Psalms 118, O give thanks unto
the Lord, for he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Let Israel now say that his mercy
endureth forever. Let the house of Aaron now say
that his mercy endureth forever. Let them now that fear the Lord
say that his mercy endureth forever. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set
me in a large place. The Lord is on my side. I will
not fear what can man do unto me. The Lord taketh my part with
them that help me. Therefore shall I see my desire
upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the
Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in
the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations compassed
me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them.
They have compassed me about, yea, they have compassed me about,
but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassed
me about like bees. They are quenched as the fire
of thorns, for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
Thy thrusts soar at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song.
He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation
is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of
the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is
exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. I shall not die, but live, and
declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore,
but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates
of righteousness. I will go into them, and I will
praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord, into which
the righteous shall enter, I will praise thee, for thou hast heard
me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders
refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and
be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which hath shown
us light, bind the sacrifice with cards, even unto the horns
of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise
thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt
thee. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. May the Lord
add his blessings to his word to all of us here this evening.
And I want to give the message this title tonight, The Stone
the Builders Refused. We're going to look at the psalm
in its entirety. I'll begin tonight by reminding
us that this psalm is a part, a part of all of the scriptures
about which our Lord said this. They, the Scriptures, they are
they which testify of me. In some parts of the Scriptures,
we immediately see Christ our Lord. And in other parts, He
comes to light more slowly. And except for the verses here
in this Psalm that invite us and encourage us to praise the
Lord, that I'm convinced that somehow this entire psalm refers
to the Lord Jesus Christ. It refers to Him whom to know
is everlasting life. But as I said, some parts are
clearer than others where we may see Christ. And this psalm,
like others that we have looked at, it ends as it begins. O give thanks unto the Lord.
For He is good, for His mercy endureth forever. And the first
lesson that I would encourage us to learn tonight from this
first verse and the last verse of the psalm is that we should
learn always when we come to the Word of God, learn to give
thanks unto Him who is good and whose mercy does endure forever. When we come together to worship
the Lord in public, When we worship God in private, we should learn
always to give thanks unto the Lord. Give thanks unto Him who
is good and whose mercy endures forever. Now, in these next three
verses, verses 2, 3, and 4, we see how each of these titles
may apply to those of us tonight who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. First, it is Israel. Then, the house of Aaron. And
lastly, those who fear the Lord. We all are to say, His mercy
endures forever. Now in the New Testament, the
Apostle Paul speaks of the Israel of God. So this may refer to
us when he says in verse 2, Let Israel now say that His mercy
endureth forever. may refer to us tonight, those
of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior, because we are
the spiritual Israel of God. I want you to turn with me to
Galatians chapter 6. And this is where we see this, Paul's letter to the Galatians
in chapter 6, and beginning with verse 14. where it says, But God forbid
that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I will glory in the cross, but
nowhere else. I will glory in Christ and in
His substitutionary death in my stead, by whom the world is
crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature." Notice that was what distinguished the natural
Israel from all the other peoples of the world was this physical
circumcision. But Paul tells us here that in
Christ, that those of us who are in Christ, circumcision doesn't
mean anything nor uncircumcision. It doesn't add anything. It doesn't
subtract anything. But all that is important, and
it is all important, is this. to be in Christ, to know Him. And all of us who are in Christ,
we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace be unto them and mercy and upon the Israel
of God. So when the psalmist said, Let
Israel now say, The mercy of the Lord endureth forever, that
refers to you and I tonight. And we love to praise God for
