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Well, good evening. It's a blessing 
to be with you once again this night. You can turn with me in 
your Bibles to Psalm 118. The first series we did in the 
evening at Surrey was Psalms of the Messiah. So we're looking 
at a Messianic text tonight in Psalm 118. Psalm 118, begin reading at verse 
1. O give thanks to the Lord, for 
He is good, for His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, 
His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, 
His mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now 
say, His mercy endures forever. I called on the Lord in distress. 
The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord 
is on my side. I will not fear. What can man 
do to me? The Lord is for me among those 
who help me. Therefore, I shall see my desire on those who 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 surrounded 
me, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Yes, they surrounded me, but 
in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They surrounded 
me like bees, but they were quenched like a fire of thorns. For in 
the name of the Lord I will destroy them. You pushed me violently 
that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength 
and song, and he has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing 
and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. The right hand 
of the Lord is valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is 
exalted. The right hand of the Lord is valiantly. I shall not 
die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has 
chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 
Open to me the gates of righteousness, and I will go through them, and 
I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord 
through which the righteous shall enter, and I will praise you, 
for you have answered me and have become my salvation. The 
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 
This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 
This is the day the Lord has made, and we will rejoice and 
be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O Lord. O Lord, 
I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord. We have blessed you from the 
house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and he has given us light. 
Bind the sacrifice with cords, the horns of the altar. You are 
my God, and I will praise you. You are my God, and I will exalt 
you. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy 
endures forever. Amen. Well, let us pray. O great 
God, again we are thankful that we can come before you. And the 
only reason that we can come before you tonight is because 
of your mercy towards us. And we know, O God, that it is 
an enduring mercy, it is an everlasting mercy, it is a mercy that we 
do not deserve. You've called great sinners out 
of darkness to believe on Christ, and Christ came in the world 
to save sinners. We do not deserve this great 
grace and this kindness and mercy, yet we see it throughout your 
Word, O God. We see your mercy even in the event of the Exodus, 
saving Israel, bringing them out of bondage, but even more 
so in the salvation of your people. But, O God, we know that you're 
not just a merciful God, but a faithful God. And we do ask 
that you would be with us tonight, for you've promised to be with 
your people. You've promised to never leave us nor forsake 
us. So we ask, O God, that you would open the heavens and come 
down, that you would dwell with us in a special way this night, 
O Lord. As we gather together for praise and worship, as we 
gather together to hear your word, we pray that you would 
be with us by your Spirit, O God. We know, O God, we have so many 
things to give you praise for, but especially for what Christ 
has done for us. So, God, help us to be mindful 
of the Lord Jesus, help us to be mindful of your grace. Sometimes 
we are forgetful of these things, we are forgetful of your mercy, 
but help us to be reminded of these things tonight, and help 
us to press on and praise and trust in you, a God who is with 
us. What can man do to us? So, God, 
we pray that you'd be with us now, in the name of Christ. Amen. 
Well, just a couple introductory things before we dive into Psalm 
118. When we look at the Psalter, 
sometimes we might think it's just a ragtag bunch of Psalms 
put together. But in reality, there's a bit 
of a structure, and a bit of an order, and a bit of a progression 
we see in them. The first Psalms we typically 
see, there's a lot of laments in them. There's a lot of people 
crying out, where is my God? And as we come to book number 
three, we're in this crisis situation. Is God faithful to the promises 
he made to David? And book three ends with Psalm 
89, as the psalmist cries out, God, why have you not kept your 
promises? But then we come to books 4 and 
5, and certainly there are still some laments in books 4 and 5, 
but we come to psalms of praise, psalms of thanksgiving. They've 
come over the hump, and now they've praised God, for God has delivered 
them in their distresses. So we're really in book 5 of 
the Psalter, and this is where we see the king's celebration 
of God's salvation. The Messiah has triumphed, and 
we see this especially in Psalm 110, So what can Israel do but 
they must praise their God? And one of the ways in which 
Israel praises their God is they praise Him for their deliverance. 
