Psalm 100

Psalm 100

1. Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
2. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath 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 unto him, and bless his name.
5. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalter Version of Psalm 100 for English Singing in Long Meter

Word arrangement of 1561 by Scotsman William Kethe, included in English psalters beginning 1562. He was exiled to the continent by Bloody Mary.

Long meter tune of 1551 by Louis Bourgeois from the Geneva Psalter, appropriately named “Old Hundredth.”

1. All people that on earth do dwell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.  Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell, Come ye before him and rejoice.
2. O enter then his gates with praise, Approach with joy his courts unto: Praise, laud, and bless his name always, For it is seemly so to do.
3. Know that the Lord is God indeed; Without our aid he did us make: We are his flock, he doth us feed, And for his sheep he doth us take.
4. For why? the Lord our God is good, His mercy is for ever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood, And shall from age to age endure.

Introduction:

1. Let us rise and read this precious psalm in unison, and then let us remain standing to sing it unto the LORD.
2. We just passed our nation’s Thanksgiving Day, which ought to provoke our continued thoughts on worship.

Make a joyful noise

1. Of the three English verb moods – indicative (declaring a fact), imperative (stating a command), and subjunctive (expressing a desire) – here is the imperative. God inspired a command for our worship.
2. We have a manual, a handbook, inspired by God and written by holy men to define proper worship.
3. It is not enough to be joyful; we are to make joyful noise, which is playing and singing of joyful words and tunes. Neither Miriam nor David danced in worship to funeral dirges or somber minors.
4. Joy is not an option, suggestion, or circumstance of worship, but a command (Phil 4:4; I Thess 5:16).
5. Joy is that godly trait of the righteous, in which they have a lively sense of pleasure or satisfaction, are elated with gladness, and are delighted. They find joy in the LORD Himself, in their salvation, in His Word and church, and in His many providential mercies and kindnesses.
6. You do not have to be told to make a joyful noise when you win the lottery (God forbid) or your favorite football team wins, so what is the difficulty about worshipping the blessed Lord of hosts!
7. The psalmist often calls for joyful noise in God’s worship (Ps 5:11; 35:9; 63:5; 66:1; 81:1; 95:1-2; 98:4,6,8; 149:2,5; Is 49:13; 61:10).
8. Of course, this noise under the New Testament does not include public playing, but rather singing.

unto the LORD,

1. We are not worshipping just any being. We are worshipping the LORD Jehovah – the I AM THAT I AM. Remember that the fully capitalized LORD in the King James Version is how our translators designated the Hebrew tetragrammaton YHVH, which stands for I AM THAT I AM (Ex 3:14; 6:3).
2. We worship the living and true God, the LORD Jehovah, the most high over all the earth (Ps 83:18).
3. We are not commanded to make a joyful noise about the LORD. We are to do it unto the LORD!
4. President Bush visited the troops in Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. They shouted and hollered unto him!
5. Each soldier fervently desired to personally bless and honor his Commander in Chief. Do you?
6. How fervent, excited, glorious, and loud is your noise unto Him? Is it worthy of Him? Is it great?
7. Under the New Testament, we know that we are worshipping the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

all ye lands.

1. Here is indication of Gentile saints, who would also worship the LORD Jehovah (Romans 15:8-12).
2. The heavens declare the glory of Jehovah God in every speech to the ends of the earth (Ps 19:1-6).

Serve the LORD

1. We serve someone when we wait on him and do whatever we can to please and honor him.
2. The word “serve” puts us in our proper place; we are servants of the Most High. Let us praise Him!
3. Here it includes our worship, which is a principal part of serving our blessed Creator God.
4. We were created for His glory and pleasure, and we should fulfill it, as do the holy angels.

with gladness:

1. God severely required gladness for the abundance of all things in His service (Deut 28:47-48).
2. If coming to His assemblies or worshipping Him is a burden or drudgery to you, look out, fool!
3. Consider the great fear that even Nehemiah had when he was said before his king (Neh 2:1-2).

come before his presence

1. While the blessed God is omnipresent (Ps 139:7), yet this psalm is directed to our public worship.
2. The Old Covenant had visible demonstrations of His presence, but He is open to us (Heb 10:19-22)!
3. Our assemblies of the New Testament have the presence of the LORD more than any assembly.
4. And these assemblies are not to be forsaken, though they often are by carnally minded belly worshippers (Heb 10:25).
5. The local churches of Jesus Christ have Him walking among them (Revelation 1:12-13,20; 2:1).
6. We are the house of God, where He dwells by His Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22; I Timothy 3:15).

with singing.

