This is the day

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24.

Leslie “Les” Norman Garrett, arranged the song This is the Day, which first appeared as No. 40 in Scripture in Song, Volume 1 (Brisbane, 1967). The words are simply a verse from Psalm 118, and the tune is an arrangement of a Fiji folk tune.

Leslie Garrett was born July 15, 1943, in Matamata, New Zealand, the son of Rainsford Henry James Garrett and Marian Walters. Les graduated from Faith Bible School in Tuaranga. He moved to Australia in 1967. He was a traveling evangelist, then served as a minister at the Christian Family Centre in Maddington, Australia. In addition to pastoring in Australia, he has preached in North America, Ireland, India, South Africa, and southeast Asia. Garrett died December 25 (or 26), 2017 in Western Australia, Australia, and is buried at the Fremantle Cemetery in Palmyra, Melville City, Western Australia, Australia.

In The Complete Book of Hymns, William J. and Ardythe Petersen say there are several reasons Garrett does not take much credit for the song.

“…the words are taken mostly from Psalm 118:24; as for the tune, it is derived from a folk melody of the Fiji Islands. Then there’s a third reason: In Les’s words, ‘I have very little musical ability and do not play an instrument; therefore, I can only believe that it was a gift of God.’” (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006, p. 85)

Some has advised that “Part of the charm of the song is the possibility of singing it antiphonally or with two groups singing in alternation.” In singing, many additions have been made to the text, such as “This is the day when the Spirit came” and “This is the day that he rose again.”

Garrett also compiled the book Which Bible Can We Trust? (Gosnells: Christian Centre Press, 1982).