This is the Day

Representative Text

This is the day, this is the day
that the Lord has made,
that the Lord has made;
we will rejoice,
we will rejoice and be glad in it,
and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day,
this is the day that the Lord has made.

---

Éste es el día, éste es el día
que el Señor creó,
que el Señor creó;
me alegraré,
me alegraré alabándole,
alabándole.
Éste es el día que el Señor creó;
me alegraré alabándole.
Éste es el día,
éste es el día que el Señor creó.

Source: Santo, Santo, Santo: cantos para el pueblo de Dios = Holy, Holy, Holy: songs for the people of God #379

Paraphraser (st. 1): Les Garrett

Rv Les Garrett New Zealand/Australia. Born at Matamata, New Zealand, he graduated from New Life Word of Faith Bible School at Tuaranga, NZ. He married wife, Marjorie (last name not found), and they had three children: Julie, Joy, and Mark. He moved to Western Australia and became a minister at Christian Family Center, Maddington, Perth, Australia. He also evangelized around the world, preaching at various places in Ireland, India, South Africa, and SE Asia. He traveled often, speaking at churches and various conventions, typically Baptist. For 10 years he lectured at Hebron Bible College, Perth, Australia. He was an author, writing on Bible translation, and published a songbook: ‘Scripture in Song’ (1967). Another, ‘Sound of Loving Wa… Go to person page >

Notes

Scripture References:
st.1 = Ps. 118:24
st.2 = Matt. 28:1-7
st.3 = Acts 2:1-4, Rev. 1:10

With its first stanza based on Psalms 118:24. “This Is the Day” celebrates God’s mighty acts of redemption (originally referring to the Passover before the Exodus), hailing “the day” as a special day of the Lord. Stanzas 2 and 3 refer to other special celebrations of God’s acts – Easter and Pentecost – leading to the implication of Sunday as a special day for worship. Other popular versions of this hymn use “I will rejoice,” even though the biblical text is clearly in the plural “we.”

Stanza 1, paraphrased by Leslie Norman Garret (b. Matamata, North Island, New Zealand, 1943), was first published in his collection Scripture in Song (vol. 1, 1967). Les Garret became a pastor after graduating from the Word of Faith Bible School. Currently he ministers at the Christian Family Center in Maddington (Perth), Australia. He is also a lecturer at Hebron Bible College and has traveled throughout the world speaking at conventions and churches. Garret promotes the singing of Scripture choruses in books such as Scripture in Song.

The anonymous second and third stanzas grew out of the oral tradition surrounding Scripture-chorus singing. In the continuing spirit of oral tradition, many groups have written other stanzas, such as

These are our friends,
that the Lord has made;
we will rejoice
and be glad with them.

Liturgical Use:
Praise occasions.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune

THIS IS THE DAY (Fijian)

THIS IS THE DAY is presumably a folk tune from Fiji, arranged by Les Garret for use with stanza 1. Antiphonal performance between two parts of the congregation works well. Rather than give verbal instructions, a song leader can direct simply by signaling to each group when they are to sing. For exam…

Go to tune page >


Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 39 of 39)

The Covenant Hymnal #841

African American Heritage Hymnal #108

Baptist Hymnal 1991 #359

Baptist Hymnal 2008 #571

Chalice Hymnal #286

Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #194

Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #676

Complete Mission Praise #691

Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #194

Lead Me, Guide Me (2nd ed.) #305

Lift Every Voice and Sing II #219

Psalms for All Seasons #118K

Text InfoTune InfoAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #241

Rejoice Hymns #622

Sing 'N' Praise Hymnal Vol. 2 #94

Sing Joyfully #84

Singing the Faith #152

Songs for Life #3

The A.M.E. Zion Hymnal #42

TextPage Scan

The Book of Praise #78

The Celebration Hymnal #209

The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration #590

The New Century Hymnal #84

Audio

The United Methodist Hymnal #657

The Worshiping Church #801

This Far By Faith #262

Text

Total Praise #105

Voices United #412

Audio

With Heart and Voice #48

Worship and Rejoice #652

Worship the Lord #9

Text

Santo, Santo, Santo #379

Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #S.28

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #891

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #759

Church Family Worship #319

Sing and Rejoice! #118

Praises We Sing (2nd ed.) #25

Hymns for a Pilgrim People #277

Include 3 pre-1979 instances
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