(This is the manuscript for a sermon preached on November 18, 2018 by Daniel Howell)
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"(1) A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! (2) Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (3) Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (4) Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (5) For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." (Psalm 100:1-5 ESV)
It’s the week of Thanksgiving again. This makes ten consecutive “thanksgiving sermons” that I’ve prepared to preach, since I always try to take on that theme on this particular week of the year. Thankfully (pun intended), there is no shortage of material in the Bible when it comes to the subject of giving thanks, or gratitude (or “grace” in the KJV). Thanksgiving is found nearly 40 times in the Bible. The word thank is found in various forms (e.g. thanks) over 130 times in the Bible. A close relative, the word praise, is found even more times—over 270 times throughout Scripture. As I said, there’s no shortage of potential material on this subject.
Instead of spending our time hopping around to various places in the Bible, this morning I want to concentrate on one passage—one psalm. In fact, the ancient title for the psalm is, “A Psalm for Giving Thanks.” That certainly fits our purposes this morning. So go ahead and turn to Psalm 100, which will serve as our text this morning.
Some call this psalm the “old hundred.” It’s short, but powerfully written. It is part of “Book Four” of the psalms, consisting of Psalms 90-106. These psalms deal with the greatness of God, as well as repeated calls to worship Him because of his greatness. And Psalm 100 is sort of a miniature version of this grouping of psalms. It contains the call to praise and worship God, as well as the cause for doing so. Some commentators suggest that verses 1-3 were sung by travelers on their way to the temple, and verses 4-5 were sung while in the temple.
There’s something in ancient Hebrew poetry called parallelism. It’s a way of structuring phrases so that they repeat the same idea using different phrases. Our psalm does this on a grander scale. Usually the parallel ideas are in lines right beside each other. In this case, there are two ideas expressed in different sections of the psalm. So that’s how we are going to approach our text this morning. This means we will skip around a little, but since the psalm is only five verses that shouldn’t be much of an issue.
1) A CALL to Give Thanks (v. 1-2, 4)
Look at what the psalmist calls us to do:
“Make a joyful noise” (v. 1)—This phrase serves as the title of our lesson. Lets momentarily set aside the jokes we sometimes make about people who don’t think they can sing making a “joyful noise” and get to the truth of the matter. The Hebrew here literally means to “shout,” or practically speaking, to “sing loudly.” A “joyful noise” is a passionate, heart-felt sound. It’s singing done with gusto! It’s not the near silent murmuring of words. It’s a proclamation from the roof-tops! Does that describe your singing?
“Serve the Lord” (v. 2)—Considering the context, the service here is referring to offering the sacrifice of worship. To worship is to show adoration. One Greek word translated in the New Testament as “worship” literally means “to prostrate oneself; to bow down before” (proskyneo, see John 4:23-24). That’s what we are being called to do. So as we continue in our study, let’s frame our understanding of this psalm in that way.
“Come into His presence” (v. 2)—Looking back to ancient Israel, going to the tabernacle or temple would have been considered entering the presence of God. In David’s great psalm of repentance (Psalm 51) you may remember that he begs God, “Cast me not away from your presence” (v. 11). What he meant by that was literally, “Don’t keep me from being able to come and worship you at your tabernacle!” Now look at the next phrase in verse four.
“Enter His gates…courts” (v. 4)—These things would have certainly brought to mind the tabernacle or temple for the Jews, and their gates and courts. While we understand coming into God’s presence in a different way as Christians (e.g. Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:48, “…The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands…”), It’s still important that we take the time to meditate on the meaning and the reality of being in God’s presence. And our worship gathering can call that to our minds as well.
“Give thanks” (v. 4)—Simply stated, express your gratitude. That would be their purpose in coming into the presence of God, of entering his gates and courts. Sacrifices weren’t just made for sin. Some were made as free-will offerings, possibly of gratitude to the Lord (e.g Ez. 3:5). That’s also our purpose in our worship.
Now I want you to notice that each one of those phrases gives some additional instruction for who and how those things are to be done:
“Make…all the earth” (v. 1)—This is a reminder that ALL of the earth is subject to God. Everyone on earth should worship and praise the Lord. All are invited to come to Him. Every knee should bow before him (see Philippians 2:10).
“Serve… with gladness” (v. 2)—Serving the Lord shouldn’t be seen as drudgery, but as a grand opportunity. Thus, the admonition to approach the Lord with gladness in your heart.
