Psalms 118 : 19 - 24, Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. NIV
In today's scripture, we can see that David is celebrating the goodness and the mercy of the Lord. Why is he celebrating? It is because in previous verses (not shown), David had been chastised by the Lord for his sin, but the Lord did not turn him over to death; the reason that God gave mercy and grace to David was because David's faith was in the Lord to be his righteousness...not in his own righteousness.
Today's Word shows us that the Lord was revealing the Day of Salvation to David; the Day of Salvation would be the day that the Jews' Messiah (Jesus) would come to earth. The above passage begins with David talking about entering the Lord's salvation through the gates of righteousness. It was a desire of David to build the Lord a temple for Him to dwell in, but because he had shed innocent blood, the Lord wouldn't allow it. So when David saw the Day of Salvation, it was in the scope of seeing a "building" more so than a "person".
In John 14, Jesus uses this metaphor that David depicts concerning Himself. Jesus declares that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the door, or in David's words, "the gate" that we must enter if we are to inherit salvation.
In the prophecy that David received from the Spirit of the Lord, he saw Jesus as the Messiah being rejected as the Capstone of the temple of God by the Jews. In other words, the Jews found righteousness in "self" and not in "Christ" so they rejected Him as their foundation of faith.
When Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh, He was the Day of Salvation sent to fallen man. He was the fulfillment of David's vision and was rejected by His own special people just like David prophesied. Romans 3: 23 says that "all have sinned," but God has not turned us over to destruction. He has loved us, and through His love given to us grace and truth and not punishment. So let us rejoice over the fulfillment of our salvation. David saw a temple with gates, but we see Jesus and celebrate His goodness in our hearts and lives. Let us build our lives on the Rock, Christ Jesus and live.
This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made,
Pastor Asa
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