19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Without notice of the context, this quote from Psalm 118 has come to mean something like, “God is our Creator. God is good. Life is good. Enjoy it.” All of this is true, in a sense. But in its context it really means so much more.
Psalm 118 is another Messianic psalm, which means it refers to the life and ministry of Christ. Verse 22 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21 in reference to the Pharisees’ rejection of Him as the Christ. They rejected Him, but He is the foundation, the standard of all that is straight and true for His people. Jesus continues, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits (Matthew 21:43).” So rejecting Him forfeits our place in His kingdom, and we must bear fruit to confirm we are His.
But there are other Messianic implications of this Psalm. Verse 19 asks that the gate of righteousness be opened. Verse 20 then says that the gate of the Lord is available for the righteous. Jesus also speaks of a gate of salvation in His Sermon on the Mount: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many (Matthew 7:13).” Jesus Himself is the narrow gate, only through Him and His righteousness can we enter heaven. As we see in Hebrews: “We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh (Hebrews 10:19-20).”
So, although we are to be righteous, although we are to bear fruit, it is the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous, not our own works. What we do reflects the salvation we have in Him, it does not accomplish our salvation. Jesus has done it all. He is our righteousness. He is the gate of righteousness. He is the gate of the Lord. As verse 23 says:
23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
Our salvation in Christ is indeed the Lord's doing, not ours, and it is marvelous. And it is with this in mind that we come to verse 24.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Let us rejoice and be glad that the Lord our Creator is also our Redeemer.