Memory can be a funny thing. I found myself sitting here before a blank screen, thinking about the beautiful thing that gathering together as a local church is, when I found myself reminded of some of my earliest memories of “big church”. One of the joys of getting to participate in worship on Sunday mornings has always been singing. And, in those early memories, no song stands out more than one we used to sing – and sing loudly and joyfully – was based on Psalm 118:24:
This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
While my memories of this song/psalm are fond, they pale in comparison to the joy I find today looking at the context of these verses and why we should rejoice in “this…day that the LORD has made”!
We won’t look at the whole psalm, but just the verses immediately before and after verse 24 – and we will see that Jesus Christ alone is our reason for rejoicing!
Verses 19-20 speak of “gates of righteousness” and a “gate of the LORD” for “the righteous” – all of which makes me think of Jesus as “the Way” in John 14:6. The psalmist talks about this way for the righteous is an answer to his prayer for salvation (v. 21). Don’t miss this: the way that God became his salvation (“you have answered me and become my salvation”) is through Jesus! Look at vv. 22-23:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
Jesus – God Himself (John 1:1) – “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14); He “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” and “being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-7). Willingly, He laid aside glory to be our Substitute (2 Corinthians 5:21) and make a Way for us through His own righteousness (1 John 2:1-2), even when His own people rejected Him (John 1:11).
For all these reasons – and the many more that we find in the Word regarding “the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) – this is the day, every day is a reason to rejoice because the Lord made it and all He has done on our behalf in Christ!
But the psalmist did not end in rejoicing alone; he recognized our great need for continued salvation in verse 25:
Save us, we pray, O LORD!
O LORD, we pray, give us success!
And that is exactly why we get to gather to rejoice tomorrow – the continued answer to that prayer for all wretched sinners who have found the Way, Jesus – who “will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). We rejoice not in the beauty of the day but in the beauty of the Savior, not in the church but the Christ, not the salvation alone but the Savior!
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
- Philippians 3:7-11 —
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
- Holy Spirit —
Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Matthew 13:44-46, Psalm 86:8, Proverbs 3:15, 1 Peter 1:3, Psalm 114:7, Psalm 34:8, 1 Peter 2:3, Galatians 5:1, Romans 8:1, Galatians 5:5, Romans 5:5, Psalm 105:3, Psalm 97:5, 2 Peter 1:3, Galatians 5:22-23
- Shout to the Lord —
Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Isaiah 9:6-7, Matthew 1:23, Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, Psalm 23:4, Isaiah 51:3, Ruth 2:12, 1 John 5:18, Nahum 1:7, Psalm 19:1-4, Luke 19:40, 1 Peter 5:1, Matthew 17:20, Philippians 3:8-10
- Philippians 2:5-11 —
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
- How Great is Our God (w/How Great Thou Art) —
Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Psalm 145:1-3, Psalm 104:1-2, 1 Chronicles 16:31, John 1:5, Psalm 95:3, Titus 2:13, Lamentations 5:19, Psalm 135:13, Ephesians 1:21, Revelation 22:13, Matthew 3:16-17, Revelation 5:5-6, Philippians 2:9-11, Revelation 5:9-10
- Thank You Jesus for the Blood —
Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Ephesians 2:1-3, Luke 15, Isaiah 55:6-7, Romans 6:23, John 14:6, John 1:14, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 2:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Colossians 1:19-20, Isaiah 1:18, Hebrews 9:11-10:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, Romans 8:26-30, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, Philippians 2:9-11
- (invitation) So Will I —
Scripture References / Inspiration for the Song: Genesis 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16, John 8:58, Psalm 33:6-9, Psalm 66:4, Psalm 13:6, Psalm 19:1-4, Isaiah 55:11, Genesis 1:26-27, Luke 19:39-40, Colossians 2:13-14, John 8:12, Psalm 22:1, Psalm 103:10-14, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, John 3:16
We invite you to join us this Sunday at Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS!
We have Sunday School classes for all ages at 9:30a and worship – everyone is welcome – at 11:00a!
If you are concerned about social distancing or are at-risk, consider gathering with us at 10:00a for a small group Bible study in our worship center. There is plenty of room to spread out, but there is also opportunity to gather with others at the same time! No one will crowd you, and you can exit out of our side door and avoid the crowd coming in to worship after the Bible study!
Just Keith Harris 