What's interesting, a sub-genre, a sub-section we see in the Psalter 
is what is called the Egyptian Hallel. Don't freak out that 
I use some Hebrew there because we sing that all the time. Hallelujah! Basically, it is the Egyptian 
praise, recalling the Exodus, and we see that in Psalms 113 
to Psalm 118. In Psalm 114 is that Exodus psalm, 
and in Psalm 118 is that climax, this praise for what God has 
done in the Exodus. Now, it probably wasn't just 
sung during the Passover, probably other times as well, but it was 
especially sung during the Passover. Theologians think that Jesus, 
in Matthew 26 30, when they sing this hymn before they go to the 
Mount of Olives, what is it that they sing? Probably Psalm 118, 
as they recall God's goodness and mercy in the Passover, as 
Christ is going forward to be the one who delivers his people. 
So it is a psalm of thanksgiving. And typically, what do you do 
at festivals? You thank God for what he has done, and this is 
what they would do at Passover. There's no author given, no historical 
setting, probably could have been sung by kings, by the people 
returning from exile as a reminder of God's mercy. We don't need 
to read into too much of the historical setting there, but 
certainly the Exodus is in mind. And really, in Psalm 118, the 
psalmist, as a representative of the people, gives thanks to 
God for his enduring mercy towards his people, especially in the 
Exodus. And we'll look at this under 
three headings tonight. First of all, God's enduring mercy 
in verses 1 through 4. Secondly, God's enduring faithfulness 
in verses 5 through 18. And lastly, God's enduring praise 
in verses 19 through 29. So God's mercy, God's faithfulness, 
and God's praise. Let's first look at God's enduring 
mercy in verses 1 to 4. And notice we get this call to 
worship. They would have sung this in the temple. O give thanks 
to the Lord, for he is good, his mercy endures forever. And 
this is the right response to our God when he is merciful to 
us. Sometimes we're forgetful of 
that. Sometimes we don't praise our God, but especially in big 
events like the Exodus, like the Passover, like returning 
from exile, they would have sung this. Give thanks to the Lord 
for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. And the focus 
of this psalm is really on Yahweh, on what He has done. Yahweh, 
the term there, LORD, in capital letters, is used over 20 times 
in this psalm. And it should recall for us Exodus 
3 and Exodus 34, when God appears to Moses and says, I am who I 
am. Or in Exodus 34, when he says, 
I am the Lord, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and 
abounding in steadfast love. He wants to remind us, or the 
psalmist wants to remind us of God's covenant faithfulness to 
do what he said he would do. And so give thanks to the Lord, 
for he is good. Now, we could probably just stop 
right there, pack it in, and start singing the doxology, right? 
For God is good! God is wholly other than you 
and I, and He's the only good in this universe. Any sort of 
good that we see on this planet is because of the Lord God Almighty. When the psalmist describes Him 
as good, it's describing a perfection of God, something about Him that 
you and I do not have unless it's from God Almighty. And so 
he says, for he is good. He is a good Lord. And not only that, in his being, 
in his essence, in who he is, but we see his goodness in his 
works as well. Give thanks to the Lord, for 
he is good, for his mercy endures forever. And even this language 
here of his mercy enduring forever, it says that four times in verses 
one through four. Verses one, two, three, and four. 
It says his mercy endures forever. This is that covenant love, hesed, 
perhaps you've heard that term before. God's faithfulness to 
do what he says he would do, but not just to do what he said 
he would do, but his motive behind it, his love for them. It's a 
perfect, everlasting love, a love that you and I do not possess. 
We grow in love and decrease in love. We love our spouse until 
they do something kind of mean, and then we love them just a 
little bit less because of that. Or we do something to them, and 
they love us just a little bit less for that. But God's love 
remains the same. It does not grow. It does not 
decrease. It's an everlasting love that 
does not change. And so we see His mercy, and 
we see His mercy in the Exodus. He brings His people out of slavery, 
out of bondage, not because they are good, but because God is 
good. He brings them out of that difficult time, that difficult 
distress with enemies surrounding them, and He brings them to freedom. He brings them out of that slavery. 