1. The blessed God created singing, and He wants us to do it unto Him (Psalm 47:6; 96:1-2).
2. Singing is what the New Testament specifically prescribes for worship (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).
3. The New Testament does not list playing, so we sing a capella, knowing this is God’s due order.
4. Jesus sang with His apostles, which ought to encourage us (Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26; Heb 2:12).
5. When joyful, we are to sing psalms (James 5:13). We are to sing with understanding (I Cor 14:15).
6. There are two extremes we must avoid – singing is a necessary evil and turning it into a concert!
7. Singing articulates intelligent words with a melodic sound. It is not humming, chanting, or rapping!

Know ye that the LORD he is God:

1. We are not confused about our God’s identity – His name is the LORD Jehovah, I AM THAT I AM.
2. Our religion is one based in knowledge, not feelings, tradition, sentiment, or mysticism. Know ye!
3. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and all that is within them. There is no other God.
4. We know Allah of the Muslims is the moon god of the pagan Arabians plagiarized by Mohammed.
5. We know Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva of the Hindus are mere hallucinations of a very dark nation.
6. We are the true witnesses of Jehovah, for we worship Jehovah in the flesh, the Mighty God, Jesus!
7. Our great LORD Jehovah looked for other gods, but He could not find any (Isaiah 45:5-6; 46:9).
8. We know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Blessed and Only Potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords.
9. We know that heaven is filled with the praises of angels and men worshipping God and the Lamb.

it is he that hath made us,

1. We are creatures, therefore we ought to serve and worship Him as the mere vessels of the Potter.
2. We reject any concept of evolution, in part or in whole, as the blasphemous idiocy of God-haters.
3. Undermine the Creator-creature relationship we have, and you destroy the right relationship to God.
4. If He has created us, then He is our Master in every sense of the word. We should give him our all.
5. We know we were made for His glory and pleasure (Prov 16:4; Rev 4:11).
6. We have a personal Creator: your personality and soul were created by an infinite, personal Creator.

and not we ourselves;

1. There is no thing as a self-made man: all men were made by Him and for Him (Ro 11:36; I Cor 4:7).
2. You were not consulted even in the issue of your existence, let alone the details of that existence!
3. Whatever you have accomplished in your life is entirely by His sovereign blessing (Eccl 9:11).
4. If we are worshippers, it is because He has made us so, for there is no worship in our natural hearts.

we are his people,

1. If the great sovereign Potter created us for Himself, then we are His by simple extension (Rom 9:20).
2. But He has also redeemed us from sin, hell, and condemnation, so we are His by adoption. Glory!
3. God redeemed Israel out of Egypt and made them His people above all others (De 7:6-8; Amos 3:2).
4. But the blessed God sent Jesus, not Moses, to save us from the doom of our own sins (Matt 1:21).
5. There is a family made up of saints in heaven and earth into which you were adopted (Eph 3:14-15).
6. As His peculiar, special and personal, people, we were chosen to praise Him (Titus 2:14; I Pet 2:9).

and the sheep of his pasture.

1. Though neither noble nor mighty, sheep are nonetheless a fitting metaphor for an agrarian society.
2. Our helpless dependence on our Creator Shepherd is aptly implied by this beautiful metaphor.
3. We are members of the family of God and the kingdom of heaven by sovereign mercy and choice.
4. We are members of the general assembly, made up of innumerable men and angels (Heb 12:22-24).
5. But we live on this side of the great mystery of godliness – Jesus is our Great Shepherd (I Tim 3:16).
6. We know He gave His life for the sheep; we know He will not lose one of them (John 6:39; 10:11).

