A
Psalm of Thanksgiving
Psalm
100
“Make
a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; Come
before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who
has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with
praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy
is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”
Today,
on Thanksgiving Day, we are going to jump ahead to Psalm 100. It is interesting
to note that this is the only Psalm that has the title “A Psalm of
Thanksgiving”. It is thought that David
is the writer of this Psalm even though we don’t have his name in the
title.
Some
believe that Psalm 100 is the doxology to the previous Psalms of 93 to 99 that
prophetically proclaim that Jehovah is King. If you take the time to read all
of these Psalms together, you will see a wonderful picture of the Lord coming
to judge the earth and setting up His kingdom.
Psalm
98:1-3 summarizes this beautifully: “Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He
has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the
victory. The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has
revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His
faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the
salvation of our God.” Then in
verses 8-9, it concludes with: “Let the rivers clap their hands; Let the
hills be joyful together before the LORD, For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.”
In
the Old Testament the common Hebrew could never go into the Holy of Holies,
where the Presence of Jehovah dwelt on the Mercy Seat over the Ark of the
Covenant. The Gentile was not even
allowed to go into the courtyard of the Tabernacle or Temple. But Calvary has changed all that for the
person, and any and everyone who will accept the perfect sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
“All
the earth”, that is
everyone can join together to make a “joyful noise or shout” to the
Lord! Because of our grateful hearts knowing our sins are forgiven we can “serve
the Lord with gladness”. We serve
and surrender our all to Him not because we are forced to do so, but because we
want to!
We
are so happy serving Him wherever He sends us that we can’t help but sing! Happy and fulfilled people are a singing
people! Our music is a reflection and
response to the true condition of our hearts and lives! We can’t help but sing when we sense His
presence in our midst!
The
only way to “know that the LORD, He is God”, is to have relationship
with His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus prayed this in John 17:3, “And this is
eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
You have sent.” In John 10, Jesus proclaims that He is the Great and Good
Shepherd Who laid down His life for the sheep. He is the gate, the only door,
through which we can enter to find “green pasture” and enjoy “abundant
life” forever! (John 10:9-11).
“We
are His people and the sheep of His pasture”!
What else can we
do but be thankful and praise Him with our worship in adoration and song. We bless Him because He has blessed us! No
matter what happens good or bad in our lives, He is always good, and His mercy
is everlasting! Sounds like the last
verse in Psalm 23, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever”!
You
will never have to worry about anything changing concerning God’s love, His
mercy, His faithfulness, His goodness, and His grace, because “His truth
endures to all generations”. God
doesn’t love anyone else more than He loves and cares for you today! So today, take time to worship and thank Him!
God
bless!