This morning we talked about bondage and slavery and what 
that looked like. If there's ever an example of a people that 
want to go back into bondage. It was the people of Israel. 
They're taken out of Egypt and they're wandering. And then they say, you know what? 
We like the food better in Egypt. Let's go back. But God is still 
merciful and God is still gracious and God still is loving and kind 
towards them. But God does not change. But our experience of God changes. Does that make sense? You see, 
God doesn't change in His being, but when we know and learn something 
more about our God, when we experience Him, that's when things seem 
to quote-unquote change. Our experience of Him does, but 
He never changes. And especially we see this with 
Christ coming, right? When Christ come as that one 
who does what Israel could not, the true Israel, as that one 
who led the true Exodus, that his people who were in bondage 
to sin might be saved. We experience God in a different 
way, but that doesn't mean God changes. God remains the same. And so then the psalmist, after 
he gives his opening call to worship and refrain, he then 
goes on to say, Let Israel now say, His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, 
His mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now 
say, His mercy endures forever. Basically showing who should 
be praising God and it's the entire people of Israel when 
he says Israel now say let the priesthood now say and let anyone 
who fears the Lord and mainly Non-israelites let them praise 
the Lord and let them praise him Say his mercy endures forever 
basically all Israel should praise God And there are many reasons 
they should, but again, there's an order. There's even sometimes 
a flow, even in the Psalter, even with other Psalms. Because 
in Psalm 115, there's a similar parallel going on. Verse 9, O 
Israel, trust in the Lord, for He is their help and their shield. 
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and their 
shield. You who fear the Lord, trust 
in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. 
The Lord has been mindful of us. He will bless us. He will 
bless the house of Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron, 
and he will bless those who feared the Lord, both small and great. God has delivered. Let Israel 
now say, His mercy endures forever. Aren't there many instances we 
see God's mercy in our own lives, brethren? What is mercy? It's something that is undeserved. 
Basically, everything you have, everything in your life, is a 
merciful gift from God. Every temporal blessing, every 
sort of good thing that happens, the clothing on your backs, the 
cars that you drive, the homes that you live in, the food that 
you eat, is a gift from God. You do not deserve those things, 
but God is merciful to give you those things. But how much more 
the spiritual things, where we see God's mercy. Wretched, terrible, 
awful people saved by Jesus. Not because we love Him, but 
because He loves us. It's not anything that we would 
do, as Paul says in Romans 9. He didn't look down the corridors 
of time and see what they would do and choose Jacob and Esau, 
but he chose them that God's purpose of election might be 
true. And what's interesting is when 
you actually read the Jacob and Esau account, they're terrible 
people, aren't they? You look at Rebekah and Isaac 
and Jacob and Esau in that section in Genesis 27, they're all just 
terrible. Isaac wants to thwart the plan 
of God. Rebekah dupes a blind guy. Jacob 
wants to take the blessings from Esau. Esau's a giant oaf who 
doesn't care about the future blessings. He just wants to think 
with his gullet. You see, as that's the backdrop 
for Romans 9, it's God's goodness and mercy that he saves sinners 
in Christ Jesus. Give thanks to the Lord, for 
he is good, for his mercy endures forever. So that's God's enduring 
mercy. Let's then look, secondly, at 
God's enduring faithfulness in verses 5 through 18. We see three 
ways in which the psalmist recalls God's goodness and the ways in 
which God has delivered him. Verse 5, he says, I called on 
the Lord in distress, and the Lord answered me and set me in 
a broad place. Notice it switches from plural 
to singular. Perhaps the king, as a representative 
of the people, cries out about times in which he was in distress, 
and other people can sing this with him as well. The Lord delivered 
him from his distress and brings him and sets him on a broad place, 
sets him on a strong foundation. There are times in the Psalter 
in which the psalmist cries out, How long, O Lord, answer me in 
my prayers! You see, the psalmist in Psalm 
118 is on the other side of the trial that he's going through. 
