What "This Is the Day" means
Psalm 118:24 is the oldest Sunday morning lyric in the tradition: "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." The psalm was sung at Israel's temple festivals, announcing each day of celebration as a day of divine making, not just a turn of the calendar. Jesus Culture took that ancient declaration and gave it the tempo of a congregation that believes the resurrection changes the calculation on every ordinary Tuesday, not just the festival days. Key of E for male voices, G for female, at 138 BPM in 4/4. The speed is the argument: if every day is the day the Lord has made, then daily worship should have an urgency proportionate to that reality. Lamentations 3:22-23 adds the morning frame, "his mercies are new every morning," which makes the song not just celebratory but theologically precise about why rejoicing is the appropriate response to waking up. Matthew 28:6, the resurrection announcement, stands behind the whole lyric. The day the Lord has made is a resurrection-shaped day, and the song asks whether the congregation is living inside that reality or merely acknowledging it from a distance.
What this song does in a room
The first bar at 138 BPM makes a claim on the room before a word is sung. The energy is the opening argument. By the first chorus, a congregation that has arrived carrying the weight of the week is being given a different framework for the morning: this is not just another Sunday. The song is particularly effective as a service opener because it does the liturgical work of transition, moving a congregation from the weekday posture to the worship posture, with enough momentum that the transition happens in the body as well as the mind. Rooms that engage fully with this song tend to carry the posture of expectation further into the service than they would otherwise. The celebration is not hollow; it is anchored in the resurrection claim that makes every day worth celebrating, a claim that stands regardless of what the week has held.
What this song is saying about God
The song says God is active, making days, filling them with his purposes, and inviting his people to recognize and rejoice in that activity. It is a theology of divine sovereignty expressed through joy rather than doctrinal proposition, which is one of the ways corporate worship has always taught what preaching alone cannot fully reach. Psalm 96:2 sits underneath: "sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day." The implication is that daily life is not a secular zone between Sunday worship services but an ongoing theater of divine activity. Acts 2:26 brings in resurrection joy as the warrant: because Christ is risen, the heart is glad and the tongue rejoices. The song says God has not merely created the world and stepped back; he is making each day with intention, and the invitation to rejoice is the invitation to be awake to what he is doing rather than sleepwalking through the gift.
Scriptural backbone
- Psalm 118:24: this is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it
- Lamentations 3:22-23: his mercies are new every morning, great is his faithfulness
- Matthew 28:6: he is not here; he has risen, just as he said
- Psalm 96:2: proclaim his salvation day after day
- Acts 2:26: therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices
How to use it in a service
Sunday morning openers, Easter Sunday, New Year services, and any series on gratitude or the theology of ordinary time are natural placements. The 138 BPM calls for a room that is ready to move from the first bar, so all logistical pre-service communication should be complete before this song begins. Pair it with a message on gratitude, new mercies, or resurrection living for thematic coherence that allows the song to do double work. Seasonally, it anchors the calendar in divine purpose rather than cultural event. At Easter, the Lamentations 3 frame of new mercies intersects with the resurrection announcement in Matthew 28 and gives the song an extra layer of resonance that a brief spoken introduction can name.
Things to watch for as the worship leader
At 138 BPM the worship leader's physical stamina is a practical concern; know the song well enough that the energy is sustainable through the bridge and final chorus without a noticeable performance drop. Watch the congregation during the first verse: engagement or lack of it will be visible quickly at this tempo and is worth responding to. If the room is not tracking, a brief spoken affirmation connecting the lyric to the resurrection reality can open it without killing the momentum entirely. The song's declaration posture means it should feel like announcement rather than invitation; lead it from the front with confidence. Hands and body language at this tempo communicate as clearly as the vocal and should be congruent with the lyric's claim rather than working against it.
A note for the team behind you (techs, vocalists, band)
Full band from bar one is the appropriate approach here; this is not a song that builds slowly into itself. Drums and bass need to lock in before the congregation hears the first beat, and that means the click track relationship in the in-ear monitors has to be settled before the song begins. Vocalists, the chorus should feel like a corporate declaration even when singing it at a controlled dynamic; the weight should come from conviction and clarity rather than raw volume. Techs, at 138 BPM attention to the low end in the front-of-house mix is non-negotiable; if the kick and bass are not balanced before the song starts, the first chorus will feel muddy rather than powerful. Movement from the congregation, clapping, standing, raised hands, is appropriate and welcome; the song was designed for it.