His mercy, don't we? His mercy endures forever. And
then the second thing, He says, Let the house of Aaron now say,
His mercy endureth forever. How does that apply to us? Well,
Aaron, of course, was the first high priest, and the priest came
from his family. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
made each one of us priests unto God. All of us who know Him,
Tonight, as our Savior, we too have been made priests unto God. And we see this in Revelation
chapter 1 and verses 5 and 6. Revelation chapter 1 and verses
5 and 6. And from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, the prince
of the kings of the earth. unto Him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
unto God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen. So when the psalmist said,
Let the house of Aaron now say, His mercy endureth forever, he's
speaking to the priesthood. And we are the spiritual priesthood. And we offer spiritual sacrifices
unto God. And then that third statement,
let those who fear the Lord now say, his mercy endureth forever. And every child of God, everyone
who is saved by the grace of God, this is one of the promises
of the new covenant that he will put his fear in our hearts. We see this in Jeremiah. chapter 32, Jeremiah chapter
32 and verse 40, And I will make an everlasting
covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do
them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts, that they
shall not depart from Me. So when he says, thirdly, let
them now that fear the Lord say that his mercy endureth forever. So I see how that each one of
these terms may apply to us, don't you? The spiritual Israel
of God, we're made priests unto God, and one of the promises
of the everlasting or new covenant through which we know that Christ
is a mediator and we are saved, he puts his fear in our hearts
so that we will not depart from Him. Now back to the psalm. Now these next verses, I have
no doubt that they apply to David in many ways. They apply to us
as believers in many ways, but they have special application
to David's son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse
5. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set
me in a large place." And I ask you this question tonight when
we read here of this one saying, I cried unto the Lord in distress. Was there ever anyone, has there
ever been anyone on the face of God's earth in such distress
as the Lord Jesus Christ? You know that verse in Lamentations
that asks concerning His sorrow. I know it speaks of Jerusalem,
but it is a picture, it is a type of our Savior where He cries
out, Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow,
which is done unto Me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted Me in
the day of His fierce anger, and just as there has been no
one who has known sorrow like the Lord Jesus Christ. So there
has been no one who has known the distress that our Savior
has known. I cannot even begin to imagine,
and I would include you with me tonight, we cannot even include
or begin to imagine the distress that He was in when He was made
to be sin for us. who for the joy that was set
before Him despised the cross, the distress that the Lord Jesus
Christ knew, His holy soul, this One who loved righteousness and
hated evil, this One who was spotless, pure, who knew no sin,
did no sin, and yet He was made to be sin for us. And if you
look with me in Luke chapter 22, I think we can see in these
few verses, how great was his distress. I cried unto the Lord, the psalmist
said, I cried unto the Lord in distress. And here in Luke chapter
22 and beginning with verse 41, we read, And he was withdrawn
from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed.
He cried unto the Lord. He prayed, saying, Father, if
Thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but Thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him." Strengthening him. Doesn't that speak of his distress?
Of his great need? An angel strengthening him? And
being in an agony, this is our Lord we are talking about, this
is our Savior we are reading about, being in an agony. And what was it that caused Him
such agony, such distress, but being made to be sin for us and
knowing that when He was made sin for us that even His Father
would desert Him? Being in an agony, He prayed
more earnestly And his sweat was, as it were, great drops
of blood falling down to the ground. In his distress, as the
psalmist says, in his distress, I cried unto the Lord, and the
Lord answered me and set me in a large place. In his distress,
he too cried unto the Lord. He cried upon the cross when
he cried, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He cried in his distress, and
the Lord answered him. He raised him from the dead.
Thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave. The Lord Jesus Christ
knew that. But this verse also goes on to
say, And set him in a large place. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set
me in a large place." Now we know where the Lord Jesus Christ
is sitting tonight, where God set Him in a large place. Where is He sitting? He is sitting
in heaven. He is sitting upon the throne
of God. And how large is that place?