And he can look back and say, God was with me. But there was 
a time in the Psalter in which the psalmist cries out, and he's 
in the midst of his trial, and he doesn't know where God is. 
Even in Psalm 69, he cries out, Oh God, I am sinking. I'm in 
the miry clay. What shall I do? I will call 
on the Lord. He answered me and sets me on 
a broad place. Verse six, the Lord is on my 
side. What can man do to me? Or I will 
not fear. What can man do to me? The Lord 
is for me among those who help me. Therefore, I shall see my 
desire on those who 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. The Lord is with 
His people. And David prays the same thing 
in Psalm 56, verse 11. Basically the same thing, he 
says, In God I have put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can 
man do to me?" And what's interesting, when he prays that, it's when 
he's actually going through difficulty. It's during the time when the 
Philistines captured David and Gath, but he still cries out, 
what can man do to me? So in the midst of his trial, 
in the midst of your trial, what can man do to you? And after 
you go through that trial, what can man do to you? For we do 
not put our trust in man or put our confidence in princes, but 
it is better to trust in the Lord. And he repeats it twice 
to drill it into our minds to make sure we understand that. God was with me in my distress. 
I can look back with joy, know that he was with me. What shall 
man do to me? So God delivers him from his 
distress, but also God delivers him from the nations in verses 
10 through 14. Notice there's this big battle. 
All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord, I will 
destroy them. They surrounded me. Yes, they 
surrounded me. There was nowhere else to go. Perhaps we could 
recall the Exodus at this time. When the people came up out of 
Egypt, when they were at the Red Sea, there was nowhere else 
to go. Pharaoh was coming one way and 
the sea was on the other side. There was nowhere else to go. 
They were surrounded. What can man do to me? All the 
nations surround me, but in the name of the Lord, I will destroy 
them. But in the name of the Lord, I will destroy them. God 
is with his people. Though they surround me like 
bees, that swarm of bees you can't get out of, or the swarm 
of bees you can't get out of, and he says they were quenched 
like a fire of thorns. Regardless of the toil, Yahweh's 
name is more powerful. Regardless of the difficulty 
you are going through, Yahweh's name is more powerful. Regardless 
of the trial that you are enduring right now, Christ's name is more 
powerful. For God is with his people. What 
shall man do to me? In the name of the Lord, I will 
destroy them. Then he says in verse 13, you 
pushed me violently that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. 
The Lord is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. The Lord is his strength and 
his power. He leans upon him. And this is also in Exodus. allusion 
in Exodus 15, right after the Red Sea. They're saved from Pharaoh 
in the Red Sea, with the parting of the Red Sea, in the song of 
Moses. Moses sings in verse 2 of Exodus 
15, the Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise 
him. So God's delivered the psalmist 
from his distress. He's delivered the psalmist from 
the nations, but he also delivers the psalmist from death in verses 
15 through 18. The voice of rejoicing and salvation 
is in the tents of the righteous. Those who've been saved sing 
with joy, shout for joy, for God has done valiantly. His hand 
is exalted. He has done valiantly. And again, 
Exodus 15 and 6 recalls God's right hand of power to save the 
people out of Egypt. God's might, God's power, He 
stretches out valiantly to save them. It was not their doing, 
but God's goodness. So it's a recollection of that. And so even in the midst of that 
certain death, as they rejoice in God's might, what specifically 
is in view? I shall not die, but live and 
declare the works of the Lord. Brethren, death still is going 
to happen to us, but we don't have to fear death, do we? What 
shall we say? Even I shall not die, but I shall 
live and declare the works of the Lord. In the face of death, 
what can man do to me? You and I don't have to fear 
death, even though the outer man decays, the inner man is 
renewed day by day. Should death come, we will be 
with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever. This was Luther's motto 
in life. I shall not die, but I shall 
live and I shall recount the deeds of the Lord. Isn't that 
true for us? Shouldn't that be true for us? 
