1. 1 Peter 2:7 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the context of the text quoted from Psalm 118?

1 Peter 2:7 (ESV)

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

Psalm 118 is the last of the Hallel psalms (songs of praise), which were traditionally sung upon the completion of the celebration of the Passover. The psalm describes the struggles that the psalmist endured at the hand of his enemies together with the deliverance the Lord granted (Psalm 118:5–18), then moves on to describe the delivered psalmist’s reception in the temple where he relates to others what the Lord had done in his life (1 Peter 2:19–23). He reports to them that while the enemies rejected him as a usable stone, God, by preserving him and enabling him to relate his experiences to his brethren, has made him a vital stone.