“Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the Lord Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:1-5).
This psalm begins with a universal call to praise God. It gives us some insight into how we offer praise to Him and describes some of the reasons why He is worthy of such praise.
Let us notice some of the things this psalm tells us about how and why we are to praise the Lord.
Recognize the Universal Call to Praise the Lord
The call to praise God is for everyone. The psalmist invited “all the earth” (Psalm 100:1) to join in this effort to give glory and honor to the Lord. The reason why this is for everyone is because of the universal truths about God – who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. His greatness and goodness reaches all people throughout all time.
How can we offer praise to Him? The psalmist mentioned two ways:
- We can “serve” Him (Psalm 100:2) – We are to do this according to His will, not according to what we think we ought to do. Jesus made this point in the Sermon on the Mount: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
- We can worship Him (“singing” – Psalm 100:2) – Just as we are to serve the Lord according to His will, we are to worship Him in the same way. Jesus described this as worshipping “in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). This will also necessarily include us making time to worship rather than “forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some” (Hebrews 10:25). This idea of gathering for worship is also included in the psalm: “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4).
The psalmist also described the attitude we are to have when we offer praise to God:
- We are to worship “with gladness” (Psalm 100:2) – Paul described this attitude in relation to our giving – “not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). In the same way, all of our worship needs to be offered to God because we want to worship Him, not because we are forced to do so.
- We are to worship “with thanksgiving” (Psalm 100:4) – This is possible as we recognize the fact that all of our blessings are from Him. James wrote, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17). Everything good that we enjoy in this life is from God and He is worthy of praise because of it.
Again, this call to praise the Lord is for all of us. Everyone benefits from the greatness and goodness of God; therefore, everyone has been called to serve and worship Him.
Recognize Our Place before Him
The psalmist made a few points about our place before God (Psalm 100:3). We need to understand and appreciate this if we are going to offer to Him the praise that we ought.
- “Know that the Lord Himself is God” – There is no one like Him. He is the only true and living God (Jeremiah 10:10); therefore, only He is worthy of such praise and devotion. This is why, when the gospel was being spread among the Gentile nations, they “turned to God from idols” (1 Thessalonians 1:9) because they learned that “gods made with hands are no gods at all” (Acts 19:26).
- “It is He who has made us” – He is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). Because of this, He “is able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12) and we are each accountable to Him (2 Corinthians 5:10). Since He has made us, our purpose is rooted in Him – to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
- “We are His people” – Since He created us, we belong to Him. Because of this, He has the right to rule over us. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). Therefore, we are to “observe all that [He] commanded” (Matthew 28:20).
- “We are…the sheep of His pasture” – This means we are wholly dependent upon Him. Those who are lost and separated from Him are “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Yet in Him, we have found “the Shepherd and Guardian of [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25).
Recognize the Goodness of God
The psalmist concluded this short psalm with a few reminders about the goodness of God. If the Lord was a merciless tyrant, we might fear Him; but we would not praise or adore Him. Yet notice what the psalmist said is true about God:
- “The Lord is good” – This means He is wholly good. There is nothing corrupt in Him. John described Him in this way: “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” (Luke 18:19). He is the perfect standard of what is “good” because He is perfectly good.
- “His lovingkindness is everlasting” – The prophet said, “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). God continues to extend His mercy toward us today. The fact that this world is still standing is proof of this. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
- “His faithfulness to all generations” – Again, the prophet wrote, “Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). God has shown this in the past and will continue to do so in our generation and beyond. The firm foundation upon which we can build our lives is the fact that He “[does] not change” (Malachi 3:6). The Hebrew writer reminded us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). There is “no variation or shifting shadow” with Him (James 1:17).
Conclusion
The Lord is the great God who created the universe. He is also good, merciful, and faithful to us. Knowing this, let us serve Him with gladness and praise Him with thanksgiving. He is worthy of this.
