Psalm 117:24: the verse built to be read first thing in the morning
24This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us exult and rejoice in it.
The day being praised is not a generic one. The two lines just before it say what happened on it, and that is where the gladness gets its object.
Short answer
Psalm 117:24 identifies one particular day as the work of the Lord, and calls for exulting and rejoicing inside it. The day is not generic: the preceding lines say what happened on it — the stone the builders rejected ended up as the head of the corner.
- Written by
- Raphael Navarro Schmitt
- Reviewed by
- Maria Luisa Navarro Schmitt
- Published on
- Reading time
- 3 min read
A note on the number first. The edition published here follows the Latin tradition, which counts the Psalms differently through most of the book. This is the psalm many English Bibles print as 118; the verse number is unchanged, only the chapter moves.
Few biblical lines fit as neatly onto a coffee mug, and few are read as rarely in their own setting — which makes the sentence sound lighter and vaguer than it is.
Where this verse appears
This psalm closes a short group of praise psalms sung at the great festivals. It opens and closes with the same line of thanksgiving, which gives the whole thing the shape of a frame.
Shortly before this verse there is a procession: someone asks for the gates of justice to be opened so that he may enter and give thanks. Then comes the image the New Testament will reuse — the stone the builders threw out became the head of the corner, and the text says this was done by the Lord and is a wonder before our eyes.
Immediately afterwards comes a short cry for salvation and prosperity, and a blessing on whoever arrives in the name of the Lord. The verse sits in the middle of a scheduled celebration.
What it says
The day is identified by ownership rather than by quality. The line does not claim the day will be pleasant. It says whose it is, and it says so on the strength of the previous sentence, where the making is described as an act with a result.
Which act matters. A stone that had been discarded by people who build for a living ended up holding the corner of the structure. The day being celebrated is the day of a reversal, and that gives the gladness an object rather than merely a mood.
Both verbs of joy are plural. This is not a private emotion being reported: it is a summons, spoken by someone asking for company in the celebration.
And notice the pair of them. Exult and rejoice are not synonyms doing the same work twice — one is loud and outward, the other settles in. The verse asks for both, in that order.
What to do with it today
If you are reading this in the morning, the verse is already doing the job it was written for. Before opening the calendar, say out loud whose day this is. The order of operations changes the rest.
The plural asks for something concrete too. The joy in this verse is meant to be split: send someone a short message today about one good thing that has happened. That is literally the shape of the psalm.
A prayer to carry with you
Lord, this day is yours and I do not yet know what is in it. Remind me of what you have already done, and give me enough gladness to hand some out. Amen.