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).
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2 thoughts on “Psalm 100”
I’ve learned that gratitude & thanksgiving is a choice that I must train my heart to develop into a habit. My default will be to slide into negativity, grumbling and being contentious. When I acknowledge that our faithful God made us and went to radical lengths to invite us into an eternal relationship with Him, I’m undone, humbled and deeply grateful. Today I’m letting this sink in—I am His, and He is mine!
https://youtu.be/S1R0x34o-d0