“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  What day was this that the psalmist was talking about?  What day is this day?  It might have been after a hard-fought victory as the army is coming back home.  A day when there was celebration for the victory over an enemy and the men are coming back home.  Remember that procession might have also included the bodies of those who were lost in the battle and those who were waiting for their man to come home were told of the sacrifice that he had made.  Either way, this was the day that the Lord has made.  It might have been the day at the Feast of the Tabernacles when Israel celebrated their deliverance out of Egypt.  What a day that must have been.  The Israelites talked about it with their children and their grandchildren.  This was the day that the Lord has made too.  It might have very well been the day that the temple was completed or the last brick was laid in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.  A day to have finally been home and secure.  Those were probably days of celebration; days that the Lord has made. 

Think about this verse and the entire chapter as prophetic.  Perhaps the psalmist was pointing to Jesus?  Maybe this was the song that the people sang as Jesus rode on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem; the day when hours later He would be crucified?   Perhaps this psalm was what Jesus sung with His disciples at the last supper?  Whatever the case, this was the day that the Lord has made. 

If you were to take a look at this Psalm you would notice that it begins with “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever” and it ends with the very same thing.  Why is that?  Could it be that as we come to the end of the psalm that it is as though we are back at the first verse indicating that it is to be sung over and over?  I don’t know, but if that were the case, it probably indicates that there is something in the middle that the psalmist really wants us to know and understand.  So let’s take a look at it.

In vv.2-4 the psalmist says:  “Let Israel say…Let the house of Aaron say…Let those who fear the Lord say…”.  It seems to me that all of the bases are covered.  We have the public praise of the people as seen in Israel and we have the praise of the priests that consisted of chanted responses by religious professionals.  Those were both good, but the best is the praise that wells up in the hearts of those who fear Him and know Him; the redeemed.  Those who worship Him “…in spirit and in truth…” (John 4:23-24).

In vv.5-7 we could very easily see this as a picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  You will remember that Jesus was in great anguish because He knew what awaited Him in the next few hours.  He knew that He was going to be beaten and flogged.  He knew that He was going to be mocked and that people would spit in His face.  He knew all that men would do to Him, and He was in anguish, but He also knew that He would look in triumph on His enemies.  Twice He proclaims “The Lord is with me…”   This is the day the Lord has made.

In vv.8-9 the psalmist writes “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.”  Again he writes “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes.”  If you were to look at this in light of Jesus’ last day, was Peter the man that He could put His trust in?  What about Pilate or Herod?  They all sure came through for Jesus, right?  This too is the day the Lord has made.

Vv.10-13 picture Jesus hanging on the cross with many around Him scoffing and mocking and declaring Him a failure.  Three times the psalmist writes “…in the name of the Lord I cut them off.”   He must want us to get that because he repeats it three times.  There is power in the name of the Lord.   In v.14 He declares “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  The psalmist continues with a celebration of song and proclamation in vv.15-18 where he first celebrated the people who are redeemed and the power of the resurrection.  V.17 says “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.”  He has been through a lot and has been chastened severely but he has not been given over to death.  Those are some pretty tough times.  Those are the times when you begin to wonder if God hears you, if He cares, if He is even there.  Some of you have been there.  Look at what happened next.  Vv.19-23 is his resolve to give praise.  He says to throw open the gates of the righteous, of which I am one and I will give thanks.  I will give You thanks and I will praise You.  Why?  Because this too is the day that the Lord has made.

After all of this, trying to express his heart as best as he can, the psalmist declares “This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”  The day of salvation!  Is that not we will all see one day in its fullness?  Jesus will come and we will shout v.25 “O Lord, save us…”  Hosanna means O save.  Look at what awaits us.  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  From the house of the Lord we bless you.  The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine upon us.  With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.  You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt You” (vv.26-28).  That will be the ultimate.  It will be a day when we will be complete and totally satisfied.  No more pain.  No more anguish.  No more stress.  No more death.  It sounds awesome!   This also is the day the Lord has made.

But what about now?  What about the stress that I am experiencing worrying about my loved ones in the middle of this Covid-19 pandemic.  What about the financial pressure that this is putting on my company, my employer, our economy, everything?  Our country seems to be on the verge of collapse.  What is going to happen if things don’t change?  What is going to happen if the wrong person is president?  What will I do if I lose my spouse or child to this deadly virus?  The psalmist closes this chapter with the exact same way that he started it:  “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”  In the middle of v.1 and v.29 is all of the stuff that is consistent with life.  The up’s and the down’s.  The hurt and the pain.  The good and the bad.  Scattered throughout all of that stuff are a couple of reminders that God is with us; that God is my strength and salvation; that I will not die.  But the real reminder for me is that this day, today, with all of its junk and difficulty, is the day that the Lord has made.  Yesterday was the day that the Lord made.  Tomorrow will be too!  There is not a day on the calendar that God has marked as a holiday where He is going to take the day off.  He has made this day and we are strongly encouraged, maybe even commanded, to rejoice and be glad in it.  Look to Jesus!  Hosanna!!!  O save!!!  Give thanks.  Why?  Because He is good and His love endures forever.

I want to encourage you to read that psalm and read it as though you’re in the shoes of Jesus.  Read as though you were David in the midst of his many struggles.  Read it as though you were writing it about yourself.  Give thanks!!!