This is the Day

 

“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”                                                                                                            (Psalms 118:24)

 

Without question the day specifically spoken of in this sweet psalm of praise was prophetic, referring to the day of our Savior’s resurrection, the day when “the Stone which the builders refused” became “the Headstone of the corner.” The day spoken of here is this great gospel day of grace in which we live. “This is the day which the Lord hath made!” The Lord God, our Savior made this glorious gospel day by obtaining eternal redemption for us. “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” If those saints of old rejoiced in the confident prospect of this day, how much more joyful we ought to be in it! This is the day of grace our God made for us. The first man, Adam, brought in a day of sadness; but Christ, the last Adam, has brought in an everlasting day of gladness for his elect.

 

            We delight in the fact that our Savior was raised from the dead on the first day of the week, and rejoice to gather with his people in his house every Sunday to worship the risen Christ. But those who suggest that this verse of Scripture speaks of establishing a Sunday sabbath in this gospel age both greatly constrict its meaning and teach a doctrine nowhere taught in Holy Scripture. Christ is our Sabbath of rest. Resting in him, we call the Sabbath a delight (Isa. 58:13).

 

            As the rising of the sun in the eastern sky brings day upon the dark earth, so the rising of Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, in our souls with healing in his wings, brings in our sin-darkened souls the never ending day of life and grace, a never ending Sabbath of rest and delight.

 

            Let us, therefore, look upon every day in which we live and walk in his grace as “the day which the Lord hath made,” understanding that he made it specifically for us. I often hear God’s saints speak of days gone by, as though they were better days, almost complaining that they did not live in another day. In doing so, they make themselves and others miserable.

 

            Child of God, this day, this very day is “the day which the Lord hath made” for you and me; and he made us for this day. There never was and never can be a better day in which you and I could live and serve our God. You know, I am sure, that it is our God, our heavenly Father, who made this day. Be sure you understand this, too. — He made, rules, and disposes of everything in this day, according to his own everlasting love for us.

 

            Knowing these things, Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, says to you and me, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” We always have cause for joy, because we are Christs and Christ is ours! Yes, we all must endure trials, hardships, sorrows, and pains. Yes, we are all constrained, as long as we live in this body of flesh, to be at war with our vile lusts. But in our saddest conditions, in our most painful circumstances, we are living in the day (including all that is experienced in it) which the Lord has made. We sometimes have banner, red-letter days of gladness, and sometimes disappointing days of great grief; but every day we live was ordered from eternity for us; and each is preparing us for a better day still, the day of eternal bliss and glory. So sing, my brother, sing, my sister. Sing today, — “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it