This is the Day

DEVOTION

PSALM

THIS IS THE DAY

Ps 118:19-24

19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. 21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; 23 the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

NIV

For year upon years in a previous church every Sunday morning our pastor would open the service with: This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Not sure which translation he used but it was, we will, not let us. The “we will” is far more of a statement of intent, a confession as to what we will do, rather than let us. Although it still means the same in Hebrew as there is neither the word for we will or let us. It is simply rejoice. So than it would say: this is the day the LORD made, rejoice and be glad in it. Rejoice in every day the LORD has made, each day of our lives is a day the LORD has made. Nothing was made that was not made by him. He put the sun in the sky to give us light and warmth for the day, and the moon to give us the reflection of the sun by night. Although if we call it night, it is not completely dark, because his light still shines off the moon. Then we cannot forget that we will enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts, we will enter his courts with praise. Another portion of this psalm we have sung over and over again. Only the righteous get to enter into his gates. Although the wicked cannot, they will stand before him and bow their knee as they are judged for refusing to accept his salvation. They will not enter the gates of the new city of Jerusalem, the judgement will have to occur either before it comes down from heaven or outside its gates. But we who have accepted Jesus are considered the righteous, not because of our good deeds, or because we are without sin, or have any righteousness of our own, but only because we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Although the Jews as a whole rejected Jesus as their cornerstone, their basis for their faith, he has become the capstone. The Hebrew makes it clearer, it says: "The stone refused the builders, is become the of stone the head, the corner" This implies the corner stone which all else is determined by. It is the first stone placed and every other stone is placed in square with it. The building, the temple will not be correctly built without the corner stone, Jesus. This has so much implication. Any temple, whether that is one of stone, a church or other structure designed for worship of a god, or the temple of our body, as we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, if it is not built on Jesus, it is not built right and true. Any faith not built on Jesus is not right and true. He is the corner stone of our life. All our life is based on him. If it is not, than it is not right and true. Everything we do should be based on Jesus, not on ourselves. Everything is about how marvelous is what the Lord has done in making Jesus the cornerstone of our lives. This is the day the LORD has made, we will rejoice, we will be glad, we are in his day. This is the day.