“Make…serve…come…know…enter…praise…bless…” (Ps 100:1-4). Sounds like we’ll be busy!
With our arrival at the lovely little Psalm 100, we’re now two-thirds of the way through the Psalter. It’s the only psalm titled “A Psalm of Thanksgiving.” And it certainly is! The pattern could belong in a children’s nursery. Twice over, the psalmist simply tells us what we should do and why we should do it. What should we do? “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing” (Ps 100:1-2). Be happy in His praises; be happy in His projects; be happy in His presence. Why should we do it? “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” (v 3). We should do it because He’s our God, because He’s our Creator, and because He’s our Shepherd. Then the pattern is repeated. What should we do? “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (v 4). We should feel thankful and say it. We should be joyful and say it! When Christians say, “Lord, we just don’t have the words to thank You,” I secretly wonder if they have heard of the Psalms! Why, the Bible is chock-full of wonderful words we can make our own. I’m getting old fast, but one goal is to capture every expression of God’s goodness and grace and glory in the Bible, and express it as my own to the Lord. I think we can call it Permitted Praising Plagiarism! Why should we do it? “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations” (v 5). What wonderful motives! Isn’t the Lord good? And aren’t you glad the mercy you need never wears out or needs to be replaced? And what God has said will always be the truth!