This is the Day!
Psalm 118
“This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24).
I grew up singing the words to that verse. Maybe you did too. I understood it to apply to our rejoicing in every new day that God has made. While of course, Yahweh our sovereign God controls time and our very lives, and therefore each new day we awaken with breath in our lungs is a gift from God, “the day” in Psalm 118:24 conveys a much deeper meaning.
When we see a familiar verse like this, we want to ask ourselves, “Why did the Psalmist write it? What does it mean in its context?” Psalm 118 is the final psalm of the so called “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113—118). These psalms were specifically sung by the Jewish people as part of their Passover observances. The Exodus (and Passover) pictured God’s redemption of His people, not just physically from slavery, but spiritually from sin. Thus Psalm 118 is a song of thanksgiving to God for His salvation. It may have been the final psalm Jesus sang with His disciples at the close of the last supper (Matt. 26:30).
I want us to consider the answer found by looking briefly at the overall content of Psalm 118.[1] This Psalm has three sections, and in each section we learn a reason why we rejoice in the day the Lord has made.
1. This is the day of God’s Timeless Love (Ps. 118:1-4)
The Psalm begins and ends with the same call to give thanks.
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1, cf. Ps. 118:29).
The next three verses repeat the refrain, “His mercy endures forever,” (Ps. 118:2, 3, 4). The word mercy describes a deep, loyal devotion and compassion. It has been translated “steadfast love” (ESV), “faithful love” (CSB), or “lovingkindness” (NASB). So, there is no doubt about the purpose of Psalm 118. It was written for God’s people to give thanks and praise to Yahweh our good God for His faithful, unending love. This is the kind of steadfast, faithful, unending love that God demonstrated for us in Christ in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8).
The psalmist calls the congregation to sing of Yahweh’s unending love in verse 1. He calls Israel to sing it in verse 2. He calls the priests of the House of Aaron to sing it in verse 3, and finally calls everyone who fears the Lord to sing it in verse 4. He calls us to worship because the LORD Yahweh is good. This is the day of God’s unending love.
How do we see God’s love? Through His deliverance, which we see in the next section.
2. This is the Day of God’s Timely Deliverance (Ps. 118:5-18)
In this section, the Psalmist describes the trouble that the king and his nation had faced. He had been in distress (Ps. 118:5). He faced those who hated him (Ps. 118:7). The nations surround him like a swarm of bees (Ps. 118:10-12). They pushed him violently so that he was on the verge of falling (Ps. 118:13). In his distress, he called on Yahweh for help (Ps. 118:5). He put his trust in the LORD (Ps. 118:8) who is his strength, song, and salvation (Ps. 118:14).
And God did not disappoint. The Lord, Yahweh, stepped in and helped him, delivered him from his enemies, and saved him from death (Ps. 118:16-18). As a result of God’s deliverance, he vows to tell others “the works of the LORD” (PS. 118:17). Oh, give thanks to the LORD for He is good, because God has shown His love in the day of deliverance.
Whatever your trouble, however great your distress, no matter your personal failures, despite your enemies, even in the face of death itself, this Psalm shows us that the LORD saves. He delivers us. He is our strength, our song, and our salvation. Rejoice! This is the day of God’s deliverance.
Finally,
3. This is the Day of God’s Triumphant Messiah (Ps. 118:19-29)
In this last section, we have the victory song as the king returns to Zion from the battle. Yahweh has delivered him and the nation from death and given him victory over his enemies.
The New Testament applies this psalm directly to Jesus. It is in all four of the gospels (Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9-10; Luke 19:38; John 12:13) on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the praises of the people quoting Psalm 118. This is the day of God’s Son, of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the cornerstone who was rejected by men but exalted by God (Mark 12:10-11; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20-21; 1 Peter 2:4-8). Jesus Christ is the true Messiah-King who looked like He was going down in defeat at the cross, but God delivered Him, raising Him from the dead and exalting Him to sit at His right hand in heaven.
This is the day that the Lord has made—the day that found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ! All of us who know the Lord and share in His sacrifice and His victory join in giving thanks, singing,
You are my God, and I will praise You;
You are my God, I will exalt You. (Psalm 118:28).
This is the day the Lord has made—the day of God’s unending love, the day of His salvation, and the day of victory through our Lord Jesus Christ—we will rejoice and be glad in it!
“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:29).
[1] Robert J. Morgan, https://www.robertjmorgan.com/devotional/an-outline-psalm-118-this-is-the-day/
