“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24 NLT
We are unclear who penned these beautiful words but most scholars believe it was King David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel. The gifted musician. The shepherd by day. The courageous hero by night. The one who fought the great giant as a young boy. The one chosen by God to be a leader of a great nation.
I can hear rejoicing from David as he stared at the stars in the galaxy. I can hear rejoicing in the banquet hall as David brought out the harp and sang for his audience. I can hear rejoicing from the military as the Philistine was brought down by a boy in an oversized garment. I can hear rejoicing from the citizens as David walked the streets as their new king of Israel. Those were the days the Lord had made. Those were the days rejoicing was heard.
Though this was likely David’s Psalm, it is prophetically and pre-eminently the triumph song of our Lord Jesus Christ. Specifically, it was the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem with hosannas welcoming Israel’s Savior.
Jesus spent many months traveling through towns of Palestine. He preached the kingdom of God and He healed the sick and lame. Now the time had come for Him to claim His reign as the TRUE KING - as the Messiah. As they drew near to Jerusalem, Jesus told two of his disciples to go into the nearby village and bring a donkey that would be waiting there. (I love that part.) Crowds of people spread their coats on the ground in front of Him. Some waved branches of palm trees, a sign of victory. The people shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord—the King of Israel.” John 12:13
Only a king was treated in this fashion. But Jesus was no ordinary king. He was more than Herod. More than Saul. And David would say he was, “Hosanna in the highest!”
What were the people declaring with these words? In Hebrew, it literally means, “I beg you to save us” or “deliver us.” So when it comes to this powerful verse in Psalms 1 18:24, lets be reminded that our King is here to deliver us; to save us.
I am reminded of one of my heroes named Dawson Trotman. He was the founder of the Navigators Ministry in 1933. He spent some of his short life sharing the gospel to all that he could. On a warm day - June 18th, 1956, this was “the day” Dawson jumped into Schroon Lake in New York to save a girl named Allene Beck from drowning. Allene was water skiing on the lake and Dawson came to her rescue. Unfortunately, Dawson Trotman drowned, giving his life for someone else. Our Lord, Jesus has come to do the same thing. To give His life for you and I so that we too may live. Sin is serious business to God and the only way to save us was through His Son on the old rugged cross.
So, let’s stand on our feet, clap our hands, and lets sing, 🎵 “This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it.” 🎵
Have a wonderful day!
Pastor Troy
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