Thursday Psalms: Be Glad In this Day!

 

In three days we'll celebrate Palm Sunday and worship the greatest King the world will ever see, who entered Jerusalem one last time, riding on a humble donkey.  Jesus comes for His coronation, to His throne of glory, not in Jerusalem's temple but on Golgotha's horrid tree.

Verses 19 and 20 of Psalm 118 paint beautiful pictures of our entering into the gates of righteousness, which Jesus has opened for us.  Today, I encourage you to pause your mind, confess your sins, receive God's forgiveness, and see yourself walking through the gates of heaven on the Last Day.  What a promise Jesus has given to you!  Soak it in for a few moments.

PSALM 118:19-29

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.

²⁵ Save us, we pray, O Lord!

    O Lord, we pray, give us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

    We bless you from the house of the Lord.

²⁷ The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us.

    Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to You;

    You are my God; I will extol You.

²⁹ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

    for His steadfast love endures forever! 

And here's some more really good news:  your righteousness and your entering into the gate of the Lord is not just a future event when Christ returns.  Every day begins anew, every day is a new creation, made so by your Heavenly Father forgiving your sins!  Every day, we are welcomed into the gates of righteousness, to live a new day, washed clean of our sins!

These eleven verses of Psalm 118 contain more memory verses than any other short section of Scripture which comes to my mind.  Grab a few and commit them to memory, storing them up for your future blessing and encouragement!  In every one of these verses, it is as if the psalmist is standing right in front of us, excitedly pointing with his outstretched hand and saying:  "Here is Jesus, your King!"  So, let's read each of these verses, pausing to reflect on how each verse is a prophecy of Jesus, now fulfilled.  

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

     We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

        sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

office:  810.744.1188

mobile:  248.881.7627

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:2