Read Psalm 100
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.
Go Deeper
Psalm 100 serves as a powerful reminder of the fact that the Lord reigns as King and we are His people. Through no effort or accomplishments of our own doing, the Lord has invited us into His eternal presence. He’s worthy of our praise and worship, songs of joy, and eternal gratitude. When we’re faithless, His faithfulness endures through all generations.
Yet, when we’re honest with ourselves, we forget about this amazing, undeserving invitation we’ve received. We don’t shout for joy and our hearts are often filled with complaint and comparison, rather than gladness, gratitude, and joy. Many Sundays, we find ourselves going through the motions as we sing songs, pray, and listen to a sermon.
Would someone ever accuse you of “shouting for joy to the Lord”? What does it look like to live a life that shouts out in joy to the Lord? The world, and even the church, is not marked by this type of “joy-shouting” life. In moments of authentic reflection, you might admit your life looks like the lives of those in the rest of the world. We’re often no different than our non-believing friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors.
We’ve been invited into the courts of the living God. The psalmist wrote this psalm around three thousand years ago. The Son died on the cross for our sins two thousand years ago. But the Father’s love endures forever, and His faithfulness continues for generation after generation after generation (and so on!).
Take a moment to reread this short psalm. It’s only five verses—certainly you can read it or listen to it again. Be reminded of His enduring, never-ending, faithful love for you. Take a moment to thank Him for it. And don’t be afraid to shout for joy to Him in worship and in the way you live your life today. (Just don’t wake up your roommates or any sleeping family members!)
Questions
- How would your closest friends describe your relationship with the Lord? Would they say it’s marked by thanksgiving and praise?
- Write down three reasons why you are thankful to the Lord. You can even make this a daily practice as you read The Bible Reading Plan.
- The psalmist reminds us this invitation is for all the earth. Take a moment and pray for the people of another country, that they would know the Lord.
Watch This
Sometime today or in the next week, check out the three-part series from Harris Creek called “The Shepherd in the Psalm”. This series is a deep-dive on Psalm 23, where you can be reminded of the relationship between The Lord (The Good Shepherd) and His sheep (His people).
2 responses to “Psalm 100”
Shout triumphantly to the Lord;
serve the Lord with gladness;
Come to him with joyful songs;
acknowledge the Lord is God;
enter his presence with thanksgiving and praise;
give thanks to him and bless his name!
Why? 5: “For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.
The word joy is in the first verse too. I have a hard time with joy these days. BUT GOD is reminding me that my joy is not what is on the outside but what is on the inside. He is my joy and no one or no thing can take that away. I have to hold on to His presences to and walk with Him, read His word, talk to Him, for that joy to bubble up so that I can triumphantly shout to the Lord.
God I want to serve You with gladness, come to You singing joyful songs. Help me to enter Your presence with thanksgiving and praise, to thank You and bless Your name. I am so grateful that Your love endures forever and that You are so faithful to me, to my children, and to their children and more. God help me to be overflowing with joy and to get rid of the bitterness and anger that rolls in every so often. Show me how to give those emotions to You and not let them leak out to my family. I want more of You. God thank You that I can be a light in a dark place to those I work with. Help me with patience to be slow to speak and quick to forgive and love. Thank You for these minutes of this day that I all I do is a glory and honor to and for You in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!
Happy 100th day of reading through the book of Psalm. How fitting that it encompasses giving grateful praise to the Lord. How astonishing that through Christ alone we are his people, he is our shepherd and we are the sheep of his pasture. May our lives exhibit gratitude on a grand scale.