Priesthood, the Cornerstone, and Hallelujah: Psalms 102–150

Come Follow Me 2026 — Week 35 | August 31–September 6 | Psalms 102–103; 110; 116–119; 127–128; 135–139; 146–150

The Final Movement of the Psalter

The Psalter concludes — like a great symphony — with a sustained movement toward doxology. Books Four and Five of the Psalms (Psalms 90–106 and 107–150) carry the Psalter from lamentation and historical memory through the magnificent mediations of Psalms 110, 118, and 119 to the triumphant Hallelujah chorus of Psalms 146–150. This week’s reading traverses this final movement, encountering some of the most important christological, priestly, and doxological texts in all of scripture.

These are not merely the last psalms chronologically. They are the theological culmination of Israel’s prayer. The movement through the entire Psalter — from Psalm 1’s meditation on the two ways, through the royal psalms, the messianic suffering psalms, the penitential psalms, and the psalms of historical memory — arrives here at its destination: praise. The Psalter begins with instruction and ends with adoration. It begins with “Blessed is the man” and ends with “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

Along the way, this week’s reading passes through some of the most theologically significant texts in the Psalter: Psalm 110’s declaration of Christ’s Melchizedek priesthood, Psalm 118’s cornerstone prophecy quoted by Christ of himself, Psalm 119’s vast celebration of God’s word, and the Hallel psalms sung by Christ and his disciples on the night of his betrayal.

Psalm 110: The Most Quoted Old Testament Verse in the New Testament

Psalm 110 is the single most quoted Old Testament passage in the entire New Testament. It is cited or alluded to in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, and extensively in Hebrews. Its opening verse is the christological text par excellence:

Psalm 110:1

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Jesus himself used this verse to silence his opponents. In Matthew 22:41–45, he posed the question: if the Messiah is David’s son, why does David call him “my Lord”? The answer implicit in the question is that the Messiah must be more than merely a physical descendant of David — he must be David’s Lord, someone who transcends the human ancestry through which he comes. The verse establishes the Messiah’s divine authority and his exaltation to the right hand of God — the position of supreme honor and co-regency.

But verse 4 is equally important for Latter-day Saint theology:

Psalm 110:4

“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The book of Hebrews builds its entire theology of Christ’s high priesthood on this single verse. The Aaronic or Levitical priesthood was temporal, inherited, and limited: its priests died and had to be replaced. But Psalm 110:4 declares a priest “for ever” after the order of Melchizedek — a priesthood without genealogical limitation, without beginning or ending, permanent and sufficient. Hebrews argues that this is Christ’s priesthood, and that it supersedes and fulfills the Levitical system.

For Latter-day Saints, this is doctrine lived daily: we hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, the higher priesthood that Hebrews says is the priesthood of the eternal Christ. Psalm 110:4 is the ancient root of the priesthood authority restored through Joseph Smith. The promise of a priest “for ever” after the order of Melchizedek is not merely fulfilled in Christ himself but is extended through Christ to all who receive that authority in his name.

Melchizedek Priesthood Connections

• Hebrews 5:6; 7:17 — Christ declared high priest after Melchizedek’s order
• Hebrews 7:3 — Melchizedek as type: without beginning of days or end of life
• D&C 107:2–3 — The higher priesthood called “Melchizedek” because of his righteousness
• Alma 13:7–9 — High priests ordained “after the order of his Son”; without beginning or end

Psalm 118: The Stone the Builders Rejected

Psalm 118 is the last of the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113–118) — the psalms sung at Passover, the psalms Christ and his disciples sang after the Last Supper before going to Gethsemane. It is a psalm of triumph emerging from extremity: “Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.”

Its most famous verse is the cornerstone declaration:

Psalm 118:22–23

“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.”

Jesus quotes this of himself in the parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:42): the son who was killed by the tenants is the stone the builders refused, who becomes the cornerstone. Peter quotes it in Acts 4:11 of Christ’s resurrection: “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.” Paul echoes it in Ephesians 2:20 to describe the church built on the foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ himself as the chief cornerstone.

The theological pattern the verse describes is one of the Bible’s most consistent: the one who is rejected by human judgment is the one God vindicates and exalts. Joseph sold into Egypt, rejected by his brothers. David chosen last among Jesse’s sons, rejected by the conventional assessment of greatness. And ultimately Christ himself — rejected, crucified, buried — raised and exalted as the foundation stone of all things.