Enter into his gates

1. The psalmist jumps to the place of worship under the Old Covenant, the temple of God with gates.
2. He does not bring His assemblies to us: we enter His gates by the choice to assemble with Him.
3. The importance of this phrase and that of courts is to point us to his public worship in the church.
4. There are many who disdain churches, but you cannot worship privately and please the Lord fully.
5. God ordained public worship under both covenants; it is our holy duty to not forsake it (Heb 10:25).
6. When your heart is right, you would rather be a doorkeeper here than be anywhere else (Ps 84:10).

with thanksgiving,

1. Do not even think about worshipping the blessed God without thanksgiving (Ps 50:14; 69:30; 95:2; 107:22; 116:17; 147:7).
2. Do not even think about praying to the blessed God without thanksgiving (Phil 4:6-7).
3. We are to give thanks in everything, and this is plainly said to be God’s will for us (I Thess 5:17).
4. This is not merely being thankful – this is giving thanks, which requires the use of your mouth.
5. We offer sacrifices, the calves of our lips, by giving thanks to His name (Hosea 14:2; Heb 13:15).
6. God rewards thanksgiving, for it is pleasant worship that pleases Him (Ps 50:14-15).

and into his courts

1. There were literal courts in the temple of God, and it is to these that the psalmist refers.
2. Assemblies are not just “going to church” or “doing the Sunday thing.” We enter into His house.
3. This is not just a compartmentalized part of our lives; this is our life: the public worship of God.

with praise:

1. Praise. To tell, proclaim, or commend the worth, excellence, or merits of; to express warm approbation of, speak highly of; laud, extol.
2. It is comely, beautiful, to bring praise to the LORD. The emphasis on preparation should be more here than on our physical appearance by a long shot (Ps 33:1; 135:3; 147:1).

be thankful unto him,

1. Here again is an imperative command to be thankful unto Him, which is more than mere feelings.
2. It is our blessed duty and high pleasure to be thankful to the LORD Jehovah our God.

and bless his name.

1. Does not your soul cry out within you, as it did in David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul” (Ps 103:1)?
2. Bless. To call holy; to extol, praise, or adore (God) as holy, worthy of reverence. esp. with an added notion of thanksgiving or acknowledgement of gracious beneficence or goodness: To praise or extol with grateful heart; ‘to glorify for benefits received’.
3. Can you not think of many things for which you could bless the Lord?
4. Do you love the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? If not, what is wrong with you? If yes, praise it now!

For the LORD is good;

1. Why should you make a joyful noise unto the LORD, serve Him with gladness, come before Him with singing, enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him, and bless His name? The first answer is … for the LORD is good!
2. He has been so incredibly good to us; your great desire should be to praise Him (Ps 107:8,15,21,31).
3. Jesus is the good God, and there is no one or no thing else that is truly good (Matt 19:17).
4. Any goodness in your life is straight from your Heavenly Father (Psalm 4:6-8; James 1:17).
5. When Moses saw the glory of God by request, He saw that He was abundant in goodness (Ex 34:6).

his mercy is everlasting;

1. Why should you make a joyful noise unto the LORD, serve Him with gladness, come before Him with singing, enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him, and bless His name? The second answer is … because his mercy is everlasting!
2. Jehoshaphat sang in battle, “Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth forever” (II Chron 20:21-25)!
3. We have a precious psalm that mentions the everlasting mercy of the Lord in every verse (Ps 136).
4. If the mercy of God ends, what will become of you? When do you beg for mercy and get a stone?
5. When Moses saw God’s glory, He saw He was merciful and gracious, longsuffering, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (Ex 34:6).
6. The LORD Jehovah keeps His covenant and mercy to a thousand generations (Deut 7:9).

and his truth endureth to all generations.

1. Why should you make a joyful noise unto the LORD, serve Him with gladness, come before Him with singing, enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with praise, be thankful unto Him, and bless His name? The third answer is … because his truth endureth to all generations.
2. He promised eternal life before the world began, and we live by His truth (Titus 1:2; Heb 6:17-20).
3. Every word of God is pure: you can count on every single one of them (Pr 8:8; 30:5; John 10:35).
4. When Moses saw the glory of God by request, He saw that He was abundant in truth (Ex 34:6).
5. You have as much ability to alter day and night as you do to overthrow God’s truth (Jer 33:20-21).

Conclusion:

1. The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the glorious goodness, mercy, and truth of God (Micah 7:14-20).
2. The Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled the promises and truth promised by God for Gentile singing (Rom 15:8-9).
3. Let us rise and read this precious psalm in unison, and then let us remain standing to sing it unto the LORD.