This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
– Psalm 118:24

This is one of those verses you see everywhere. Mugs. Journals. Decorative signs. Church bulletins. Etc.

I have nothing against such a practice. Surrounding ourselves with scripture is valuable. But solitary encouraging verses need the support of the context of the Bible in general and their immediate context in particular, and to my knowledge, I have never heard this verse discussed in its context.

Who knows how many times I read Psalm 118 in its entirety before I was struck with the realization that this verse is talking about a particular day.

That doesn’t sound profound. But seeing the verse everywhere can make it appear to be a command to feel this way about every day.

Please read the whole Psalm with me:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Let all Israel repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”

In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.

Though hostile nations surrounded me,
I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
My enemies did their best to kill me,
but the Lord rescued me.
The Lord is my strength and my song:
he has given me victory.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.
The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not let me die.

Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.
I thank you for answering my prayer
and giving me victory!

The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you.
You are my God, and I will exalt you!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

This is a celebration! Praise for how God has rescued the writer from his enemies! He’s so delighted he wants the whole nation to talk about God’s faithful love. The defeat of his enemies is glorious and has saved his life. He’s on his way to the temple to rejoice and offer sacrifices and thanksgiving to God. Of course this is a day to rejoice and be glad in!

It’s also a bit of prophecy: Jesus says he is a stone rejected that became a cornerstone (Luke 20:9-19). Of course the salvation he brought is something to rejoice and be glad in!

But life is not only days of celebration. There is room in faithful life for sadness. There’s time to mourn, to weep with others who weep, to repent of sins, to beg God for relief from trials. The Psalms themselves are full of both celebration and lament. The same God whose will for us is that we are always joyful himself wept at the tomb of a friend (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; .John 11:1-44).

This verse is not an order to plaster false happiness over hard, sorrowful days. It’s an invitation to celebrate days worth celebrating and to celebrate God’s salvation – for his faithful love endures forever.

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