If we're in Christ Jesus, though we die, we will be with Christ, 
singing his praises forever and ever, recounting his goodness 
and not our fake goodness, because there is no goodness except from 
God. So he says, I will declare these 
things, but then verse 18, the Lord has chastened me severely, 
but he has not given me over to death. Basically, God still 
chastens his people. God still disciplines his people, 
but that doesn't mean we'll be given over to death. We will 
be with God forever and ever. So brethren, when we see God's 
enduring faithfulness, we must trust in our God because he is 
a faithful God. You know what's interesting? 
We are forgetful people, aren't we? God does many merciful and 
kind things to us, yet sometimes we are forgetful to praise Him 
for those things. Perhaps in our distresses, we 
pray a little bit more to God, don't we, sometimes? Why is that 
the case? We pray to God in those distresses. 
Yet then sometimes God, a lot of the times, God answers those 
prayers, and we don't praise Him or thank Him for those things, 
right? But you see, you want to know 
why our God is a good God? Even when we don't thank Him, 
He still answers our prayers. And even when we don't pray the 
prayers we should pray to our God, asking Him for aid in those 
difficult times, He still answers those prayers. Because He's a 
good and gracious and faithful and merciful God that we do not 
deserve to be in covenant with or in communion with. So God 
is a faithful God that we can lean upon Him even when we're 
in the difficult times, but even when we go past them and God 
has delivered us from them, we must remember our God always. So that's God's enduring faithfulness. 
Let's then look thirdly and finally at God's enduring praise in verses 
19 through 29. So we kind of have this progression. 
There's this call to being of the service, give thanks to the 
Lord. Then there's this recollection of why they need to give thanks 
to the Lord. And then we come to the celebration in the temple. Verse 19, open to me the gates 
of righteousness and I will go through them and I will praise 
the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord 
through which the righteous shall enter. He's basically banging 
on the gate saying, let me in. I want to worship my God. That's 
usually not us, is it? Typically, it's like, oh, we 
have to come back for the five o'clock service. It's during 
dinner time. Our kids need a nap. That guy 
preaches sometimes for a little bit longer than we would like 
sometimes. Don't worry about that. He's 
a fantastic preacher, isn't he? He preaches for a long time. 
We should just pay attention and pinch our faces and be awake 
for what he's saying. You see, the people here, the 
psalmist says, let me in. I want to sing praises to my 
Lord God Almighty. I want to shout for joy about 
my God's salvation for me. Open to me, O gates, and let 
me in. Open to me, ancient doors, that 
I might come in and give thanks to my Lord. For I will praise 
you, O God, for you have answered me and you have become my salvation." 
He doesn't want to be held back from praising his God for his 
God's goodness towards him. And even so, as we continue on 
in verse 22 and verses 23 and 24, we see God's goodness and 
mercy in that he chooses a special people. The stone which the builders 
rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's 
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. 
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be 
glad in it. Now, there's a lot of layers 
when we do interpretation, right? This is clearly a messianic reference, 
and we'll talk about that in just a moment. When we think 
about the original context and its reference to the Exodus, 
the Hebrews were kind of that stone and pebble you threw away. 
But God brings them. and chooses them and makes them 
that special stone by which He would build His foundation. And 
it was through the one who was born of a woman, born under the 
law, that He would redeem His people through that law, this 
Christ who came. So even here he's talking about 
God's goodness, choosing this cornerstone, the structure, the 
best stone in the temple for security. God has done this, 
not us. It is blessed, it is marvelous. 
And the Lord has made this day of salvation, and we will rejoice 
and be glad in it. And then in verse 25-29, he ends 
with this prayer to God. Save now, I pray, O Lord. O Lord, 
I pray, send now prosperity. You see, it's not just in the 
bad times that we pray to God. I hope that's clear. We pray 
to God in the good times as well. And what can spur us on in those 
times of prosperity is that we remember God's goodness to us 
in this prosperity. He says, O Lord, thank you for 
giving me and saving me. Save now, I pray. Continue on. 
