This is the Day!
Scripture reading for June 26th: Psalms 111-118
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1) This messianic psalm begins with thanksgiving to the Lord for his goodness and enduring love. This is a recurring theme of many of the psalms. God’s people know His great goodness and love for us. We are thankful that God has favored us and we speak out loud of our gratefulness. Israel speaks it out, the house of Aaron speaks it out and finally all who fear the Lord speak out, thanking God for his great love!
The next section of this psalm speaks of a great crisis where the psalmist cries out in anguish to the Lord. He was surrounded by nations and enemies that attacked like a swarm of bees. (Psalm 118:10-12) The psalmist was confident that the Lord would be his refuge and even become his “salvation”! The Lord’s “right hand” is extolled as doing mighty things to deliver this man. He is confident he will live and not die and proclaim what the Lord has done! (Psalm 118:15-18) God had chastened him severely, but not given him over to death!
This psalm was the last one in the Great “Hillel”–a series of worship psalms used for the passover celebration. It was probably sung by Jesus and the disciples as they left the upper room for the Garden of Gethsemane. We also know that verses 26 and 27 were quoted by the crowd in Matthew 21:9 as Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They recognized Jesus by shouting “hosanna”–which means “Lord save us”. They waved palm branches and welcomed him. “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 the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.” (Psalm 118:26-27)
Jesus later quoted Psalm 118:22-23 as He taught in the temple. “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Jesus was the capstone of the new Temple. The Jews would reject Him as Messiah, but the Lord placed His seal on Jesus through resurrection! As Jesus went to the cross, He cried out to the Lord and by faith knew that this was the day that the Lord had made!
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