Psalm 100

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

There are four commands in this rousing call to worship. The first is addressed to everyone and everything, to “all the earth”. It is simply to make a joyful noise, to raise a shout, even one accompanied by the blast of a ram’s horn. Volume seems to be okay here, and it is not even necessarily a musical sound, just a loud celebratory shout, something that you might hear at an athletic event or from an ancient battlefield. The summons is not only for the people of Israel, but the whole of the earth, a call for all peoples to rightfully worship YHWH. The second command is to serve with gladness. This is the common word for service, so it could simply mean placing oneself in the position of servant before YHWH, obeying his commands as your master. However, in this context it may also refer to the service of worship, subjecting yourself to the discipline of gathering with other believers to affirm your belief and pledge again your love and faithfulness. This serving is to be done with gladness, willingly and joyfully. The third command is to come into YHWH’s presence with singing, the first musical note of the psalm. According to the superscription, this is a Psalm of Thanksgiving, appropriate for a worship gathering. Indeed this psalm has been known as the puritan anthem, the Old Hundredth. For centuries it has been used to summon the church to worship. In the original context, the presence of God was the temple. Worshipers gathered around the temple complex and sang together this psalm and others. Noise, gladness, singing -- these are all modern expressions of worship as well. Critics may rightly take issue with what may appear to be a lack of reverence in modern worship, but modern worship does get this part right -- noise, gladness, and singing are pretty accurate descriptions of what happens in modern worship. There is a place for jubilant worship in the church. In the broader culture, a similar experience may be found at an athletic event or rock concert. Both of those experiences are worship services in the broadest sense -- people gathering to experience something that they love and express their joy in it. The difference of course is that those things are not worthy of our worship, even though we take pleasure in them. The Westminster catechism famously says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That seems to be the heart of this psalm. 

3 Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; [and not we ourselves] we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

The fourth command in this psalm is to know that YHWH is God. The other six imperatives in this psalm are physical (make noise, serve, come, enter, give thanks, and bless his name), but this one is mental/emotional. The Hebrew word for know implies more than mental awareness of something. It is the same word that is used for sexual intimacy between a husband and wife, a private, personal, soul to soul experience between two people requiring complete vulnerability. So in many cases, a better translation is the word experience. “Experience that YHWH is God!” Know this in the very deepest part of you. This experience of YHWH is rooted in our origin and identity. It is He who made us, and therefore, we are his. The Maker is the Owner. The Hebrew isn’t clear here, but the common sense observation is that we didn’t make ourselves. That would be impossible. But of course this is close to the view of evolution which suggests that we were somewhat self-assembled. The point is that we are not our own. We can’t just do what we want in the ultimate sense. We are bound by nature and nature’s God. Of course we can do whatever we want, but we can’t avoid the consequences, so we are not truly free. Too many people today have fallen for the lie that we can make ourselves. We can be anything we want to be. This has gone so far as denying the reality of gender and complementarity of the sexes. But for most people it is simply our sinful nature to try to live our lives outside the framework of who we were made to be, unique creations of God, loved and cared for by Him. We are sheep, a frequent metaphor in the Old Testament. The 23rd Psalm comes to mind here as it elaborates on what it means to have a good shepherd -- provision, rest, refreshment, guidance, protection, presence -- all ours when we relinquish control to the shepherd. Sheep are not that bright and they are prone to wander, so they’re not a bad metaphor for human beings. While we have limitations as humans/sheep, we can still have pretty good lives if we will stick together and trust the shepherd. Worship is the gathering of the flock, a New Testament metaphor for the church as well (Hebrews 13:20). So when we gather to make noise to the LORD, it is also to assemble as the sheep of his pasture -- feeding, resting, and being refreshed -- secure in our origin, identity and purpose. 

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Having centered the psalm on knowing and experiencing YHWH as shepherd, the psalmist returns to the commands to worship. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” is a reference to the temple precincts. There were separate areas for priests, men, women (and gentiles), but all were invited to come. The attitude in approaching the LORD is to be that of thanksgiving and praise, recounting the blessings of God and remembering who He is. Entering, giving thanks, and praising are all actions that we must choose. We must make the move toward God. This is where human free will comes in. Yes God made us, we are his, and we are sheep, but we still have a will and a choice in how we will live. The appeal to draw near to God and worship is based on the reality of God’s character. He is good and his faithful love is unending, his trustworthiness has been experienced generation after generation. This statement of fact is true in every circumstance. There are some days where worship comes easy, when God’s goodness, love and faithfulness are obvious. There are others when circumstance makes it easier to question his goodness, love and faithfulness. It is particularly during those seasons that it is all the more important to enter his gates and worship with the flock. When we feel alone it is tempting to think that we actually are alone, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. That is precisely when we need to gather with the flock and bless the name of the shepherd. “The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” Choose to enter his presence every day. Walk and talk with your shepherd. He is good. His love is steadfast. He is faithful. If you have any doubts about that, just look at the cross.