Psalm 100 (NIV)
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.
1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Today’s psalm is a great reminder to worship the Lord for all that He is and does. As the psalmist writes in other psalms, life is hard, and the trials of this life attack us at every turn.
The psalmist leads us to set aside our trials and tribulations, our cares and concerns, and just worship the Lord. Worship does not take away our problems and hurt, but it does put them in their proper perspective.
The psalmist does not limit worship to the Hebrew people, but to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, regardless of race or ethnicity.
It’s great to know that we can approach the God of the universe with a cheerful heart, and participate in His worship using our voices to praise Him by singing. It does not matter how well or how poorly we sing. Music is an expression of the heart, and we can use it to offer our praise to God.
The psalmist reminds us that the Lord is our shepherd and cares for us (v. 3). He made us, He loves us, and guards us, and provides for us.
The Lord invites us into His presence as we praise and worship Him (v. 4). His invitation is to celebrate with Him, to be part of His community.
The psalmist ends by recognizing God’s moral character (v. 5). God is indeed good, faithful, and unchanging, remaining the same throughout all generations.
May we rest in His love and steadfastness. And may we respond with praise and worship back to Him, not out of duty, but out of the overflowing abundance of our hearts.
Here’s a link to an old hymn based on Psalm 100 (combined with the Doxology) to encourage your worship today:
All People That On Earth Do Dwell (Old One Hundredth)
Blessings,
~kevin
kevin lotz 