“This is the day!”
Psalms 118:24
In these daily blogs, I am focusing on Jesus. Every blog will have something unique about our Lord. You may already be wondering what Psalms 118:24 has to do with Christ personally. Did you know that Psalms 118:24 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the bible? Yet its meaning when read in context will leap off the page. Its meaning is marvelous and worth our rejoicing every day.
Here is our familiar verse Ps.118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalms 118 is the center chapter of our bible. Psalms 118:8 is the center verse in our bible. Psalms 117 is the shortest chapter in the bible and it reminds the gentiles that there is kindness and mercy coming from God to them. Then chapter 118 reminds Israel that kindness and mercy is coming to them too. Between chapters 117 & 118 is encompassed the whole world. John 3:16 says “for God so loved the world” and it’s in this chapter 118 we see the preview of Jesus coming into the world. Do you know what is the central doctrine of all the bible? It’s the cross, it’s the Savior come into the world to live a perfect life, die as the innocent Lamb on behalf of guilty sinners and be raised to life to pardon and redeem.
What a beautiful “day.” A day when the shepherds receive an amazing angelic announcement as they are watching their sheep in the night. A day that caused wise men after seeing His star, to travel hundreds of miles to worship. A day that the prophets of old longed for. A day that the Roman Centurion and those with him at Calvary’s cross witnessed the power of God. They suddenly attested to this day, when in great fear of the supernatural events said “truly this was the Son of God.” It is a day that split the temple veil, split the rocks and darkened the earth for three hours. It is the day that the whole of the bible is written about. And that “day” encompasses the time period from the birth to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what Psalms 118:24 is all about. What a wonderful day this verse describes.
This is one of those verses we all quote very often. And yes, its true and its wonderful that every day is a day the Lord created and we should rejoice in it and be glad. But this verse has a better and deeper meaning than that. This verse is not speaking of each and every day on our calendar. Not at all, it has nothing to do with that. Let’s look at it again in its context. To do so I will show you the verses around it. Now keep in mind we are in the central chapter of the bible.
Psalms 118: 20-27
20 This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter. (ponder John 10:9)
21 I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation. (ponder Is.59:1)
22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 [c]This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes. (ponder Matt.21:42-44) Jesus applies Ps.118:22 to Himself
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. (ponder John 3:16-17)
25 Save now, I pray, O Lord;
O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! (ponder the triumphal entry John 12: 12-25)
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 God is the Lord,
And He has given us light;
Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. (ponder Lk.1:69)
In conclusion:
What a blessing this centerpiece chapter 118 brings, as its focus is on the central message of the bible, the cross. Now we can truly say with the Psalmist “This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it”.
Bro. Bruce Rudd