Category: Psalm 100: A Psalm of Thanksgiving

⁵  For the LORD is good.
                  His unfailing love continues forever,
                  and his faithfulness continues to each generation. (Psalm 100.5)

“Verse 5. For the Lord is good. This sums up his character and contains a mass of reasons for praise. He is good, gracious, kind, bountiful, loving; yea, God is love. He who does not praise the good is not good himself. The kind of praise inculcated in the Psalm, viz., that of joy and gladness, is most fitly urged upon us by an argument from the goodness of God… Everlasting mercy is a glorious theme for sacred song. And his truth endureth to all generations. No fickle being is he, promising and forgetting. He has entered into covenant with his people, and he will never revoke it, nor alter the thing that has gone out of his lips. As our fathers found him faithful, so will our sons, and their seed for ever. A changeable God would be a terror to the righteous, they would have no sure anchorage, and amid a changing world they would be driven to and fro in perpetual fear of shipwreck… Our heart leaps for joy as we bow before One who has never broken his word or changed his purpose… Resting on his sure word, we feel that joy which is here commanded, and in the strength of it we come into his presence even now, and speak good of his name.” (C. H. Spurgeon)

Let’s pray: Lord, you are good. Your unfailing love continues forever. Your faithfulness continues in each generation. Thank you for who You are and revealing Yourself to us! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing: “Thank You Song” (UPPERROOM). Click here.

-JP

⁴  Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
                  go into his courts with praise.
                  Give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100.4)

“There is little wonder that the Old Hundredth has stirred the hearts of so many of God’s people. We will be stirred, as well, if we can claim its heritage personally… Martin Luther wrote: ‘This Psalm is a prophecy concerning Christ. It calls upon all to rejoice, to triumph, and to give thanks; to enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts and sanctuary with praise; because by the gospel and the preaching of the remission of sins, that kingdom of Christ is established and strengthened, which shall remain and stand forever.’

“How do we enter the gates of God’s blessing? We enter through the door opened for us by Christ and his atoning death. The God of Psalm 100 becomes our God, and we rejoice to be his people, through the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. In Psalm 100, Christ calls us to himself. ‘I am the door of the sheep,’ Jesus asserts. ‘If anyone enters by me, he will be saved’ (John 10:7–9). Finally, he declares: ‘I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand’ (v. 28). What can we say to that? We can say, ‘Thank you!,’ entering his gates with a praise of blessing and rejoicing that the Lord is good, his steadfast love enduring forever and his faithfulness to all generations.” (R. Phillips, Psalms 73-106)

Let’s pray: Father in heaven, thank you for sending Jesus to bring us into salvation. We confess our sins and receive forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice. We receive your eternal life. Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing: “There Is a Redeemer (Love Has Won” (Keith Green/Darlene Zschech). Click here.

-JP

³  Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
                  He made us, and we are his.
                  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100.3)

“The correct praise of God in this psalm, as truly in all of Holy Scripture, is inseparable from our relationship to Him in covenant. He is ‘our God,’ as distinct from simply ‘God.’ And we are ‘His people,’ as distinct from just a bunch of folks. This mutual belonging to one another is the whole business of the covenant. ‘I will be their God, and they shall be My people,’ the Lord says through Jeremiah (31:33)… This, one may take it, is the source of the joy in our psalm. This ‘belonging,’ nonetheless, our mutual relationship to God, is not a purely individual thing… In the present psalm… the accent seems rather to fall on the human community created by God’s covenant; we speak of ourselves as ‘the sheep of His pasture.’ It is precisely the pasture that we belong to; it is the flock that we are members of. Which is to say that the mystery of Holy Church is ever at the heart of our prayer, no matter how individual the setting or intimate the sentiments.” (P. Reardon, Christ in the Psalms)

Let’s pray: Lord, you are God! You made us and we are yours. In Christ, we are born again as children in the family of God. Thank you for being our Good Shepherd. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing: “Thank You” (Maverick City). Click here.

Psalm 100
A psalm of thanksgiving.
¹      Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth!
²            Worship the LORD with gladness.
                  Come before him, singing with joy. (NLT)

“Verse 1. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. This is a repetition of Ps 98:4. The original word signifies a glad shout, such as loyal subjects give when their king appears among them. Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people; a cheerful spirit is in keeping with his nature, his acts, and the gratitude which we should cherish for his mercies.” (C. H. Spurgeon)

“Unfortunately, most of our English translations render that first word ‘worship.’ More literally it is ‘serve.’ No one should get the impression that it is something done only at the times of public (or private) worship. The believer serves the Lord with his whole life as we are reminded in Romans 12:1. The believer offers his whole self as a living sacrifice to the Lord.” (B. Tackmier)

Let’s pray: Lord, we shout for joy! You are worthy of all the world’s praise! May we serve you with the joy of salvation in our hearts. May we reflect your joy and gladness in all we do today. Thank you for every blessing and every good gift. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing: “By the Grace of God” (Gas Street Church). Click here.

-JP

Let’s read aloud together the following passage, confession and prayer:

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
           His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
           His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
           His love endures forever.
⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
           His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
           His love endures forever.
[…]
²³ He remembered us in our low estate
           His love endures forever.
²⁴ and freed us from our enemies.
           His love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every creature.
           His love endures forever.
²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
           His love endures forever. (Psalm 136 NIV)

¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. (2 Corinthians 9.11-12)

Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours for ever. Amen. (Thanksgivings for the Mission of the Church, Book of Common Prayer 2019)

Let’s sing: “Let There Be Wonder” (M. Redman). Click here.

-JP