Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

IV

THE GATES v.19-21 Seeking His Presence

“Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord. Those gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there. I thank you for answering my prayer and sav- ing me!” (19-21) The Festival Procession has reached the gates of the Temple that lead to the altar of sacrifice. The worship leader and the procession sing verse 19. The Levites who were responsible for insuring that the entrants were truly godly Israelites respond by singing verse 20. The ‘gate of his presence’ always opens to the sound of the thankful heart as thanksgiving is the ‘key’ of praise and worship. After Jesus healed 10 lepers in Samaria one returned: “…when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God, I’m healed!’ He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done.” Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” (Lk. 17:15-18) It implies that only a very low percentage of people who have been delivered are truly grateful. The gate of his presence is open to all who recognize that Jesus is God and ‘return’ to give him thanks. This verse is one of the most heavily quoted passages in the New Testament and it is closely tied to the prophecy given to Isaiah: “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Zion. It is firm, a tested and precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes [in him] need never run away again. […will not be disappointed.]” (Isa. 28:16) The Israelites were expecting the Messiah to be the cornerstone of a whole new expression of the Kingdom of God upon earth. If the song were composed after the Exile to Babylon then the immediate meaning of the verse ap- plied to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah who presided over the final rebuilding of the Temple. “Then Zerubbabel will set the final stone of the Temple in place, and the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!” (Zech. 4:7) Israel had been rejected and chastised as a nation but now was experi- encing one of the most miraculous events in history; the restoration of their nation and religion upon the cornerstone of God’s mercy. But the full meaning of the verse finds its completion in the person of Christ. Jesus told a parable of a vineyard and how the farmers left in charge had killed the owner’s son when he returned to gather its fruit. Jesus then quotes this verse to them: “Then Jesus asked them, ‘Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?’’ The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone’ …When the leading priests and Pharisees heard Jesus, they realized he was pointing at them–that they were the farmers in his story.” (Mt. 21:42, 45) Not only did they realize that they were the farmers in the story, they real- ized that Jesus was claiming to be the Son of the Father and the “stone rejected by the builders” . That claim is repeated almost exactly in Mark and Luke’s gospel. As the apostles began their work in proclaiming the good news this verse became a ‘cornerstone’ scripture for proving that Jesus was indeed the Christ of God. There is no doubt concerning this issue in Peter’s sermon as he faced the rulers, elders, teachers and Priests in Jerusalem: “For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, ‘The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’” (Acts 4:11) Peter quotes and connects the prophecy of Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118:22 together in his letter with these words: “Yes, he is very precious to you who believe. But for those who reject him. ‘The stone that was rejected has now become the cornerstone.’” (1 Pet. 2:7) Paul, who gave us the panoramic vision of the church in his letter to the Ephesians sums up the meaning of the rejected cornerstone; “We are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cor- nerstone is Christ Jesus himself.” (Eph. 2:20) We must be very careful to not reject the very foundation of our salvation. V. THIS IS THE DAY : v.22-29 Success through His Sacrifice “The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to see.” (22, 23)

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