Psalm 118:26 — “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the LORD” — is the shout of the crowds at the triumphal entry (Matthew 21:9). On that Passover week, as Christ entered Jerusalem, the people were singing the words of the Hallel. He entered as the fulfillment of the psalm they sang. And on the night of his arrest, after the Last Supper, he and his disciples sang this psalm again — the psalm of the stone rejected and the LORD’s doing that is marvelous. He sang it knowing what was coming.

Psalm 119: A Love Letter to the Word of God

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible: 176 verses, divided into 22 sections of 8 verses each, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is an extended, intricate, beautiful meditation on the love of God’s word. Nearly every verse contains a reference to the Torah/Law/Word/Commandments/Statutes/Precepts/Decrees — the psalmist cycles through all of these synonyms to describe the revelation God has given His people.

Psalm 119:9–11

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

The Psalm’s theology of scripture is formative, not merely informative. The Word hidden in the heart changes behavior; it does not merely inform the mind. The delight in God’s commandments (verse 16), the meditating on precepts (verse 48), the running in the way of commandments when the heart is enlarged (verse 32) — these are descriptions of a person whose interior life has been shaped by sustained, loving engagement with God’s revealed word.

Psalm 119:105

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

This is the most beloved verse of the most elaborate scriptural meditation on scripture. It combines two images: the lamp (immediate, local, showing the next step) and the light on the path (directional, showing the way ahead). God’s word provides both: immediate guidance for the next decision and long-range vision for the direction of a life. The Psalm is saying that scripture is not an ancient artifact to be studied but a living light to be carried — a source of ongoing guidance for the person who meditates on it day and night (Psalm 1).

For Latter-day Saints who hold the Book of Mormon alongside the Bible as scripture, Psalm 119 is an invitation to ask: what does it look like to delight in, meditate on, hide in the heart, run in the way of — the additional volume of scripture God has given this generation? The Psalm holds an implicit challenge: is your relationship with the scriptures one of duty or delight?

The Hallel and the Night of Betrayal

Psalms 113–118 are known collectively as the Egyptian Hallel — sung at every major Jewish festival but especially at Passover. According to Jewish tradition, Psalms 113–114 were sung before the Passover meal and Psalms 115–118 after it. Matthew 26:30 records that at the conclusion of the Last Supper, “when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.” That hymn was these psalms.

Think of what this means. Jesus and his disciples sang Psalm 118 — “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation”; “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner”; “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” — on the night Jesus was betrayed, knowing what the next hours would bring. He sang the psalm of the rejected stone with full knowledge that he was about to become the rejected stone. He sang “This is the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” on the night before his arrest.

The Hallel was not comfort music. It was covenant declaration. It was the act of trust in the midst of darkness, praise before the vindication, faith claimed before the resurrection. In singing it on that night, Jesus was doing exactly what the Psalms teach: choosing the posture of trust and praise not because circumstances warranted it but because God’s faithfulness does.

Psalms 146–150: The Hallelujah Conclusion

The Psalter ends with five psalms that all begin and end with the word “Hallelujah” — “Praise the LORD.” These are not restrained, quiet praises. They are the full-voiced, crescendoing celebration of the entire created order in worship of the God who made and redeems all things.

Psalm 146 praises the God who “executeth judgment for the oppressed,” who “giveth food to the hungry,” who “looseth the prisoners,” who “raiseth them that are bowed down.” Psalm 147 celebrates the gathering of the outcasts of Israel, the healing of the brokenhearted. Psalm 148 calls the entire cosmos to praise: sun and moon, stars of light, dragons and deeps, fire and hail, mountains and cedars, kings and all peoples, men and maidens, old men and children. Psalm 149 celebrates the joy of the covenant people in their King. Psalm 150 is pure doxology:

Psalm 150:6

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

This is the conclusion toward which the entire Psalter has been moving. Every lament, every confession, every messianic prophecy, every psalm of trust in the darkness — all of it has been moving toward the moment when every living thing joins a single act of praise. The book that began with “Blessed is the man who meditates on the law day and night” ends with the whole creation singing.

The vision of Revelation 5 — every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth joining in the song of the Lamb — is the New Testament fulfillment of Psalm 150’s vision. The trajectory from individual meditation on the Word to cosmic doxology is the trajectory of the entire covenant: from knowing God personally, to worshipping God collectively, to the ultimate reality in which all creation will recognize and celebrate its Creator.

The Psalter’s Final Vision

• Revelation 5:13 — Every creature in praise — Psalm 150’s vision fulfilled
• D&C 76:20–21 — Joseph and Sidney hear the voices of angels innumerable around the throne
• Mosiah 2:20–21 — We are unprofitable servants; yet He blesses us — the spirit of the Hallelujah Psalms