What Is "The Day That The Lord Has Made?"

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24).

I am sure you have heard this Psalm quoted a thousand times whether in songs or someone in church saying this is a great day to worship because God has made this day. You might have even woke up and wondered why you should get up out of bed, which leads you to quote this Psalm.

In Psalm 118, we see a hymn of praise to God for all He has done for His people. This is also a hymn of praise for God's faithfulness during Israel's time of turmoil and the actions He has taken against the enemies of God's people. The beginning of the Psalm bears a lot of resemblance to Psalm 136, which repeats, "His steadfast love endures forever."

As I was reading this Psalm the other day, in light of verse 24, I was thinking about what was that day the Lord has made. Some have suggested that it could be the festival as the nation of Israel was celebrating the victory God gave them over their enemies. Then I read a few passages along with verse 24:

I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation...This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:21, 23-24).

The Psalmist thanks God for answering their prayers and praises Him for becoming His salvation. The writer of the Psalm saw it was God who delivered him, not horses, chariots, or even princes. He goes on to say in verse 23, it is the Lord's doing. What did the Lord do? He vanquished Israel's foes.

What has the Lord done for you? There are some things He has done for us that we could not count them. We know, along with the Psalmist, they are marvelous. One thing He has done that is His doing and is marvelous is our salvation. We three times in the Bible that Salvation is from the Lord. He is our salvation and it also belongs to Him.

So when we think about the day the Lord has made, yes, you could say it applies to when you wake up because we are not to boast about tomorrow, we can say the day of meeting Jesus is the day He has made. September 13, 1992 was the day the Lord has made because I met Jesus. You may not remember your spiritual birthday, but you can still rejoice knowing God made that day. As Psalm 139:16, the Bible says, "in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."

We may not know what day the Psalmist refers to, but we can still rejoice knowing, whatever comes our way, it is the day the Lord has made. For Christians, one day to celebrate is the day of their salvation which comes from the Lord.

Another day that the Lord has made is a day not yet known and that is the return of Christ, when all the wrongs in this world will be made right. That will be a day we will rejoice and be glad in.