It's large enough for all the holy angels, and we do not know
how many there may be of them, and it's large enough for an
innumerable company of people that He has redeemed by His blood. It is a large place. He said,
In my Father's house are many mansions. So He has set Him in
a large place. Heaven is a large place. And
we know that not one of those mansions, dwelling places, is
going to be empty. They all have a name, don't they? One of God's elect, their name
is above that dwelling place and not one of those places is
going to be empty. Why? Because Christ died for
them. Because Christ was in distress,
put in distress for each and every one of them. And this term,
large place, I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered
me and set me in a large place. That word or that term, large
place, may also refer to freedom or liberty. When the Lord Jesus
Christ was charged with our sins, the scripture says He buried
them in His own body on the tree. And He buried them into that
tomb, didn't He? But when He came out, when He
was raised from the dead, He was set in a large place, that
is, He was freed, justified from our sins, the guilt of our sins. And the Father declared in His
resurrection, justifying Him, that our sin debt was paid. I'm thankful tonight, and I know
that you are as well, if you know Christ, that your sin debt's
been paid. It's been paid once and for all,
once and forever. And not one sin will ever be
brought up against you again. It cannot be. Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? No one can. Why? Because as this
psalm says, if God is for us, I will not fear what man can
do unto me. And not only is the Lord Jesus
Christ raised to a large place and is He freed from His sins,
the sins of His people that He bore, but He has freed us and
He has delivered us into a large place. We too have liberty. I
think of that verse in Galatians 5 and verse 1 where Paul says,
Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. We've
been made free. I don't know if you have Charles
Spurgeon's Morning and Evening, but he was commenting on that
verse this morning and the freedom that we have. You know, I don't
know what it is, but for some reason when a sovereign grace
preacher speaks about liberty and freedom that the enemies
of God's grace, they always accuse us of saying, well, that means
you think that you're free to sin. No child of God. The freedom we desire is to be
free from sin, not free to sin. That's an unbeliever's desire,
not the heart of a believer. But we do have freedom tonight. Charles Spurgeon mentioned several
ways in which we have freedom. We have freedom to come to the
Word of God and we know that every promise here is for us.
We have freedom to take these promises and to ingest them and
to live upon His promises. We have that freedom. We too tonight. So this verse
says, I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered
me and set me in a large place." I believe that there's no question
that this verse refers first of all to Christ, but it's applicable
to every child of God. Have you ever been in distress? Do you know what it is to be
in distress because of your sins? Every child of God does. We too
were in distress. And what do we do? We call unto
the Lord. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call
upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they
believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher?" And I don't know about you, but I
know in my experience when the Lord began to work in my heart,
I heard a preacher. I heard a man who preached the
Word of God. He preached the truth about God.
And to stress The stress was my lot because of my sin. I'd sinned against God. But I
cried unto the Lord, and He heard me, and He delivered me, and
He set me in a Lord's place. He freed me from that burden
of sin. We sing the hymn sometimes, the
first verse and chorus goes like this. My heart was distressed,
neath Jehovah's dread frown. and low in the pit where my sins
dragged me down. I cried to the Lord from the
deep miry clay who tenderly brought me out to golden day. He brought
me out of the miry clay. He set my feet on the rock to
stay. He puts a song in my soul today,
a song of praise." Hallelujah. Yes, we too were in distress,
weren't we? And the Lord heard us when we
cried and brought us out. Now, if you would read on verses
6 through 21, especially with an eye to Christ, who but Christ
was ever so completely compassed about by enemies, by so many
enemies? You look in verses 10 through
12 where the The psalmist here said, All nations
compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy
them. They compassed me about, but
in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassed
me about like bees. They are quenched as the fire
of thorns, for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Who was ever so encompassed by
enemies, by all nations as the Lord Jesus Christ? And I thought
of this verse in the book of Acts. It was part of a prayer
of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. But how it throws light
on this verse. It says, All nations encompassed
me about. And the apostles prayed, For
of a truth against thy holy child, or thy holy son Jesus, whom thou
hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,
and the people of Israel, were gathered together." In other
words, he was compassed about by Herod, by Pilate, by the Gentiles,
by the Jews. became His enemies. But then
you notice in verse 13, verse 10 through 12, it's plural, all
nations, they, they. But now notice in verse 13, it's
singular, thou, thou hast thrust forth at me that I might fall,
but the Lord helped me. Who is that but Satan, the devil? has thrust sore at me that I
might fall." Satan so waged war against the
Lord and yet the Lord Jesus Christ destroyed him. Remember the Apostle
John tells us that he was manifested that he might destroy the works
of the devil. Satan would destroy him but as
