Gentiles Grafted In

[1 Pet. 2:7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious:
[9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
[10] Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of G-d: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Gentiles are brought into a condition where we can appreciate His worth. To see the value of food, we must be hungry; of clothing, we must be exposed to the winter's blast; of home, we must be wanderers without a dwelling-place; of medicine, we must be sick; of competence, we must be poor. So, to see the value of the Savior, we must see that we are poor, helpless, dying sinners; that the soul is of inestimable worth; that we have no merit of our own; and that unless some one interpose, we must perish. Every one who becomes a true Believer is brought to this condition; and in this state, he can appreciate the worth of the Savior.
We have had benefactors who have done us good, but none who have done us such good as He has. We have had parents, teachers, kind friends, who have provided for us, taught us, relieved us; but all that they have done for us is slight, compared with what He has done. The fruit of their kindness, for the most part, pertains to the present world; and they have not laid down their lives for us. What He has done pertains to our welfare to all eternity; it is the fruit of the sacrifice of His own life. How precious should the name and memory of one be who has laid down His own life to save us!
We have no hope of salvation but in Him. Take that away and blot out the name and the work of the Redeemer we will see no way, in which we could be saved; we have no prospect of being saved. As our hope of heaven, therefore, is valuable to us; as it supports us in trial; as it comforts us in the hour of death, so is the Savior precious: and the estimate which we form of Him is in proportion to the value of such a hope.
In His character, abstractedly considered, there was more to attract, to interest, to love, than in that of any other one who ever lived in our world. There was more purity, more compassion more that was great in trying circumstances, more that was generous and self-denying, more that resembled G-d, than in any other one who ever appeared on earth. In the moral firmament, the character of Messiah sustains a pre-eminence above all others who have lived, as great as the glory of the sun is superior to the feeble lights, though so numerous, which glimmer at midnight. With such views of him, it is not to be wondered at, that, however he may be estimated by the world, "to them who believe he is precious!"
The same is made the head of the corner. That is, though it is rejected by the mass of men, yet G-d has in fact made it the corner stone on which the whole spiritual temple rests
Peter's message is nonetheless wonderful: "You didn't used to belong, but now you belong to G-d and among G-d's people." The Gentiles being grafted in and the purpose for these high privileges are not so we can grow proud, but so that we can proclaim the praises of Him who has done such great things for us. We did not replace the Israelites but joined heirs with them, the Father meant us to be one and work along side each other.
It was G-d's pure mercy, not our merits, which made the blessed change in our state, a thought which ought to kindle our lively gratitude, to be shown with our life, as well as our lips.