Psalm 118:21 -26 "I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD: we have blessed you out of the house of the LORD."
What a familiar verse of Scripture in Psalm 118:24, “This is the Day which the LORD hath Made…” We often only quote, or read one verse in a chapter, without reading the whole text. This is not necessarily a wrong practice, for the Apostles did this at times in the New Testament. However, we must keep in mind to read the whole chapter/book to try and understand the verse in context. The book of Psalms is one that has important verses sprinkled in the chapters. (We know that chapters and verses were added later). Psalms 118 is such a chapter.
Notice here in the verses selected for today’s devotional, verses 22-23 is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself quoted this Psalm in Matthew 21:42, "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?" Peter also referenced this Psalm in Acts 4:11 when preaching about Jesus, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.“ (See also I Peter 2:6-8) Again Psalm 118:26 is referenced by the multitudes when Jesus made his Triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion. (See Matthew 21:9) And Jesus himself uses this phrase from Psalms in Matthew 23:39 as He weeps over Jerusalem.
This sprinkling of prophetic verses is common in Psalms and in other Old Testament books such as Isaiah. For the sake of this devotional it would not benefit us from continuing to list the many prophetic utterances listed in the Old Testament. However, it would seem that the prophets, psalmists, and writers did not fully know what they were writing. They were no doubt as confused in their day as we are sometimes confused in our day. The Old Testament saints did not have the joy of seeing through the lens of Calvary, and the Day of Pentecost, and the New Testament Church. It is interesting though, that nestled here in the midst of Messianic Prophecy the Psalmist (David I assume) writes a verse we quote so often in today’s church environment. “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.“ This Day!
No matter what Day it is, we can rest assured that the LORD made it. He knew about it before it happened and He knows how it will end. Each and every Day the LORD has formed and is in control. If He would touch a Psalmist to write about Himself in verses 22-23, (etc.) hundreds of years before the Day would happen, it should not surprise us then that this Day, our Day, was known long before it has taken place. The Savior has made this Day! Obviously, the Day we find ourselves in has many trials and struggles on different levels. The only way to Rejoice in the Day is to know the Lord made it and He is in control of it. Truly, the only way to Rejoice in the Day is to know and serve the “Creator” of the Day!
I Thessalonians 5:16, "Rejoice Evermore."
- Brother Jordan