he bruised his heel The Lord Jesus Christ bruised his head. And the writer of Hebrews said,
For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is, the devil. And then in verse 19, He says,
Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go in to them, and I will
praise the Lord. And I couldn't help but think
about those words in Psalms 24 that says, Lift up your heads,
O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The
Lord, strong and mighty. the Lord mighty in battle. And the Lord Jesus Christ cried
unto God to open those gates. And the gates were opened. And
He entered into heaven and He entered in there victorious as
a conqueror. Scripture says He led captivity
captive when He ascended on high and gave gifts unto men even
to the rebellious. men like you and I who had rebelled
against God. The Lord Jesus Christ so destroyed
Satan dealt him a death blow and all of his forces and led
captivity captive and went back into heaven as the Lord mighty
in battle. But then notice that next verse,
verse 20. I notice that in verse 19, it
is gates, open to me the gates of righteousness. I will go into
them and I will praise the Lord. But now this gate of the Lord
into which the righteous shall enter. This is singular, isn't
it? And this is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the straight gate, the
narrow way. He's the only way. of the Lord
into which the righteous shall enter." And we are rightly called
righteous because His righteousness is imputed unto us. His righteousness
is charged to our account. That's what justification is,
isn't it? Being declared righteous, not
by our works of righteousness, but by His righteousness which
is imputed unto Him. And we enter in through the gate. Christ said, I am the door, by
me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and
out and find salvation. He is the gate. He is the door. He is the way. Now, when we come
to verses 22 and 23, I think we all recognize that these verses
are quoted in the New Testament. In fact, they are some of the
most often quoted Old Testament Scriptures in the New Testament. The stone which the builders
refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. The first one in the New Testament
to quote this passage is the Lord Jesus Christ. You will look
with me in Matthew chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21 and verse
42, Jesus saith unto them, Did you
never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders
rejected, the same has become the head of the corner? This
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. And then
this is repeated again in the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of
Luke, In the book of Acts, I think it is the Apostle Peter that
quotes this verse of Scripture. And then in 1 Peter he uses this
verse, this passage again, and the Apostle Paul in his letter
of Ephesians. And I want to call our attention
especially to the words here, This is the Lord's doing. This is the Lord's doing. Think about that. The stone which
the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner.
This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
When we think about this stone, the chief cornerstone, this is
the Lord's doing, we recognize first of all that God is the
one who laid Christ to be the cornerstone. We see that in Isaiah
chapter 28. God is the one who made Christ
to be the chief cornerstone. In Isaiah chapter 28 and verse
16, we read, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in
Zion for a foundation, a stone. a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation, he that believeth shall not make haste." He is the one who gave Christ.
He set Him forth to be the propitiation for our sins, the Apostle Paul
tells us in Romans 3. He is the one who made Christ
to be the stone. And think about this. He is the
one who ordained, it says, the stone which the builders refused. Now, who are the builders? Well,
the builders, of course, were the leaders of the nation of
Israel. The priests, the Pharisees and the scribes and the chief
priests, the builders, they are the ones that refused the stone.
This is the Lord's doing. And it's marvelous in our eyes. Think about it. It's marvelous
in our eyes. All of God's providence is marvelous
in our eyes, isn't it? To think of how the Lord God
set Christ to be the stone and then these builders, they acted
freely. They did exactly what they wanted
to do because of their hatred of Christ and because of their
love of their position. But in doing what they desired
to do, they did exactly what God had ordained. from before
the foundation of the world should be done. They acted freely. Their motive was evil. God's
motive was good, the saving of His people, the glorification
of His name. It's marvelous in our eyes. The
Scripture says, and I think it was Peter who said this on the
day of Pentecost, for to do... No, it was part of their prayer.
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done." In other words, these builders, they rejected
Christ. They refused the chief cornerstone,
but they, in rejecting Christ, did exactly what God had ordained. And they acted freely. They acted
freely. People sometimes have problems
with this truth, but it is the truth revealed in the Scripture.
Everything that takes place in this world has been ordained
of God. But, my friends, that does not
make God the author of sin. Man acts freely, and yet freely
does exactly what God has ordained. Nothing takes God by surprise. And man can never shift the blame
of his sin over on God. That's what people like to do
when they hear about God's sovereignty and God's ordination and the
fact that God works all things after the counsel of His own
will. Men like to think, well, that means that God is the author
of sin. Perish the thought. Don't believe
any such thing. That's a lie out of hell. God
cannot be tempted with sin. neither tempteth he any man."
