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Hello Caldwell Baptists!
The Psalms are full of encouraging words of praise to our Lord and about His goodness toward His people. A popular verse from Psalm 118 is, “This is the day that the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (verse 24). There is not an author ascribed to Psalm 118 but many Bible scholars suggest that it fits with the things that king David experienced when his son, Absolom, attempted to usurp his father’s throne. The style and wording seems to match other psalms of David as well. It is good for us to look into the background of Bible passages to get context. When we look at scripture with the bigger picture in mind, it helps us to understand how a particular verse is to be understood.
“This is the day that the Lord has made” is quoted quite often in relation to Sunday, our day of worship, when God’s church comes together, and it seems to fit that scenario well. We also hear this verse quoted in reference to any day of the week that the Lord gives us to live, serve, and enjoy Him as our Lord and Savior. It is also fitting to recognize that every day that the Lord gives us is a blessing and reason to rejoice in His goodness. We can certainly use these verses this way, but are either of these ideas what the psalmist had in mind?
As we read all of Psalm 118 we see that the psalmist is thanking and praising the Lord for saving him and Israel out of a troublesome time. He also speaks of the Lord’s salvation in a prophetic sense. For example, verses 19-20 talk about going through “the gates of righteousness,” and “the gate of the Lord,” and in verse 21 the psalmist speaks of the “Lord who is his salvation”. Compare this with Matthew 7:13-14 where Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate;” referring to Himself as the only gate that leads to eternal life. The psalmist and Jesus are both talking about the Messiah who is the only hope of salvation. Then, in verses 22-23 the psalmist writes about “the stone which the builders rejected” which again, is Jesus. Jesus himself quoted these verses in reference to Himself when speaking to the Pharisees who were the very ones who rejected Him who was the prophesied Messiah.
This is fascinating! “This is the day that the Lord has made” is prophecy about a future day when Jesus would come to earth to provide salvation for all who will trust in Him. This day is the era in which we are living, and it will end with His return for His bride, the church. God made a day, an era, of salvation in which anyone who trusts in Him may be saved. That’s a really good reason to say, “WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!”
Tell as many people as you can about this day that the Lord has made!
Tell it joyfully!
Brother Chuck
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