An Outline: Psalm 118–This is the Day!


 Here’s a simple outline of Psalm 118 for preaching, teaching, or personal study purposes.  This is today’ sermon at TF.  For the completed manuscript, click here.

Scripture:  Psalm 118:24:   This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Introduction:  When we see a verse like this in the Bible, we want to ask ourselves, “Why did the Psalmist write it?  What made Him pen such a stupendous thought?”  The answer is found in the overall content of Psalm 118, with its three general divisions.

1.  This is the day of God’s Love (vv 1-4)
The first four verses of Psalm 118 are a preamble, in which the Psalmist tells us this is the day of God’s love.  Several different groups are enjoined to sing this little phrase, “The love of God endures forever.”  We’re all to sing it in verse 1.  Israel is to sing it in verse 2.  The priests of the House of Aaron are to sing it in verse 3.  And everyone who fears the Lord is to sing it in verse 4.  This is a call to celebration.  Try putting it in your own words:  His love keeps me going.  His love never gives out.  His love never wears down.  His love never grows cold.   His love is never distant or inaccessible.  His love is as near to me as my beating heart.

2.  This is the Day of God’s Help (vv. 5-18)
In the next series of verses the Psalmist describes what he had been facing.  This man had suffered anguish.  He had been in a war.   His nation had been overrun, his land invaded.  His situation had seemed hopeless, but somehow God had delivered him and given him victory.  Problems swarmed him like hornets, but God saved him.  He was pushed back, but the Lord helped him.  God does the same for us when we’re anguished, attacked, pushed back, swarmed, invaded, and hopeless.

3.  This is the Day of God’s Son (19-29)
That leads to the final part of Psalm 118.  This is the day of God’s Son, of Jesus Christ.  The Psalmist had proclaimed a day of national worship and thanksgiving, which included a festive procession through downtown Jerusalem, through the gates of the temple, and right into the House of the Lord.  As we study this, we realize it’s Messianic in nature, predicting the events of Palm Sunday.  Jesus was the stone the builder’s rejected (a verse that’s repeated five times in the New Testament).  As He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the crowds echoed Psalm 118 by shouting:  “God Save Us!” or “Hosanna!”  The rejected stone became the cornerstone, and Jesus entered Jerusaelm to became Savior of the world.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Conclusion:  Psalm 118 thus ends as it begins:  His love endures forever!