Mount Zion was the center of Christian worship from the earliest days of the Church. According to tradition, the events of Pentecost took place on this hill. Later it became the headquarters of the apostles and site of the Church of the Dormition, that dominates the hill.

This psalm has so many aspects that it was difficult to choose a title for this particular blog. But in the end, repetition won out, at least to some degree (the words are repeated several times, including in the last verse). And God’s enduring steadfast love certainly does apply to all aspects of the song. It is a song indeed, and some of our hymns have been taken from words within Psalm 118, one of which is the simple, but beautiful “This is the day that The Lord hath made” taken from verse 24.

It is a song almost certainly written by David, and many scholars believe it was written on the occasion of the defeat of Saul, when David had been established as king. That certainly fits well, but there is nothing in the superscription or elsewhere to substantiate that.

One of the most important verses of the psalm is arguably verse 22, which is quoted many places in the New Testament, including Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.“ This refers, of course, to Jesus, and how he was rejected, but has become the cornerstone of His church and the kingdom.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy

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some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.