O King of the Nations, and Great Desire of People

O King of the nations, and great desire of people,
Foundational cornerstone, who unites the twain—
Come, and save the mortal one,
Whom you from the mud did form.

A keystone is the uppermost stone in an archway that holds the arch together. It’s a critical piece. If the keystone is weak, the arch will crumble, and whatever the arch is upholding will topple. A strong keystone is important.

The cornerstone of a building is similar. It’s the stone that lines up the foundation of a building, making sure it’s square. All the walls radiate from that one corner, and if the cornerstone is off, the entire structure will suffer.


Christ our Lord is the cornerstone of our faith and the keystone of the arc of history. Through him all things were made and have their being—he is the very Word through which creation came into existence.

This eternal Word became like us, the mortal ones made of clay, and entered our story. By his breaking into our story, he brought back together the structure of the universe that had fallen out of alignment and crumbled under the weight of frailty and despair. The promise we have from God is that we too will be restored, we too will find strength and assurance, duration and structure in Christ.

O King of the nations, and great desire of people,
Foundational cornerstone, who unites the twain—
Come, and save the mortal one,
Whom you from the mud did form.

Read:
Genesis 2
Colossians 1:15-20

-DS