Now here are three things about Christ being the foundation stone
upon which His church is built. You remember He said, upon this
stone I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. The gates of hell, the armies
of hell have continued to fight against the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ. but they shall not prevail. They
shall not overcome His church. The Lord shall always have His
church in this world until He comes to redeem us out of this
world. But three things about this foundation
stone. First of all, Christ is the foundation
stone and point of order for every believer is built upon
Him. If you are not built upon Christ,
if He's not the foundation upon which you are built, then you
are lost and without Christ and without God and without hope
in this world. He is the foundation stone and
point of order. He was laid first. He was God's
first elect and in Him God chose His people. Number two, Christ
is the foundation stone and point of strength, for help is laid
upon Him that is mighty. And number three, Christ is the
foundation stone to join together the whole temple, which is His
body. In other words, you and I are
joined to Him, we're built upon Him, and so we're in union with
each other. We're members of His body. He's
the head. And we are members one of another.
And then verse 24 of the psalm says, This is the day which the
Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. I remember one time bringing
a message. And I can't remember how many
days that I had, but this could refer to several days. It could. It could refer to the day that
Christ died upon the cross. It could refer to the day that
Christ arose from the dead. It could refer to the day that
we were called when we came to know Him as our Lord and Savior.
But I think the consensus is This is the day as reference
to this day, this gospel dispensation. Remember when our Lord said,
The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And then He said, There are some
here among you who shall not see death until you see the kingdom
of God come with power. This is the day, this dispensation
in which you and I live. This is the day which the Lord
hath made. We will rejoice And why shouldn't
we rejoice and be glad in it all through this gospel day that
we have such a gospel, such a Savior as He is? In Zechariah 13 and
verse 1, the prophet said, In that day, that day, there shall
be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And then verses
25 and 26, Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord, I beseech
thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in
the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the
house of the Lord. And this reminds us of how we
should continually be welcoming Christ. This reminds us of when
our Lord entered into Jerusalem, how He was greeted with those
hosannas. Hosanna, blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the Lord. And so when we come together
to worship Him in public and also in our private, we should
welcome the Lord Jesus Christ. He's here in our midst. There's
every indication in the Word of God to show us that the Lord
Jesus Christ by His Spirit is here in this place tonight. When
we come together, He said, where two or three are gathered in
my name, there am I in your midst. And then you see Him in the book
of Revelation as He walks among the golden candlesticks which
represent the churches. He's here. And we should welcome
Him. We should welcome Him. Thank
You, Lord, for coming. Thank You, Lord, for meeting
with us because if He doesn't meet with us, we meet in vain.
We're just wasting our time. That's all there is to it. Thank
the Lord we have that promise. Verse 27, God is the Lord which
has showed us light. And this is interesting here,
bind the sacrifice with cards even unto the horns of the altar.
Now remember there was two altars in that tabernacle. There was
a brazen altar, there was a golden altar, and both of those altars
had four horns on each corner. But there's no indication that
the sacrifice, the animal, was ever tied to one of those horns. I was reading just recently,
I forget now where it was, about the tabernacle. It had a picture
or a description of it, and it showed how those animals were
tied there in that courtyard before they were offered in sacrifice. But they were never tied to the
horns of that altar. For one thing, the horns of that
altar would have been hot. It was brazen. And they probably
would have set a rope on fire, wouldn't they, if they'd been
tied to that altar. And since there's no Scripture
to explain what this means, I think it speaks to us of how Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, like an animal, was tied, symbolically
tied here to this altar. So the Lord Jesus Christ, by
His covenant engagement before the foundation of the world,
He was tied by His promise to come and to give Himself upon
the altar as a sacrifice for our sins. He was bound by His
Word, by His oath. He was bound to come and bound
to give Himself. Thou art my God, and I will praise
Thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt
Thee. Let us copy the psalmist in our
praise of Him. O give thanks unto the Lord,
for He is good, and His mercy endures forever." His mercy. That's the only way
I approach Him. How about you? When you come to the Lord and
you feel guilty because of your sins, because of your failures, You come asking for mercy, don't
you? And then your conscience tells
you, well, you forfeited mercy. No. If it's mercy, I don't deserve
it. If I ever deserved it, it wasn't
mercy, it was justice. And so every time I come asking
for forgiveness, seeking His favor again and His presence,
I always come Seeking mercy. The mercy of the Lord is forever. Forever. Thank God it is. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for He is good, and His mercy is forever.