that stone he builds his church. It is King David the runt of the litter (or maybe he was pleasing to the eyes) but he was some young punk kid. This is the one who becomes King. It is only the 300 of Gideons men who make the cut. It was the second son of Isaac and the second son of Abraham, who received the blessing of God.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. It is made the most perfect of all the stones. The stone to which every other stone must conform. All the other stones will rest on it and find strength. It is through the child that should have died, who gives life and strength to the people. It is the Son who dies and rises again who provides us with life everlasting.
But switch from a board to a puppy. You go to the pet store to find that perfect dog (because there is no perfect cat). All the puppies are dogs. All the puppies have their shots and are determined healthy (not always the case). For this illustration all these puppies are the same, but maybe one is more playful than the rest. Maybe you pick out the one that has the saddest eyes. Maybe you pick out the one that looks like it might be the easiest to train. But what happens to the left overs? Are they just cut down further and thrown away for scrap?
Most of us do not give a second thought the leftover stones at a work site, or lumber at a lumber yard, but then there are those cute or sad little puppies. God takes the stone that the builders rejected and it is upon that stone he builds his church. It is King David the runt of the litter (or maybe he was pleasing to the eyes) but he was some young punk kid. This is the one who becomes King. It is only the 300 of Gideons men who make the cut. It was the second son of Isaac and the second son of Abraham, who received the blessing of God.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. It is made the most perfect of all the stones. The stone to which every other stone must conform. All the other stones will rest on it and find strength. It is through the child that should have died, who gives life and strength to the people. It is the Son who dies and rises again who provides us with life everlasting.
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