Send now this prosperity, for blessed is he who comes in the 
name of the Lord. Van Gemeren says, The Lord would 
continue to the prayer is the Lord would continue to do his 
wonderful acts in their midst So they will prosper there are 
times when we don't see God's Visibleness sometimes in our 
own lives and we pray to God how long Oh Lord, but but we 
see God's visibleness in our lives What should we do God continue 
in showing us yourself to us? It's usually in those times of 
prosperity, so to speak, we kind of step back a little bit, and 
then we go through a cycle of difficulty, and then we pray 
again, like, just pray all the time. The assumption is that 
you will pray to your God in the good times, in the bad, giving 
him thanks for his goodness towards you, and asking that he would 
continue in that, in his goodness towards you as well. So he says, he's praying, it's 
good times right now in Israel. Lord, continue to do this. And 
then verse 26, blessed is he who comes in the name of the 
Lord. Perhaps there's a festal procession going on as they're 
praising God at the festival. Here's this one who comes in 
the name of the Lord. And we have blessed you from 
the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and he has given us 
light. Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horn of the altar." 
Basically, that's perhaps a reference to the Aaronic Blessing in Numbers 
6.24. May the God of the Lord bless you and keep you, his face 
shine upon you. And we see that God has done 
that towards them, so they give him worship and praise and honor 
at the altar. You are my God, and I will praise 
you. You are my God, and I will exalt 
you. I'll give thanks to the Lord, 
for he is good, for his mercy endures forever." Now this is 
a messianic text, and there are several places in which this 
psalm is quoted in the scriptures. You can turn with me to Matthew 
21. We see the reference to the Lord 
Jesus in his first coming, and especially at that triumphal 
entry. When he's riding in on that donkey, 
people are laying down the branches and their clothes on the road 
for the Messiah who comes. And then in verse 9, then the 
multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, 
saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes 
in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. So they're 
praising God when He comes into the temple, or excuse me, when 
He comes in and they're giving Him praise and recognizing that 
He is the Son of David. And then what happens is Jesus 
cleanses the temple. And then in verse 14, the blind 
and the lame came to Him in the temple and He healed them. But 
the chief priests have a bit of a bee in their bonnet in verse 
15. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful 
things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple and 
saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were indignant and 
said to him, Do you hear what these are saying? They're mad 
that they're quoting Psalm 118 towards him. And then Jesus quotes 
Psalm 8. Yes, have you never read out 
of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, you have perfected praise. The chief priest rejects the 
Lord Jesus Christ, but as he's coming in, there's a recognition 
by the people that he is the one who comes in the name of 
the Lord. But you see, the second place 
in which Psalm 118 we'll see is quoted is also in Matthew 
21, several verses later in Matthew 21, 42. This is also in some 
of the parallel accounts as well. We'll just look at Matthew. This 
is the parable of the wicked vine dressers. and the wicked 
tenants. There was a certain landowner 
who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it. He dug a winepress 
in it and built a tower. He leased it to vinedressers 
and went into a far country. Now when vintage time drew near, 
he sent his servants to the vinedressers that he might receive its fruit. 
And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed another. 
He does it again several times, and then finally he sends his 
son. They will respect my son. But that's not the case. When 
the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, this 
is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize 
his inheritance. So they took him and cast him 
out of the vineyard and killed him. Then Jesus asked the question 
to the Pharisees, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will 
he do to those vinedressers? They said to them, He will destroy 
those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers 
who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. And Jesus said 
to them, Have you never read in the scriptures, the stone 
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing, and 
it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I say to you, the 
kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation 
bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone 
will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to 
powder. Christ is that chief cornerstone 
in whom the psalmist is speaking about. He is that Messianic King 
who has come. Yet the Pharisees don't see it. The Pharisees don't recognize 
it. They who are part of ethnic Israel don't see that Christ 
is the Messiah who is to come. And He is rejected for this. 
