We spend some time in a well-known Psalm on this edition. It encourages believers to sing, serve, thank, praise, and bless the Lord. Because He is good.
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With Gladness
Psalm 100
- We're going to spend some time in a Psalm of praise today
- Talking about our God and the ways in which we can worship Him in the world
- It's a well-known Psalm
- One or more verses are quoted from its text in greeting cards or on wall-art
- You probably already know most of what it says
- Sometimes, it's the better-known scriptures that deserve a repeat
- A closer look
- A careful examination
- Because familiarity often means we fail to do that
- We think we understand, without taking time to understand
- I hope we can do that today in Psalm 100
- "With Gladness"
- Which is our theme
- There are only five verses to explore in Psalm 100
- And they are five short verses
- In fact, we're only looking at about 90 words total
- But I think there are enough details here to keep us occupied
- Particularly if we capture the spirit of the text, which is focused on praise and joy
- Let's read the entire Psalm first
- Then take a closer look at each verse…
Psalm 100
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
- Here are the themes we can take away after a quick reading
- Everyone who knows the Lord ought to be: singing, serving, knowing, thanking, praising, and blessing
- I think there's more, but we'll look at that as we continue
- The first verse in our text…
Psalm 100:1
1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
- All ye lands is all-encompassing
- It means the whole earth
- This is the kind of praise God is worthy of receiving
- From everyone He created, everywhere
- That we should sing out joyfully to Him seems very little to ask
- He is responsible for us being here
- All good things, throughout all the earth, are a result of His favor
- To make a joyful noise is to cry out, to blow an alarm, to shout for joy
- It is a loud cry unto Jehovah
- The One who is our God
- The One who made all things
- We don't do this simply because we get the feeling we want to do it
- We must consider the facts of who He is
- The reality of His person and what that means
- And in embracing that reality, we discover He is worthy of a cry like this
- So, make a joyful noise!
- We most often do this with song
- That's where we're headed in the next verse…
Psalm 100:2
2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
- To serve the Lord means to be a bondmen, in bond service to
- To labor on behalf of
- To do service for
- And for anyone who has come to know God through His son Jesus, this is how we see ourselves
- His servants
- And we serve Him not out of duty (although we have a duty), and not out of obligation (although we have many obligations)
- But out of love and thankfulness and joy
- Or as it says here "with gladness"
- Our service in His work is a privilege
- There may be difficulty attached
- Hardships may come as a result
- Things will not be easy
- But they will be worth it - because He is worth it
- And while we're serving, we must sing
- Every moment, we are in His presence
- And He deserves to see our gladness through singing
- He deserves to hear our joy through singing
- To be thanked in song
- To be praised in song
- This is part of our joyful noise to Him
- Now, a little information about Him…
Psalm 100:3
3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- We have a little of the "why" in this verse
- While we have taken it upon ourselves to mention it in discussing the first two verses, here we have it
- He is our Creator
- He made us
- We could never have made ourselves
- Without His deliberate and direct intervention, we would not be here
- Of course, the One who made us is our owner
- We are "his people"
- Particularly those of us who believe in His son, Jesus
- He is our leader and the One who is over us
- We are described in a way that you'll often see in scriptures
- As sheep in God's pasture
- Sheep are reliant upon the Shepherd
- They are vulnerable and unprotected without Him
- And without His leading, they know not where to go
- This is one of the ways in which we can see ourselves
- And among the many reasons we should have for praising Him, this is one of them
- More singing in the next verse…
Psalm 100:4
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
- The gates of His temple should be entered with thanksgiving
- These are words of thanks, from a heart of thanks
- Both for what we've discussed about Him already, and much more
- His courtyard should be entered with songs of praise
- Because we are thankful to Him
- And because we bow down before Him as our King
- These are word pictures for entering a king's palace
- But for those of us who know Christ as Savior
- We know that the New Testament encourages us to come boldly before His throne
- And that He sent His Spirit to dwell within us
- Meaning, there is no building where we need to go to praise Him
- There is no physical gate or courtyard to enter
- This must be every day in His presence - which is anywhere we are
- Delivering thanksgiving
- Singing adoration and praise
- And bowing down, which is the idea of blessing Him
- Everywhere, all the time, no matter the location
- There are other "whys" in our final verse…
Psalm 100:5
5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
- God's goodness, mercy, and truth are highlighted here
- We know that He is good, in that He made us
- And in that He provides all good and perfect gifts
- One of them is His mercy
- That is withholding a punishment we deserve out of kindness
- He withholds that punishment - though we deserve it - forever
- Our sin never comes back to haunt us
- He has cast it as far away as the east is from the west
- And it doesn't matter which era you may have been born into
- His truth endures to every generation
- That is why we are reading a Psalm today, probably written around 1,000 BC, and identifying with it
- Truth stands the test of time
- It holds up to scrutiny
- And it has eminent usefulness in life
- Every day
- And in every way
- And in every era
- These are just a few of the reasons why
- We must serve the Lord with gladness
- And come before Him with singing