This Is The Day!

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24

I know of a great many Christians that know this verse by heart, but I do no know of any (except my wife now) who knows what this verse is in reference to; and the reason I say that, is because it is always quoted to indicate their thoughts about that particular present day; and it is not.

Now, am I objecting to anyone who would quote this verse in a sort of spontaneous reflection to God on any particular day they are happy about? Why certainly not! I think that any reason, or no reason at all is always a good time to turn your thoughts toward God! It is only that there is a higher meaning with what the verse is saying, that if was known would cause one all the more to lift their voice in praise, "rejoice and be glad in it!"

There is a Jewish tradition called the Hallel, or is sometimes referred to as the Great Hallel, which is: "A chant of praise consisting of Psalms 113 through 118, used during Passover and on certain other holidays." These Psalms are read together as one, and there is much that can be said about it, which would put this post "into the weeds" and detract from my main objective.

Notice this verse from Matt. 26:30 "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives."  This verse comes at the point when Jesus and the disciples have finished the "last supper", or Passover meal, and were on their way to the garden of Gethsemane! They were singing hymns! What were they singing?  Why the Great Hallel of course! Psalms 113-118. And where do we find the verse that this post is about? In Psalm 118, which is part of the Hallel.

Jesus would be singing "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  all the while knowing that He was going to be betrayed, and face torture, and death on the cross.

At first glance it would seem contrary to sing a song with a verse in it like that knowing full well that His death was soon to follow, but it is my conviction that there was no greater time to sing this! I am convinced that this occasion was what this verse was written for!

This is the day the Lord hath made! What day? Not the 24 hour day, but rather the Day of Salvation! The fact that the Lord Jesus was about to die on the cross, was what was purposed from before the beginning! It is Plan A in action!

Right from Genesis and all throughout the Old Testament there are subtle and overt verses that indicate God's plan to restore His relationship with man. Not just some men, but all of mankind, and more than that, all of creation! And creation will be restored when the sons of God are revealed as per Romans 8:19  in the NIV says: "For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed" .

In Gen. 6:3 it says: "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,..." I believe is a promise of restoration. The strife will end, and the relationship shall be restored!

To me, the whole of  Psalm 90 speaks of restoration. Look at verse 3 "Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men." In verse 13 the Psalmist asks "Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants."  (the word repent here does not mean for God to be sorry and change His mind) Verse 12 the concern is to make good use of the time now. "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."  A whole post could be written showing how each verse of this Psalm speaks of God promised restoring of creation back to Himself.

Oh, when your eyes are open to look for it, you can see many more examples in the Old Testament of verses that speak not only of the restoration of creation, but pointing to the coming of Jesus, and His death bringing Salvation of the sin of the world. That of course would be a day to look forward to taking place, and a reason to rejoice and be glad in it!

So, perhaps the next time you say the words to Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  not only can you feel free to rejoice because it is a beautiful day indeed, but you will have a higher purpose for rejoicing, knowing that the day of Salvation is the day meant when saying This Is The Day!