“Come… with singing” (v. 2)—Singing was done in Israel as part of worship. And today, it’s still a major part of our worship. It’s not part of the worship entertainment as many often treat it. It’s a sacrifice, the fruit of our lips (see Hebrews 13:15). It’s important that we keep this as our perspective when it comes to our worship in song.
“Enter… thanksgiving… praise” (v. 4)—This is really at the heart of what we are doing, and thinking about now. We come into his presence with the only gift we truly have to offer God—our sacrifice of gratitude and praise (consider Psalm 50:10-15; 116:12ff.).
“Give… bless His name” (v. 4)—Just as God has blessed us, we are called to “bless” him. For us this is another way of referring to giving praise. It means speaking of the greatness of God, acknowledging his goodness.
You, personally, are called to come to God and offer your sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Again, we may do it in a different manner from the way the Jews did. But God is no less worthy of our honor and gratitude today than he was then. In fact, you and I ought to understand the goodness of God in an even deeper way—in that we stand on this side of the Cross. We’ve seen God’s love, mercy, kindness, compassion, and grace expressed in a way the writer of this psalm had yet to see! And that leads me to our second thought as we meditate through this psalm…
2) A CAUSE to Give Thanks (v. 3, 5)
Have you ever thought about this: It’s just as important to know the reasons why we worship God as it is to know that we should worship God. It’s the reasons why we worship God that demonstrate a distinction between Him and anything or anyone else a person might worship. The psalmist gives us several reasons why all the world should worship Jehovah God and not any other created thing in the universe.
He is our Creator (v. 3)—“It is he who made us, and we are his.” Truly, if it were not for God, none of us would exist! And not only did he create us, he created everything around us, and everything we need to live. He sustains us. And likewise, since he created us, we belong to him. We are his possession, in a special way in Christ (1 Peter 2:9).
He is our Shepherd (v. 3)—When I read this I think of the first line of the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” A shepherd in those times was more than a mere farmer. He was a guide for his sheep, a protector for his sheep, a provider for his sheep. The shepherd would see to their every need. Thus it ought to be no surprise that the same picture is used to portray God’s relationship with his people. He is our guide, our protector, our provider. We are his sheep.
He is Good (v. 5)—The Hebrew word here refers to something that is desirable, beautiful, or pleasing. Sure God is morally “good,” in that he is holy and perfect. But God is good all around! This “good” is the same as the one we see in Genesis 1, where everything that God created was “good” and “very good.” It was pleasing, whole, perfect, complete—beautiful. That’s what God is. Beautiful. David wrote in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
He is Loving (v. 5)—The ESV refers to God’s “steadfast love.” The NASB refers to His “lovingkindness.” The NKJV simply says “mercy.” This love is more than an affection. It is an undying, never ending loyalty. The Hebrew term here could be thought of as the Old Testament counterpart to the New Testament’s “agape” love. Think about how incredible and comforting this ought to be: God is eternally loyal to his people. Moses wrote, “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” (Deut. 7:9). Which brings us to the last reason for praise that the psalmist lists.
He is Faithful (v. 5)— The NKJV says, “His truth endures to all generations.” That’s probably as good a description of the sense of this point as any. God is honest, steadfast, trustworthy. God is a God of integrity, of consistency. He keeps his promises. He who calls us is faithful, as Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:24. God never lies, as Paul also wrote in Titus 1:2. God’s truth endures. His promises never fail. Never.
It’s all these attributes combined that call us to praise him, to give thanks to him, to worship him. No one else has the power to give and sustain life. No one else guides, protects, and cares for us like God does. No one else is as glorious and completely beautiful as God. No one loves with the same loyal, eternal love as God has. No one else keeps their promises as God keeps his. There is no one like the Lord!
So make a joyful noise to Him! Serve Him with gladness in your heart. Come into his presence with singing from your heart! Enter his gates with thanksgiving! Because he is our creator, sustainer, and guide. We are his people, for his own possession, to do his will.
Look at what Peter wrote:
“(9) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)
Anyone and everyone should be thankful to God for their existence, and God’s providing care. But only those who are his children can proclaim his excellencies to the world around them. Only those who have come out of darkness and into light by obeying the gospel can truly, and fully give thanks to God. Can you?