Psalm 118:22-24 celebrates a reversal: a stone the builders threw away becomes the most important stone in the building, and the psalmist sees that turn as the Lord’s own work. Because of that, the people are called to see the day as a gift from God and to respond with joy. The passage closes a song of thanksgiving sung by worshipers entering the temple, probably at a festival such as Passover or the feast of Tabernacles.
22 The stone which 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. We will rejoice and be glad in it!
Psalm 118:22-24 (WEB)
Psalm 118:22-24 Summary
The passage moves in three short steps. First, it describes a stone that was rejected by the builders but has now become the cornerstone, the stone that holds the whole structure straight. Second, it names the cause of that surprising reversal as the Lord’s doing, something no human planning could have produced. Third, it treats the entire day on which this has happened as something God has made, and it invites the worshiper to rejoice in it.
Read together, the three lines turn a moment of confusion into a moment of praise. What looked like failure or waste is shown to be part of God’s purpose, and the response is not anxious analysis but gladness. The speaker is less interested in explaining how it happened than in insisting that it was God who did it and that the people should enjoy it.
Context of Psalm 118:22-24
Psalm 118 is one of the Hallel psalms (Psalms 113-118), sung during Jewish festivals and at the Passover meal. It is traditionally attributed to David or to a worship leader in the post-exilic period, and its speaker is best understood as a community voice, often the king leading a procession of the faithful toward the temple gates. The surrounding verses are a liturgy of entrance: the gates are opened, the righteous enter, and thanks is offered for deliverance.
Verses 19-27 therefore work as a dialogue between those approaching the temple and those greeting them from inside. The stone verses sit at the center of that exchange, which helps explain their confidence. Having just been saved from danger, the worshipers recognize that the salvation came from an unexpected source and that the whole procession depends on it.
Psalm 118:22-24 Verse by Verse
1 Peter 2:7
For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected, has become the chief cornerstone,”
(WEB)
Peter applies the rejected stone image to Jesus, showing how early Christians read Psalm 118 as pointing to Christ. The verse helps readers see the psalm’s reversal as fulfilled in the one whom people rejected yet God exalted.
Psalm 118:1
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
(WEB)
The psalm opens with a call to give thanks because the Lord is good and his love endures forever. This opening line frames everything that follows, showing that the joy in verse 24 rests on God’s steady faithfulness.
A Prayer Based on Psalm 118:22-24
Lord, you know the places where I have been set aside, overlooked or quietly counted as not enough. Help me trust that you can take what others have discarded and make it central to what you are building. Where I feel like a rejected stone, remind me that the cornerstone was chosen by you, and that my worth is not measured by the builders around me.
Thank you for making this day. Give me eyes to see your work in it, even where it is hard to explain. Let me rejoice and be glad in the day you have given, and teach me to receive each hour as a gift from your hand. Amen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the stone that became the cornerstone mean in Psalm 118?
The image points to a reversal in which something that was rejected becomes essential to the whole structure. In the psalm’s setting it describes God vindicating and exalting what others had dismissed. Christians later applied the image to Jesus, as seen in the New Testament.
Why does Psalm 118:24 say this is the day the Lord has made?
The line calls worshipers to receive the day as God’s gift rather than as something to be endured. It is often sung at celebrations and festivals. The emphasis is on God’s sovereignty over time and the invitation to respond with gladness.
Is Psalm 118 written by David?
Psalm 118 is traditionally attributed to David, though many scholars think it was shaped for communal worship, possibly in the post-exilic period. Its liturgical character suggests it was sung by a congregation entering the temple. Either way, it is read as Scripture within the Jewish and Christian traditions.
