THE Psalmist in the 118th Psalm brings before us a tragic rejection on the part of the Builders and a divine act which awakened profound wonder in the hearts of those who saw and recognized its significance.—“The stone which the builders refused is become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Ps. exviii. 22-23). The Builders made a fatal decision in refusing the Stone which God designed should have its place in the Building. The Building referred to is, no doubt, the Jewish State and Church, which, of course, was a theocracy. Prophet after prophet had borne witness to the fact that a great King was coming who was to excel in glory the greatest of all the Kings of Israel. Isaiah spoke of Him saying in the prophetic announcement—“Of the increase of His government and peace there should be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever” (Is. ix. 7). David, also, as a prophet, announces—“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him” (Ps. lxxii. 8-11). To Him was also given the promise—“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Hebs. i. 8). He was to be made higher than the kings of the earth (Ps. lxxxix. 27) and a promise of world wide dominion was promised Him for the asking: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Ps. ii. 8). He was to reign supremely over the Jewish State and the Church and in view of the extraordinary announcements made concerning the coming King it might be anticipated that the administrators of the affairs of State and the officers administering the affairs of the Church would so shape their policies in a manner that would not conflict with the laws of such a glorious King. But it was not so. They failed to understand all that the prophets had spoken concerning Him. Hence when He came they rejected Him. The prophets not only spoke of His glory—they also spoke of His deep humiliation and when He came the Builders had no place in their building for such a Messiah and so they refused the Stone which was to be the Head Stone of the Corner. Their decision was not only a fatal mistake it was filled with untold sorrows for the rejecters and their children. In thus refusing their Messiah any place in their Building they were acting consistently with a long black record as Stephen told the Jews of his day—”Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been the betrayers and the murderers” (Acts. vii 51, 52). It was truly a black record and the seriousness of it was the truth of the terrible indictment. God had another plan than that of the Jewish Builders and the Stone that was rejected by them was to have its place in that Building in which God will be worshipped and honoured forevermore. Over against the decision of the Builders God sets His decree: “Yet I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. ii. 7). That decree still stands and the nations of the earth would do well to keep this in mind. To Him has been given all power in heaven and earth (Matt. xxviii. 18).
We now pass from the attitude of the Jews to their King and ask ourselves what place is assigned by the modern nations to Heaven’s King? Let us take the nations at war. What place is given to the Lord’s Anointed by the German Rulers? The question requires no deep searching. Only recently we had the pain of reading some of the utterances of German leaders on Jesus Christ. We are not using too strong language when we say they were of a very blasphemous nature. The Satanic inspired hatred to the Jews simply because they were non-Aryans strikes at the noble line of godly kings, holy prophets, and psalmists whose utterances are a priceless treasure to the Church of Christ. This mad delusion also hits the chosen disciples of our Lord and lastly and most seriously the Lord Himself “of whom [i.e. of the Jews] as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever” (Roms. ix. 5). Nazism has no place in its Building for Christ. What of France? This great nation with which we are in alliance at present has a population of over 55 millions—of these, according to statistics, 10 million profess to be Roman Catholics, and one million Protestants. The rest are either atheists or without any religion. The serious matter, however, is that France nationally has no place in her Building for the Lord Jesus. When we come to our own nation—alas! how little place is given to the Lord. True, in a national sense, we acknowledge Him, but how much of it is only lip service. When we turn to the other nations of the world do we find the Lord getting the place that is His by the supreme and uncancelled decree of heaven. What about the great nations—Russia, Japan, China, Italy, etc.? Yet men are busy planning a new world—a perfect paradise here below when all wrongs will be righted, when peace and prosperity will be the order of the day and when men in their natural, unregenerate state will be brothers the wide world over. It would be well that these dreamers would keep before them the words of the Psalmist: “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Ps. exxvii. 1).
What is true of nations is also true of churches. Where the Stone which is the chief stone of the corner is rejected the Builders labour in vain. They may win the praise of the world and be lauded among their fellow-men but according to God’s Word their labour is in vain. How empty and vain will Roman Catholicism, Judaism, and all the other isms that do not give Christ His place appear one day. Where will Mohammedanism, atheistical Communism, etc., stand in the day when every Building in which He has no place comes tumbling down in ruins never to be erected again.
We must now come to another aspect of our subject, viz., the personal aspect.
In a sense we are all builders. Most of us, especially in youth, mapped out a plan and were like the foolish Builders, we had no place in the plan for the Stone which they rejected. It was a fatal mistake and, if we, in God’s mercy, have been led to see what this would lead to if we went on thus to the end let us be thankful to the God of all grace who gave us to see our folly. Some, as they read these lines will know that the fatal mistake has not yet been remedied. Disappointment after disappointment may have come their way and the plan which seemed so beautiful in early youth is now shattered and only a memory of the past and holding out no bright prospect for the future. It is the divine purpose that in all things the Son is to have the pre-eminence and if we do not give Him that pre-eminence in our heart the loss will be ours. It is a solemn thing, to think that we should have that Saviour set before us in all His glorious fulness and suitability, and yet go through this world without Him having any place in the plan of our lives from youth to old age. Thousands of our fellow-countrymen at the present moment with the noble enthusiasm of youth are placing their young lives between us and the enemy and our heart-felt prayer for them is that the Lord Jesus Christ may have His rightful place in the plans of their lives.