And thus He will bring about subsequent judgment when He falls 
upon them and grinds them to power. It is the Lord's doing 
that he might bring salvation. So we see it's quoted in his 
triumphal entry. It's quoted in the rejection 
of the Lord Jesus, and his rejection by these Pharisees. But it's 
also quoted in Acts chapter 4 verse 11. Isaiah 28 and Psalm 118 have 
a similar saying, and it is close together, and we'll draw upon 
that in just a moment. But Peter, a similar thing, as Jesus pronounces 
judgment, so too does Peter pronounce judgment upon the Sanhedrin. 
When he speaks of Jesus the Christ, whom you crucified, whom God 
raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you 
whole. Verse 11 of Acts 4. This is the 
stone which was rejected by you, builders, which has become the 
chief cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any 
other, for there is no other name given among men by which 
we must be saved. There's one salvation, and it 
is this cornerstone, and you have rejected Him. And he says 
that to the Sanhedrin there. So we see Christ coming, Christ's 
rejection. We also see the psalm used with 
Christ as the foundation of His people. 1 Peter 2, verse 7. It's quoted a lot, isn't it? 1 Peter 2, verse 7. When he talks about the people 
of God being a chosen stone and a chosen people, he uses this 
idea of a stone. Verse 4. Coming to him as to 
a living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are 
being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer spiritual 
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, 
it is also contained in the scripture. This is Isaiah 28. Behold, I 
lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes 
on him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who 
believe, he is precious, but to those who are disobedient, 
the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief 
cornerstone. Again, those who reject Jesus 
Christ reject the cornerstone and the way of salvation. So 
Christ is the foundation, even in Ephesians 2.20, it's the foundation 
by which the church is built upon. But it's not just Christ's 
first coming and Christ's rejection and Christ as the foundation 
of his people, but it's also Christ's second coming as well. Matthew 23.39, back to Matthew. This is right after the woes 
in which Jesus pronounces on the scribes and Pharisees, and 
then he gives this lament, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills 
the prophets and stone those who are sent to her. How often 
I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her 
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. See, your house 
is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see 
me no more till you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of 
the Lord. So clearly, the New Testament 
writers draw and use Psalm 118 to point to Jesus as the Messiah. If you reject Him, you'll be 
ground into a powder. But if you believe on Him, you'll 
marvel and wonder at the Second Coming, when He comes again. 
He has come. He's lived. He's died. He rose 
again. And He's been raised and ascends 
and sits at the right hand of God the Father. But He will come 
again to judge the living and the dead. And we look forward 
to that day when He comes that second time. For blessed is the 
one who comes in the name of the Lord. And the Lord Jesus 
shall come again. And if you don't believe on Him 
at that time or before you die, you shall receive judgment. But 
if you believe on Him, on this Messianic King, you shall have 
everlasting life and experience enduring mercy, faithfulness, 
and praise to the God of heaven and earth. Give thanks to the 
Lord, for He is good. His mercy endures forever. Let's 
pray. O Lord God Almighty, We give 
you thanks for your goodness. We give you praise for your mercy, 
and we give you honor for your grace. We know, oh God, that 
we do not deserve the things that we receive, and we do not 
receive the things that we deserve. This is because of your goodness, 
that you are a God who is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast 
love. We're thankful, O God, that we 
have your scriptures that teach us concerning you, that teach 
us concerning your goodness, that teach us concerning the 
Lord Jesus, that Messianic King, the one prophesied of old, the 
one foretold in your scriptures, especially in your psalm. We're 
thankful, O God, that he is the cornerstone. We know that he 
is rejected by men, but you have raised him up. And, O God, we 
know that we must reject the things of men as well, but believe 
on this cornerstone. And, O God, may these things, 
for those who believe, give us strength. May we give you thanks 
always for your mercy and your goodness towards us, for you 
are a gracious and merciful God. And, O God, if there are any 
here tonight who do not know you, we pray that you would cause 
them to come to saving knowledge, convict them of their sin, that 
they might believe on Jesus. We're thankful, O God, for the 
mercies that are found in Him and in Him alone. We give you 
praise and honor for your gospel of free and sovereign grace. 
We pray, O God, that your Spirit would be with us now, we pray 
in the name of Christ. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation. When the piano's finished, you're 
dismissed.