Want to spend more of your day in God’s word? Download Still to listen to scripture, guided prayer, and Christian meditations — and let the Bible meet you wherever you are.
It’s the verse on the fridge magnet, and the one someone says a bit too brightly on a morning you didn’t want.
This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. — Psalm 118:24 (KJV)
Taken alone it sounds like a cheerful slogan. Taken in place, it’s said by someone who has just described nearly dying.
What surrounds it
A few verses earlier:
All nations compassed me about… They compassed me about like bees… Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me. — Psalm 118:10, 12, 13 (KJV)
Surrounded, swarmed, pushed hard enough to fall. And then, from that position, verse 24.
The gladness isn’t naive. It’s what’s left after the worst of it, spoken by someone still standing and aware of how close it came.
”This is the day”
The demonstrative is doing work. Not a day. Not a better one later.
This one — the specific day that follows the trouble, containing whatever it contains. The psalm is not celebrating an ideal day. It’s claiming the actual one.
Which is what makes it usable on a day that isn’t going well. The verse never promised the day would be good. It says the day was made, and that’s the ground for gladness.
”Which the Lord hath made”
The reason given for rejoicing isn’t the day’s contents. It’s its origin.
That’s a small distinction with a lot of weight. If gladness depended on how the day went, most days would disqualify. If it depends on who made it, the day doesn’t have to cooperate.
”We will rejoice”
Plural, and future. Not I feel glad — we will.
It’s a decision spoken by a congregation, not a mood reported by an individual. That matters if you’ve ever read this verse and felt like a failure for not feeling it. It was never a description of how you feel. It’s something a people say together, often in advance of feeling it.
What it doesn’t mean
It isn’t a command to be cheerful, and it isn’t a denial that some days are genuinely bad. The psalm that contains it spends most of its length describing distress.
It also isn’t only a morning verse. Read at the end of a day that went badly, “this is the day which the Lord hath made” is a harder and more honest thing to say — and arguably closer to the psalm’s own position, which is spoken after the trouble rather than before it.
How to pray it
- Say it about today specifically. Name the actual date and what’s in it. The verse is demonstrative; keep it that way.
- Put the reason where the psalm puts it. Not “this was a good day” but “this day was made.”
- Use the plural. If you can’t feel it, say it as something the church says and let yourself be carried by it.
- Try it at night. Most people use it at 7am. It does more work at 11pm.
Verses that keep it company
- Lamentations 3:22–23 — “they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
- Psalm 90:12 — “so teach us to number our days.”
- Philippians 4:4 — “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”
- Psalm 118:14 — a few lines up: “The Lord is my strength and song.”
Conclusion: claiming the day you got
Psalm 118:24 is not the sunny verse it’s used as. It’s spoken by someone who was swarmed, shoved, and nearly finished — and who then looked at the day in front of him and called it made.
That’s a sturdier thing than optimism. It doesn’t require the day to be good. It requires only that it was given, which is true of the difficult ones too.
For more, see morning Bible verses to start your day and Bible verses about gratitude.
Frequently asked questions
What does Psalm 118:24 mean? It means the present day was made by God, and that this — rather than the day’s circumstances — is the reason for gladness. The surrounding psalm describes being surrounded by enemies and nearly falling, so the verse is spoken from relief after danger, not from an untroubled life.
What is the context of “this is the day the Lord has made”? Psalm 118 is a thanksgiving psalm. Earlier verses describe being compassed about by nations, swarmed “like bees,” and thrust at hard enough to fall. Verse 24 comes after that deliverance, which is why its gladness is hard-won rather than casual.
Is Psalm 118:24 a morning verse? It is commonly used in the morning, but nothing in the text restricts it. Because it is spoken after trouble rather than before it, many people find it lands harder at the end of a difficult day than at the start of an ordinary one.
Why does it say “we will rejoice” rather than “I rejoice”? The verse is plural and future — a communal declaration rather than a personal feeling. It is something a congregation says together, which means it can be spoken honestly even by someone who does not feel glad at the time.
Try Still free Fall asleep in God's word tonight. Your first 7 nights are on us — prayer, scripture & Bible sleep stories. Start free →