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.
You can play, download, or read the transcript of this Take Note Podcast below.
Download the With Gladness mp3
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