Praise for the LORD's Grace to His People

Psalms 100:1-5 

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!

2 Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.

3 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.

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

5 For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.

Such a short psalm, but a long enduring message of God’s character and faithfulness!  People from all countries are invited and called to loudly thank Him with joyful hearts.  We should not be soft-spoken in our praise, either; we should be heard by many far and wide.  Our resulting worship needs to be backed by singing His praises also, for all the psalms which point to God are songs of the heart, mind, and soul sung sincerely to honor and praise God while confessing our shortcomings and sin.  Therefore the Lord through the psalmist tells us to serve our God gladly in our approach to Him as we draw near (James 4:8) in such vocal worship of melodic words in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9).  As we worship, we know it is based on His word which reveals who God is as our sovereign King, knowing and acknowledging that He created us for His glory.  We do not fashion ourselves to live as we desire, but as we were made to do (Ephesians 2:10) for Himself and according to that word of His desires.  As His sheep (John 10:28-30), we need Him to lead and guide us for His name’s sake, admitting that we are lost without His guidance and watchcare over us.  Because we are aware of His care, we honor our Lord with thanksgiving in our hearts and minds to praise Him together as His called people.  Together we thank and bless His great name for who He is.  Why?  Because He is good and we are not apart from grace.  Because His mercy to atone for our sin is never ending, as eternal in the heavens as He is who bought us at such a price of His own and only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.  Because that truth from His word of the everlasting gospel from the beginning of man’s fall in Genesis to the consummation of redemption in Revelation endures to all generations.  The fullness of that work was not completely evident to the psalmist, but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:5, Colossians 1:26, 2 Timothy 1:10).  That saving mercy is unending, and therefore the author of our salvation is ever-worthy of our praise.  This is our psalm, our joyful song of the heart of thanksgiving for God’s grace.  Let us sing along together in Christ, our great God and Savior!